48 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
January 21, 1905. 
Hardy Bulbs in American Parks. 
In order to give readers' a few glimpses into the system of 
planting hardy bulbs in various parks in the United States, we 
reproduce one of the type-written bulletins of the American 
Association of Park Superintendents, dealing with bulbs. The 
Bulletin is started by the secretary with little more than an 
indication of what should form the subject for discussion. 
Each member receives the Bulletin in turn, and adds his quota 
of information on the subject for the mutual benefit of all. 
We presume every member gets a copy of the completed and 
type-written Bulletin. The articles quoted below constitute 
Bulletin No. 37 :—- 
Jamaica Plain, Mass., December 1st. 1903. 
It was a pleasure to me recently to hear a very able paper 
read on " Hardy Bulbs,” and the thought struck me, what a 
splendid subject for one of our Bulletins. And so I hasten to 
start out this number on that subject, hoping that the members 
will give us a lot of useful information on the many different 
species, and how they can be best used in our park work. Do 
not fail to go into the minutest details about what are the 
best varieties, of how to plant, of how deep to plant, of the 
many diseases, insects, etc., and do not forget to tell us about 
all the rarer species, but include everything, from the modest 
little Snowdrop to the gorgeous Lily of Japan; at the same 
time, do not forget the many gems of our native flora. 
A new system of “ placing ” the Bulletins is inaugurated 
with this issue. By even mail, the secretary sends the first 
name on the list a postal card, with reply card attached. When 
the member remails the Bulletin, lie will merely sign the 
reply card, and mail as addressed to the secretary. On receipt 
of same, the secretary will immediately mail another postal, 
with reply card attached, to the next name on the list, who 
will receive the same in time to mail the reply card as done 
by the first member; and so on through the whole list of 
names. By this system, the secretary will know exactly where 
the Bulletins are, and all he asks is the co-operation of the 
members in reniaili'ng the reply cards. And now, let us hear 
from Hartford to begin with. John W. Duncan. 
Hartford, Conn., December 5th, 1903. 
Bulletin No. 37 reached me yesterday, and happens to come 
just, in a time when I am extremely busy with reports and 
other office work, so that I cannot give it the time and thought 
I would like to, yet I do not wish to delay its circulation. 
There is just one suggestion I wish to make, and that is in 
regard to discarded Tulip and other bedding bulbs, two or 
three, or even more years old. Bv that I mean bulbs that 
would not be considered fit for bedding purposes. 
In planting such bulbs about 6 in. deep along the edge of 
shrubberies, they make an extremely pretty effect in the early 
spring, especially where they are planted along dwarf shrub¬ 
bery so that the flowers when they are out will peep through 
branchlets and possibly through very early foliage. 
It does not take long to plant them in the fall, and they 
do not need to be disturbed thereafter. When spading that 
shrubbery, a little bit of care in not spading deep can be taken. 
They will be good for a few seasons, I think. At any rate, 
they may just as well be made use of in that way as thrown 
Theodore Wirth. 
I am very glad to see this Bulletin, and I will write just a 
word. This way we find it a very good plan to change bulbs ; 
do not keep the same bulbs in use too long ; we think they do 
better to change. Of course, everybody will agree that Mr. 
M irth is right in regard to beauty. I do not think we pay 
the attention to such work that we ought to, for I think there 
r§ nothing that looks better in the early springtime than the 
many-coloured Tulip blossoms. I have to admit that we are 
behind the times in such work, and do not cultivate these 
early messengers of spring in a way to get the most beauty 
from them, but I hope we will be some day more up-to-date. 
We have done more in this line this fall than ever before. T 
like to show the Bulletins to the old apostles, for I think it 
does them good, and may awaken them to their responsibility 
when they see what others are doing. Byron Worthen. 
