February 18, 1905. 
THE GARDENING WORLD, 
143 
would mean Peruvian Squill. It is also known as the Cuban 
Lily, which complicates matters still further, but there must 
have been some mistake in both of these names, as the plant 
is really a native of the shores of the Mediterranean, some or 
other of the forms having been introduced from Portugal, 
Spain, Italy and adjacent islands and Algeria in the North of 
Africa. The early writers who were responsible for the 
botanical and the popular names must have had hazy notions 
about the native home of the plant. This is by no means a 
unique case, however, as several other plants passed muster for 
a time under the name of Flos indicus, or some other generic 
name to which indicus was attached. A familiar instance is 
Chrysanthemum indicum, which is now known to exist not in 
India but in China in its wild form. 
Considering how poorly this species of Squill is represented 
in gardens, notwithstanding its beauty, we imagine that many 
cultivators must have been dissuaded from planting it in their 
Cardens, owing to a mistaken notion that it came from Peru, 
and was not really hardy. We are now aware that this is all 
a mistake, notwithstanding the fact that we have seen it care¬ 
fully cultivated in pots and kept in greenhouses. Under cool 
conditions, it may be grown for ornamental purposes under 
glass, but this is not at all necessary. We have seen it in 
other gardens as well as Kew succeeding admirably planted 
out in a friable, well-drained loam. Indeed, any good garden 
soil will be sufficient to grow this handsome Squill to perfec¬ 
tion, and whether any may choose to grow it in pots to get 
dowers earlier, we are certain that it will grow much more 
vigorously when planted in the open garden either on the 
border or on the rockery. 
Hardy Bulbs in American Parks. 
{Continued from page 49.) 
Bridgeport, Conn., January 18th, 1904. 
Already now the Snowdrop dares appear, 
The first pale blossom of the unripened year; 
And Flora's breath by some transforming power 
Had changed an icicle into a flower.— Breck. 
We were taught that this little bulb, also the Tulip, Crocus, 
and Hyacinth, would be-benetited (if ripe when taken up) were 
they kept in a dry, cool place and planted again in the fall, 
but I have thought that some of them, the Tulips in particular, 
would bloom better the second year if left in the ground— 
flowers nearly as large, and twice as many of them. 
M e covered a large bed of Tulips when ripe with some 3 in. 
of good loam, and planted therein bedding plants for the rest 
of the season. In cleaning up in the fall, we took off about 
one-half of the added loam before mulching for winter. The 
next spring we had the finest bed of Tulips we ever grew. 
In planting bulbs, we follow the old-fashioned method of 
having a little sand under each bulb. Most of the bulbs and 
tuberous-rooted plants that we know dislike and will not do 
well in a sticky soil. Make it porous and rich, and there will 
be no doubt of the results. 
The Lily, like the Paeony family, should be disturbed 
only to separate them and to renew the soil-' which has been 
exhausted, after growing them for a few years. This should 
be done when the foliage is ripe and begins to turn yellow, 
keeping the bulb out of the ground as short a time as possible. 
A good mulching will be beneficial to our native bulbs and 
necessary to protect L. longifloium and L. lancifolium album, 
which are not quite hardy enough for our winters. 
Our good old Butter-and-eggs Narcissus wants to be left 
alone, only to be separated; Iris and Fritillaria the same. 
Our old friends, the Crown Imperial (Fritillaria imperialist 
and Guinea-hen-flower (F. Melegaris) have gone out of fashion, 
let they were beautiful in their oddity, and I suppose their 
odour had something to do with their banishment. 
I think Brother Chambers’ method of destroying the Tus¬ 
sock Moth or its origin is first class, for with each nest we 
become rid of several hundred of the pests at. once. Tin 
are very hard, and the surest way to destroy them i- to pm 
them iii lire. See account of this moth in Bulletin No. 20, p. I 
Charles E. Keith. 
Holyoke, Mass., January 15th, 1904. 
Bulletin No. '.’>7 at hand, and I was very much interested in 
reading its contents. Me have not as yet set any flowering 
bulbs in our parks, and as I am not up in their culture, I feel 
as though I had better learn from the experience of others and 
keep silent myself. After this conclusion, I begin to think of 
what questions I can ask, or what I can say to help others : 
therefore pardon me if I switch off in sympathy with Brother 
Chambers and the efforts he is putting forth to disturb the egg- 
masses of the Tussock Moth. 
We had quite an experience with this pest in 1900. They 
seemed to be on nearly all of our trees to some extent, hut 
were more plentiful on the Soft Maple and Elms than other 
trees. That fall I ordered our men to destroy all egg-masses 
which xve found on the body and lower limbs of trees, and aLo 
under the clapboards and other projections on our buildings. 
M e expected to hax r e trouble with them the following season, 
but am happy to say they have not appeared since to any great 
extent. Brother Chambers, you are doing good work, and I am 
sure you will destroy millions of the eggs. 
The life history of this insect- will be found in Bulletin 
No. 99, address L. 0. Howard, entomologist, Washington, D.C., 
in which you will find the overwintering eggs are laid in the 
latter part of September in a glistening white, frothy looking 
mass, attached to the outside of the cocoon, remaining upon 
the tree until spring. There are two classes of remedies: 
First, destroy all egg-masses in the late fall or winter : in the 
spring, after the larva hatches, spray the trees, r ing the same 
mixture as for the Elm-leaf Beetle—1 lb. Paris green to 180 
to 200 gallons of water; add to this the same weight or more 
of quicklime, which prevents the burning of the foliage. 
A. P. Capex. 
Worcester, Mass., February 9th. 1904. 
Hardy bulbs gix-e as fine a display the second year after 
planting as the first, and we have seen them do xvell five or six 
years xvithout disturbing them. Let the ground become frozen 
2 in. before covering them with a mulch, for the profusion of 
bloom is injured by the covering being done too early and too 
heavily. Of a necessity, xve have to use formal beds. The 
grounds are laid out in such a xvay that the natural cannot be 
followed. This spring we shall not disturb the bulbs, but plant 
between them such plants as Tuberous Begonias, large-flower¬ 
ing Petunias, and those of shallow-rooting habits, or Small 
roots. J. H. Hemingway. 
New Haven, Conn., February 23rd, 1904. 
Among the bulbs which can most easily and successfully be 
acclimatised here I prefer the numerous varieties of Narcissus. 
I use thousands of them every year, planting them at the 
wood’s edge at hazard, and in the open spaces of meadows, 
xvliere sufficient dampness will favour their existence. These 
bulbs I obtain free of cost from several florists, who naturally 
discard the bulbs after having them forced. M’e get thousands 
of them, and put out only the best ones. These will, the second 
year after being planted, prove to be xvell-established, strong 
plants, affording a floral display more in harmony with the 
character of the parks I have under my observation than any 
other bulbs. There is nothing glaring in the colour. The pre¬ 
sence of Narcissus will not call forth any strange feeling to the 
eye, such as would express disharmony with our native flora. 
Gustave X. Amrhtx. 
Boston, Mass., February 29th, 1904. 
Only in the formal garden which is a part of the urchitec- 
