'  326 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
October  3,  1895. 
may  be,  does  act  so  in  relation  to  even  such  minute  atoms  as 
disease  spores.  There  was  comparatively  little  disease  found  on 
the  crop  lifted  from  a  yellowish  stiff  loam  in  another  place  where 
the  top  growth  had  been  almost  abnormal,  though  the  soil  had 
become  quite  poor  previously  to  the  application  of  the  chemical 
dressing.  Here,  whilst  there  was  a  fairly  good  crop,  it  was 
evident  that  tutier  formation  was  later,  as  at  the  time  of  lifting 
they  were  still  far  from  ripe.  I  had  here  anticipated  much 
disease,  but  was  agreeably  surprised  to  find  so  little.  This  soil 
seems  to  need  liming,  and  the  addition  of  sand  to  render  it  more 
■fitted  for  Potato  culture.  It  is,  however,  fairly  strong  and  retentive, 
and  grows  all  forms  of  Brassica  luxuriantly. 
On  land  prepared  by  the  plough  in  the  past,  but  forked  over 
shallow  for  the  purposes  of  the  trial,  of  sand,  clay,  and  bog,  in  each 
case  the  resultant  crop  was  less  than  might  have  been  anticipated, 
and  materially  so,  than  was  lifted  from  poorer  soil  much  more 
deeply  worked  and  thoroughly  pulverised.  When  the  lifting  took 
place  it  was  found  that  the  tubers  were  all  near  the  surface,  that 
the  soil  was  exceedingly  lumpy,  having  become  baked  during  the 
drought  and  never  afterwards  softened  ;  also  the  forks  in  lifting 
found  a  hard  bottom  immediately  beneath  the  tubers.  Naturally, 
tubers  were  more  irregularly  shaped  than  were  found  from  free 
working  soils,  due  not  so  much  to  supertuberation  or  growing  out 
{found  in  other  instances)  but  to  hard  compression.  I  feel  more 
than  ever  satisfied  that  whilst  it  is  possible  to  enrich  soils  too  highly 
for  Potatoes,  it  is  hardly  possible  to  have  them  too  deeply  worked 
or  thoroughly  pulverised. — A.  D. 
HYACINTHS  IN  BEDS. 
It  has  now  become  quite  general  in  both  large  and  small 
gardens  to  have  one  or  more  beds  of  Hyacinths  out  of  doors,  and 
very  welcome  their  flowers  are  in  the  early  spring  before  the  beds 
are  needed  for  summer  plants,  A  few  hints  upon  the  subject  may 
therefore  be  useful,  especially  as  planting  time  will  soon  be  here, 
and  bulbs  should  be  procured  at  once. 
To  grow  Hyacinths  well  in  beds  the  soil  should  be  rich,  light, 
and  deep,  supposing  the  soil  of  the  garden  is  a  sound  loam  and  well 
drained.  Then  fix  upon  the  beds  intended  for  these  bulbs  and 
excavate  it  to  the  depth  of  15  inches.  Le'^el  the  bottom,  and  place 
a  layer  of  small  stones  or  brick-ends  broken  small,  2  inches  thick. 
Cover  this  drainage  with  2  inches  of  littery  dung  ;  then  mix  the 
soil  that  has  been  thrown  out  with  some  well-decomposed  cow 
manure,  some  leaf  mould,  and  plenty  of  river  or  sea  sand,  well 
screened.  The  proportions  to  be  one  part  cowdung,  one  part  leaf 
mould,  to  six  parts  of  loam.  Should  the  substratum  be  clayey  or 
gravelly,  that  part  must  be  wheeled  away,  and  as  much  good  loam 
added  as  will  replace  it ;  then  mix  the  compost  well  together,  and 
fill  the  bed  with  it ;  let  it  be  4  or  5  inches  above  the  former  level, 
to  allow  for  settling  ;  lay  it  perfectly  level,  so  that  it  may  have  the 
full  benefit  of  the  rain  that  falls  upon  it.  This  preparation  of  the 
beds  should  be  done  immediately.  If  there  is  time  it  would  be  all 
the  better  for  a  turn  over  before  planting.  I  may  just  remark  that 
if  cow  manure  cannot  be  procured  hotbed  refuse  well  decayed  will 
do  ;  but  I  greatly  prefer  the  former,  because  it  is  of  a  cooler  nature, 
and,  generally,  has  less  straw  amongst  it. 
