352 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
November  10,  1898. 
crowns  at  once,  potting,  and  placing  them  where  they  receive  a  bottom 
heat  of  from  90°,  with  proper  treatment  the  flowers  will  be  forth¬ 
coming  at  the  required  time.  With  ordinary  crowns  such  a  feat  could 
not  be  accomplished,  and,  moreover,  as  the  former  come  on  so  quickly, 
much  valuable  space  is  economised  in  forcing  houses,  for  two  or  three 
crops  of  flowers  can  be  produced  in  a  given  space  in  the  time  taken  to 
flower  one  set  of  crowns  under  the  old  system. 
Other  great  advantages  are  that  the  old  difficulty  of  producing 
abundance  of  leaves  simultaneously  with  the  flowers  is  entirely  over¬ 
come,  and  while  the  present  mild  weather  prevails,  a  regular  succession 
of  flowers  may  he  kept  up  without  placing  the  plants  in  houses  with  a 
high  temperature  ;  indeed,  were  it  not  for  the  difficulty  of  preventing 
the  flowers  from  damping  they  might  be  brought  on  successfully  in 
cold  pits  from  start  to  finish.  I  regularly  obtain  a  consignment  of 
crowns  each  wc  ek,  and  as  they  are  invariably  satisfactory,  a  few 
remarks  upon  my  method  of  treatment  may  prove  useful  to  Journal 
readers. 
The  compost  I  employ  is  a  simple  one,  consisting  of  old  hotbed 
manure  thoroughly  charred,  with  a  liberal  admixture  of  sharp  sand.  If 
we  were  to  make  a  regular  practice  of  burning  all  potting  soils  intended 
for  winter  and  spring  flowering  plants,  I  am  convinced  we  should  hear 
fewer  complaints  about  plants  and  bulbs  failing  to  start  freely,  for 
nearly  all  soils,  especially  those  containing  much  decaying  matter,  are 
literally  teeming  with  minute  insectB  which  are  ever  ready  to  prey 
on  tender  roots  in  the  early  stages  of  development. 
As  soon  as  the  crowns  arrive  they  are  unpacked,  the  points  of  the 
roots  removed  with  a  sharp  knife,  and  potting  commences  forthwith. 
1  usually  employ  6-inch  pots,  placing  from  twelve  to  sixteen  crowns 
in  each.  A  little  deft  manipulation  is  necessary  to  distribute  these 
evenly  in  the  pot  and  work  in  the  soil  between  them.  Those,  how¬ 
ever,  who  have  a  conveniently  long  forefinger  can  with  practice  soon 
become  experts  at  the  work,  others  may  need  a  stick  to  get  the  soil 
between  the  crowns  after  they  have  been  fixed  in  position.  When  the 
potting  is  completed  a  thorough  watering  should  be  given,  and  if 
flowers  are  required  as  quickly  as  possible,  the  crowns  may  be 
at  once  placed  in  close  frames  in' a  forcing  house;  if  not  required  in 
flower  till  a  month  or  six  weeks  hence,  a  cool  house  or  pit  will  suit 
them  admirably. 
When  the  crowns  are  placed  in  strong  heat  to  bring  them  on 
rapidly,  they  require  close  attention  or  they  will  soon  “go  wrong."  I 
usually  place  ahnut  3  inches  of  cocoa-nut  fibre  refuse  on  the  slates  above 
the  hot-water  pipes,  but  instead  of  plunging  the  pots  I  simply  stand 
them  upon  the  fibre,  for  I  find  if  a  regular  heat  is  maintained  the 
progress  made  is  rapid,  and  there  is  practically  no  danger  of 
getting  the  roots  injured  by  too  much  heat.  The  soil  in  the  pots 
should,  however,  be  kept  constantly  moist,  otherwise  both  leaves  and 
flowers  will  quickly  show  signs  of  distress ;  on  the  other  hand  if  the 
temperature  at  any  time  is  allowed  to  fall  rapidly  while  both  plunging 
material  and  soil  are  thoroughly  moist,  a  great  check  follows,  which  is 
usually  shown  by  some  of  the  bottom  bells  turning  yellow. 
