September 19, 1908. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
599 
How to 
Grow . . 
Potting, Boxing, and Plunging Roman Hyacinths. 
Roman Hyacinths 
For a Succession of blooms. 
To obtain a succession of sweet- 
scented flowers of the Roman Hyacinth, 
bulbs should be potted at intervals ot 
two or three weeks from the end of 
August to the end of October. An early 
start is advisable in every' case in order 
to allow thS bulbs plenty of time to 
produce roots and develop steadily, as 
late potting and forcing the bulbs in 
great heat invariably results in a poor 
show of bloom. Single bulbs may be 
potted in 4 in. pots, whilst 5 in. pots 
will accommodate three bulbs and 7 in. 
pots five bulbs. The compost may con¬ 
sist of three parts fibrous loam, one part 
sifted decaved manure, one part leaf- 
mould, and half a part sand. It should 
be nicely moist at potting time—not too 
wet or the bulbs may decay, and not too 
dry or roots will not be properly 
emitted whilst the bulbs are in the 
plunging bed. 
Well drain the pots and fill with com¬ 
post, afterwards planting the bulbs at 
equal distances apart, leaving the 
crowns exposed and uncovered, as~~ 
shown in Fig. 1 herewith. Make the 
soil quite firm round each. Wrong 
methods of potting the bulbs are illus¬ 
trated in Figs. 2 and 3, the bulbs in the 
former case being entirely' buried in the 
soil and in the latier case not suffi¬ 
ciently covered with soil, with the re¬ 
sult trial when roots form they push the 
bulb out of the soil as shown in A. 
After potting the bulbs, stand the pot 
on a layer of ashes in a cold frame or 
out of door's where the plunging bed can 
be protected from rain, place an in¬ 
verted pot over each pot (as Fig. 4) and 
cover the whole to a depth of six or 
eight inches with cocoa fibre refuse, or 
ashes, the former for preference, and 
protect from rain. This treatment is 
necessary to ensure the production of 
plenty of roots before top growth com¬ 
mences, and in six or seven weeks the 
pots should be examined, and if top 
growth has commenced and is about an 
inch high, it is usually safe to presume 
that the pots are nicely full of roots, 
but to make sure one or two should be 
turned out and if satisfactory the bulbs 
may' be removed from the plunging bed 
and be stood on a shelf in a cool green¬ 
house, and be shaded for two or three 
days to gradually inure the top growth 
to the light. 
A temperature of forty degrees is 
quite sufficient for the first week or ten 
days after the bulbs are removed from 
the plunging bed, but afterwards, when 
they commence to grow, fifty-five de¬ 
grees may be allowed. Plenty of water 
should be given together with copious 
supplies of weak liquid manure until 
the blooms commence to expand, when 
stimulants may be discontinued. W hen 
cut flowers only' are required the bulbs 
may be planted in boxes, which should 
be five or six inches deep. Prepare the - 
boxes in a similar manner to pots and 
plant the bulbs about three inches 
apart, afterwards covering over with an 
inverted box and plunging in the bed as 
shown in Fig. 4. 
Ortus. 
-- - 
Rose — 1 
JERSEY BEAUTY. 
The flowers of the ordinary wild form 
of Rosa wichuraiana are only of 
moderate size, and not remarkable for 
good shape. The habit of the plant alone 
seems to have introduced the greatest 
novelty in the new race of Roses that 
had been produced from it by hybrid¬ 
isation. The beauty of the small, 
leathery, shining, dark green leaves can¬ 
not be overlooked, for this is one of the 
most telling features in the garden varie¬ 
ties which have been recently raised from 
R. wichuraiana, which came from 
China and Japan, and was figured for the 
first time in 1891. Jersey Beauty is a 
single variety of.it which was raised in 
1899, and is notable for the great size of 
its blooms and their beautiful shape 
judged from a florist's point of view. The 
petals are very much wider, overlapping, 
and they' are incurved to a certain extent, 
giving the bloom the appearance of a 
shallow basin. 
As the flowers open they may be de¬ 
scribed as pale yellow, but when fully- 
expanded they are creamy white, and 
when backed up with their own small, 
shining leaves they are very handsome in¬ 
deed. In the cut state it may be used in 
a variety of ways for floral decorations, 
so long as the stems are kept in water. 
As a garden Rose it may be treated in the 
same widely varying fashion as the wild 
tyne from which it originated. It is of 
vigorous growth, and may be used for 
covering pergolas, arches, pillars, or for 
making a tall hedge, when the object is 
to screen or hide some undesirable ob¬ 
jects from view. W hen budded on tall 
stems it also makes a beautiful weeping 
standard. Like the rest of its tribe,. it 
only' flowers once in a year, but is in¬ 
clined to be later in coming into bloom 
than many' of the Roses with which v\e 
now decorate our gardens. It. there¬ 
fore, forms a succession to Crimson 
Rambler and other Polvantha Roses. 
Bell Heather. 
- 4 "$- 4 -- 
The Fig in Britain. 
The idea of the contented cultivator 
sitting under the shade of his own Fig 
tree seems scarcelv to fit in tyith British 
conditions of life : ‘yet there is no reason, 
observes “The Countryside,” why any¬ 
one who chooses should not realise it in 
the southern counties. In W est Sussex, 
for instance, the Fig is grown out-of 
doors to perfection, and pays’ well as a 
crop. 