The  best  time  for  planting  is  the  first  week  in  October,  though 
if  the  weather  is  mild  they  may  be  planted  as  late  as  the  middle 
of  November.  Much  depends  on  the  weather  and  the  state  of  the 
ground.  It  should  by  all  means  be  moderately  dry,  and  therefore 
it  is  better  to  wait  a  week  or  two  should  the  season  at  the  right  time 
of  planting  be  wet.  To  prevent  treading  upon  the  bed  at  that 
time  lay  upon  it  a  narrow  piece  of  board  long  enough  to  reach 
across  it,  or  have  the  board  strong  enough  to  bear  the  planter’s 
weight,  and  raise  it  np  at  each  end  high  enough  to  clear  the  bed  ; 
then  procure  a  dibber  to  plant  them  with,  which  should  be  thick 
enough  to  make  a  hole  as  wide  as  the  largest  Hyacinth  is  in  diameter, 
and  the  end  that  is  thrust  into  the  soil  should  be  cut  across  and  a 
mark  made  just  as  far  from  the  bottom  as  the  bulbs  should  be 
covered  with  soil  ;  the  proper  depth  is  3  inches  from  the  top  of 
the  bulb.  Anybody  with  a  saw  and  a  knife  could  make  such 
a  one. 
Having  a  fine  day  and  the  board  and  dibber  ready,  then  bring 
■out  the  bulbs  and  place  them  on  the  bed  just  where  they  are  to  be 
planted.  Each  Hyacinth  should  have  at  least  5  inches  to  grow  in, 
but  6  inches  would  not  be  too  much  space  for  the  leaves  to  expand, 
especially  if  the  same  bulbs  are  to  be  planted  again  the  following 
season.  If  the  colours  are  to  be  mixed  place  them  so  that  the 
colours  will  succeed  each  other  in  rotation,  as,  for  instance,  1,  red  ; 
2,  blue  ;  3,  white  ;  4,  yellow  ;  then  5,  red,  and  so  on  till  the  bed  is 
full ;  or  if  there  are  several  beds,  and  it  is  desirable  to  keep  the 
colours  separate,  so  that  one  bed  shall  be  red,  another  blue,  another 
white,  and  another  yellow,  then  plant  them  accordingly.  For  a 
geometrical  flower  garden  the  latter  mode  will  be  preferable.  As 
soon  as  one  bed  is  placed  with  bulbs,  then  fix  the  board  across  at 
one  end,  and  proceed  to  plant  them.  As  the  planting  proceeds  have 
some  of  the  compost  ready  sifted  through  a  coarse  sieve,  and  fill  up 
the  holes  with  it.  This  is  much  better  than  levelling  the  holes 
with  a  rake,  because  they  are  when  so  covered  sure  to  be  at  the 
right  depth.  When  all  are  planted,. then  rake  the  bed  very  lightly, 
and  the  operation  is  complete. 
The  Hyacinth  is  hardy  enough  to  bear  a  moderate  degree  of 
frost ;  but  it  is  advisable  to  cover  the  bed  with  about  2  inches  of 
spent  tanners’  bark,  to  be  removed  early  in  spring  before  the  shoots 
appear  above  ground.  Where  this  is  scarce,  half-decayed  leaves 
would  answer  the  same  purpose,  or  a  mat  or  two  thrown  over  the 
bed  would  be  protection  sufficient.  These  shelters  are  for  such 
Hyacinth  beds  as  may  be  in  an  ordinary  flower  garden  on  the  lawn, 
or  in  beds  in  a  geometrical  flower  garden,  with  Box  or  other 
edgings  and  gravel  walks.  If  an  amateur  or  florist  cultivates  the 
Hyacinth  in  long  common  beds  like  Tulips,  a  permanent  shelter 
should  be  put  up  in  the  form  of  the  bed,  or  the  beds  might  be 
sheltered  with  hoops  and  mats.  These  kind  of  shelters  can  be  used 
when  the  bulbs  are  in  flower  as  a  protection  from  sun,  wind,  and 
heavy  rams.  If  so  protected,  the  season  of  bloom  will  be  consider¬ 
ably  prolonged. 