In parks, bulbous plants can be used to great advantage, 
especially the harbingers of spring. To the ordinary person, 
the annual display of spring flowering bulbs in such places as 
the Boston Public Garden is pleasing, but the lover of nature 
wants to see them in a more natural condition. To get good 
effects and pleasing groups with these lovely plants, one ought 
to be well acquainted with their habits, likes and dislikes, and 
success can only be attained by selecting types that will be 
likely to succeed in the different places where they are to be 
planted. 
Pleasing effects can be produced by naturalising bulbs in 
the grass. When making plantations of this kind, the main 
object should be to get as natural an effect as possible. Care 
should be taken not to plant the bulbs in straight lines, curves 
or circles. As most off the common bulbs are so cheap now 
they ought to be planted in large masses, the aim being to 
obtain colour in such quantity as to prove effective when seen 
from a distance. When planting bulbs in the grass, they 
ought to be put in places where the grass is not to be cut 
until the foliage of the plants has completed its season’s work. 
Some of the best kinds for naturalising in the grass are Nar¬ 
cissus poeticus, N. poeticus ornatus, N. poeticus poetarum, 
Narcissus prineeps, and single Narcissus Yon Sion, Crocuses 
in different colours, Scilla sibirica, Snowdrops, and Tulipa 
sylvestris. 
For planting in amongst shrubbery and along the outer 
edges of shrubbery borders, and also in the herbaceous 
borders, the following bulbs are hardy and reliable. The best 
of the species of Tulipa we have grown are clusiana, fulgens, 
Didieri, persica, praecox, oculus-solis, cornuta, sylvestris, ges- 
neriana and Greigi, which is most beautiful of all the Tulips. 
The Darwin Tulips and Parrot Tulips are excellent. The best 
of the Narcissi are Aid High, Banff conspicuus, Emperor, 
Golden Spur, maximus- rugilobus, Empress, Horsffeldi, Prin- 
ceps, Cynosure, Sir Watkin, Stella, Duchess of Brabant, 
I.eedsii, Burbidgei, Trumpet Major. There are many more 
varieties of Narcissi, but these are the best to plant amongst 
shrubbery or borders to give striking effects. 
Bulbocodium vernum is a beautiful little plant with flowers 
not unlike a Crocus, but of a violet blue colour, one of the 
earliest plants to flower in spring, and as hardy as a Crocus. 
The most reliable of the Fritillarias we have tried are im- 
perialis, Meleagris, tenella, ruthenica, and obliqua. The best 
of the Grape Hyacinths are Muscari botryoides, botryoides 
alba, commutatum and comosum. In Snowdrops, Galanthus 
nivalis and plicatus are the best. Glory of the Snow, Chiono- 
doxa Luciliae and its varieties, gigantea and sai’densis, are 
charming plants for early spring. The Camassia Fraseri is 
perfectly hardy. 
The Erythroniums are exceedingly beautiful on the edges 
of Rhododendron beds ; the best kinds are americanum albi- 
dum, and* the European species Dens-canis and its varieties. 
They are easy to grow and perfectly hardy. 
Many of the Lilies grow exceedingly well when planted 
amongst Rhododendrons. Superbum and canadense are very 
effective when grown this way. 
The Scillas are charming little bulbs for eartv spring, and 
Scilla campanulata and its varieties which flower in May make 
pleasing effects. Puschkinia scilloides, Ornithogalum um- 
bellatum, and the spring Snowflakes are all good early flower¬ 
ing bulbs. Robert Cameron. 
Toronto, Can., December 20th, 1903. 
Bulletin No. 37 reached me yesterday evening. I am 
somewhat in the same predicament as Brother Wirth, being 
kept busy at this time of the year making reports for various 
aldermanic candidates, etc., half of which are never read. I 
have a very interesting subject on hand, which is not in con¬ 
nection with bulbs or spring flowering plants, but trust vou 
will pardon me introducing it at this time of the year. Tin’s 
city has been troubled with the Tussock Moth caterpillar 
during several seasons, and just when we thought we had them 
