HOUSE AND GARDEN 
December, iqio 
347 
high one pays from $7 to 
$10, depending on the length 
of the division chosen. 
In perhaps the majority 
of subjects the ivory finish 
is preferable to the dead 
white. The tinting is al¬ 
most always done by the 
dealer in casts; if desired, 
though, there is an opportun¬ 
ity here for those who take 
pleasure in doing such things 
themselves. The work is 
not difficult and the requi¬ 
site materials are inexpensive. The white plaster is first coated 
with white shellac and thoroughly dried. A mixture of turpen¬ 
tine and burnt umber is then painted over the whole, and when 
this is partly dry a cloth dipped in turpentine is used to rub in 
one direction over the surface of the modeling. This removes 
the color on the high lights and projecting surfaces, giving a 
better relief to the piece, and the pleasing appearance of old 
ivory. It is, perhaps, unnec¬ 
essary to suggest that, be¬ 
yond this application of a 
tint, the use of color on 
plaster casts is a matter that 
may well be left in the hands 
of a very few. It is exceed¬ 
ingly difficult for the ama¬ 
teur to color a cast and get 
a result that can be com¬ 
pared in beauty to the un¬ 
touched or ivory tinted plas¬ 
ter. 
If you have or can borrow 
a bas-relief in bronze, the making of a cast from it is not difficult. 
Plaster of Paris, gelatine, wax or sulphur may be used for the 
matrix. If the sulphur is chosen it is melted in a vessel and 
poured over the original. When cold the separation is easy, giving 
the intaglio portrait or whatever it may be. Into this, after 
building up the sides to gain sufficient depth, plaster of Paris may 
be poured for a cast. 
Canterbury Pilgrims on their way to the shrine of Thomas a Becket— 
A cast by Robert Patterson from an old English bronze 
Gardening Without Soil 
HOW YOU MAY HAVE A SUCCESSION OF BLOOM THROUGHOUT THE 
WINTER MONTHS AT A SLIGHT EXPENSE FOR BULBS THAT GROW IN WATER 
BY I. M. Angell 
Photographs by the author 
I NNUMERABLE window gardens have contained hyacinths 
and other familiar bulbs blooming in water, but there are 
still others, not so well known as water plants, that have been 
found satisfactory and attractive grown in that way. The fol¬ 
lowing have all proved their right to a place in the amateur’s 
water-garden: 
Nine varieties of narcissus — Von Sion, double Roman, Chi¬ 
nese lily, paper white, poeticus, Trumpet Major, Orange Phcenix, 
Grand Monarque and jonquil ( N . odorus rugilosus). 
Three varieties of hyacinth — pompom, Roman and single 
Dutch, and crocus. 
Rules for their cultivation are neither many nor complicated. 
Single bulbs will flourish in a patent hyacinth glass and 
groups of bulbs in a broad, 
low dish. Rain water is to 
be preferred to hard water, 
with a piece of charcoal to 
keep it pure, unless the re¬ 
ceptacles can be easily flooded 
with fresh water without dis¬ 
placing the bulbs. When the 
bulbs arrive it is well to “lay 
out the garden,” by fitting 
them to the various dishes at 
once, and setting them away 
dry, in a dark, cool, mouse- 
proof closet. It is then an 
easy matter to bring out the 
dishes for the addition of 
water, whenever they are to 
be started for succession 
throughout the season. 
Grand Monarque, a polyan¬ 
thus variety, was one of the 
strongest and handsomest 
plants in our water garden. This kind bears as many as twelve 
flowers to a stem, and the individual flowers measured two inches 
across, a third as large again as those raised at the same time, in 
earth. The Grand Monarque was started the last of September 
and brought to the light the first of December. The first flower 
opened early in March and the bulb gave us two weeks of bloom. 
Another bulb which we raised in the same manner, though at a 
later date, flowered for nearly three weeks. 
Poeticus narcissus will always be a favorite, raised in either 
earth or water. Beautiful large flowers and a very sweet odor 
make it a popular sort for the amateur. Our bulbs were started 
November 17th, set away, as were all the others, in a cool, dark 
place to make a good root growth, then brought into the 
sunshine. Compared to the 
quick-growing bulbs, this sort 
makes a rather slow growth; 
the first flower opened just 
four months from the day 
they were started and three 
months from the time they 
were brought up to the light. 
The height of their bloom 
was not reached till the sec¬ 
ond week in April and the 
plants did not lose their 
beauty till the end of the 
month, a longer flowering sea¬ 
son than is given us by some 
of the bulb family. Our 
water-grown poeticus bulbs 
were unusually large and fine, 
the blossoms measuring two 
and one-half inches across. 
A strong “double-nosed” 
Von Sion bulb was placed in 
Crocuses, nine varieties of narcissus and three of hyacinth will thrive 
indoors in a bowl of pebbles and water 