As  the  season  of  the  Hyacinth’s  growth  takes  place  during 
winter  and  early  spring,  it  very  seldom  happens  that  they  require 
much  water  at  the  roots,  but  during  dry  parching  winds,  which 
sometimes  occur  in  March,  a  slight  sprinkling  over  the  beds  will  be 
acceptable  to  the  rising  buds.  In  frosty  weather  this  should  be 
applied  in  the  morning  only  ;  but  if  there  is  no  appearance  of 
frost,  then  water  in  the  evenings  also,  previously  to  putting  on  the 
shutters  for  the  night.  This  sprinkling  may  be  continued  with 
advantage  till  the  blooms  begin  to  expand.  As  soon  as  the  bloom 
is  over  the  old  flower  stems  should  be  cut  off,  but  not  quite  down 
to  the  ground,  the  covers  removed,  and  as  soon  as  the  leaves  turn 
yellow  the  bulbs  should  be  taken  up  and  laid  upon  a  mat  to  dry. 
By  being  laid  upon  a  mat  they  can  be  lifted  easily  under  shelter  in 
heavy  rains,  which  would  injure  them  much  if  allowed  to  fall  upon 
them.  When  the  leaves  are  all  quite  decayed  dress  them  off 
carefully,  without  bruising  the  bulbs,  and  then  put  them  away 
in  a  dry  cool  room  till  the  planting  season  comes  round  again. 
— Jacinthe. 
JUDGMENT  WITHOUT  LAW. 
Vast  as  is  the  difference  between  those  tribunals  “  where  angry 
Justice  frowns  severe”  and  the  judicial  functions  of  a  flower 
show,  we  may,  for  present  purposes,  assume  that  the  object  in  both 
cases  is  the  same — viz.,  the  administration  of  justice.  Yet,  again, 
bow  vastly  different  is  the  process  by  which  this  happy  (or  satis¬ 
factory)  result  is  arrived  at.  On  the  one  hand  we  have  all  the 
complex  machinery  of  the  law,  invented,  perfected,  added  to,  or 
re-adjusted,  as  civilisation  progresses  and  demands  arise  ;  on  the 
other  hand  we  see  the  most  important  decisions  on  horticultural 
matters  practically  dependent  on  individual  opinion. 
Each  year,  and  at  each  season  of  the  year,  does  the  fact  become 
more  forcibly  impressed  that  so  far  as  judging  is  concerned,  and 
in  spite  of  increasing  keenness  of  competition  with  its  added 
difficulties,  matters  remain  very  much  as  they  were  in  times  of 
yore.  That  exhibiting  held  a  prominent'  place  in  the  past  it  is 
needless  to  say,  for  that  there  were  giants  in  those  days  cannot 
be  denied,  and  probably  grievances  too  ;  but  that  powerful  engine 
the  Press  appears  now  to  be  driving  matters  to  a  crisis. 
To  illustrate  the  parallel  of  judging  with  and  without  law 
cases  may  be  occasionally  noticed  in  which  some  dignitary  of  the 
judicial  bench  brings  his  individual  opinion  so  far  into  a  case  as 
to  express  regret  that  the  law  only  allows  him  to  mete  out  a  certain 
measure  of  justice  to  the  violator.  Here  the  law  steps  in  to  the 
protection  of  both  parties — the  offender  from  the  judge,  the  judge 
from  himself,  and  on  the  law  practically  rests  the  onus  of  the 
verdict  arrived  at.  Further  analogy  is  unnecessary.  The  nearest 
approach  that  we  in  horticulture  have  to  guide  our  judges  is  the 
schedule,  and  this  is,  in  some  cases,  so  ambiguously  framed  as  to 
be  worse  than  useless,  and  in  most  cases  leaves  that  individual 
opinion  of  what  is  best  to  roam  free  and  unfettered  through  the 
ranks  of  competition. 
No  inferences  need  be  deduced  but  that  integrity  and  a  con- 
scientious  desire  to  eliminate  all  personal  feeling  is  the  prevailing 
desire  of  our  judges  when  entering  the  field  of  their  duties,  nor 
will  they  as  liberal-minded  men  shun  honest-meaning  criticism  of 
their  performance.  Their  critics  stand  on  the  same  debateable 
ground  as  themselves ;  it  is  simply  a  matter  of  opinion — of 
judgment  without  law.  There  may,  indeed,  arise  some  few 
examples  in  which  a  judge  is  assailed,  “and  whilst  his  tongue 
the  charge  denies  his  conscience  owns  it  true  ;  ”  but  these  examples 