This  shows  clearly  that  a  regular  bottom  heat,  and  moisture  in 
proportion,  are  points  of  vital  importance  in  the  forcing  of  these  ever 
popular  flowers.  Lily  leaves  form  some  of  the  most  pleasing  greenery 
for  associating  with  all  white  flowers,  and  are  usually  in  most  request 
when  the  colour  is  pale  rather  than  green.  To  secure  this  desirable 
tint  in  the  foliage,  as  well  as  to  help  forward  the  rapid  development  of 
the  flowers,  the  propagating  frames  in  which  they  are  forced  should 
be  kept  dark  till  two-thirds  of  the  flower  bells  have  expanded,  then 
if  they  are  gradually  inured  to  light,  a  firm  texture  in  the  flowers  and 
the  desired  tint  in  the  leaves  will  he  secured. 
In  the  forcing  of  ordinary  crowns  a  somewhat  different  method  of 
procedure  should  be  followed.  Since  the  advent  of  retarded  crowns 
the  ordinary  ones  are  not  generally  employed  for  very  early  forcing; 
the  end  of  December  or  early  in  January  is  soon  enough  to  make  a 
start  with  the  latter.  As  soon  as  the  crowns  are  received  they  should 
be  plunged  in  fibre  in  the  open  air,  leaving  the  crowns  fully  exposed, 
then  after  they  have  had  one  fairly  sharp  frost  upon  them  they  are 
ready  for  potting  and  introduciug  into  a  strong  bottom  heat.  In 
this  case  I  like  to  employ  fully  6  inches  of  fibre,  and  plunge  the  pots 
m  it.  A  bottom  heat  of  at  least  90°  must  be  regularly  maintained, 
and  some  of  the  pots  ought  occasionally  to  be  lifted  out  to  make  sure 
that  neither  the  plunaing  material  nor  the  soil  in  the  pots  is  dry  at  the 
base.  Should  this  occur,  and  not  be  quickly  attended  to,  failure  is 
inevitable.  The  necessary  treatment  in  other  respects  is  the  same  as 
that  given  above  for  retarded  crowns,  but  of  course  ordinary  crowns 
require  at  least  double  the  time  to  fully  develop  their  flowers. — 
Market  Grower. 
BULBS  AND  THEIR  CULTURE. 
( Continued  from  page  314.) 
Outdoor  Culture. 
While  the  bulbs  which  have  recently  been  potted  are  snugly 
located  beneath  the  plunging  material,  let  us  turn  our  attention  to 
operation  in  the  open  air.  What  would  our  gardens  be  in  the  early 
spring  months  without  the  bright  cheering  beauty  which  bulbous 
plants  supply  ?  In  the  flower  garden  proper,  where  opportunities  for 
massing  occur,  what  a  glorious  sight  beds  of  Tulips,  Hyacinths,  or 
Daffodils  present  on  a  fair  April  or  May  day.  How  charming,  too,  is 
the  present  happy  style  of  planting  Snowdrops,  Daffodils,  Iris,  Crocus, 
and  even  Hyacinths  on  grassy  plots  beneath  trees,  or  by  the  edges  of 
drives  and  walks.  The  expense  incurred  is  infinitely  little  compared 
with  the  pleasure  to  be  derived  from  the  practice. 
Bulbs  for  such  purposes  may  now  be  purchased  very  cheaply,  and 
when  once  the  planting  is  done  little  further  trouble  is  incurred 
for  years,  while  an  annual  array  of  showy  flowers,  springing  from  their 
grassy  carpet,  may  be  unfailingly  secured.  The  mixed  flower  border, 
too,  is  singularly  incomplete  in  spring  time  if  bulbous  plants  are  not  to 
be  found  there  in  quantity.  When  planted  deeply  in  such  positions 
they  may  remain  undisturbed  for  years,  and  as  the  foliage  dies  down  in 
summertime,  convenient  spaces  are  set  free  for  planting  annuals  or 
other  summer  flowering  plants.  In  truth,  no  matter  how  many  bulbs 
one  may  have,  opportunities  for  utilising  them  to  advantage  can 
generally  be  found,  and  when  their  culture  is  taken  up  with  zest,  age 
does  not  alter  or  fashion  obliterate  our  love  for  the  “  gems  of  spring.”' 
Those  who  are  fortunate  in  having  a  light  rich  soihpossess  an  ideal 
one  for  bulb  growing.  At  the  present  season,  as  soon  as  flower  beds 
are  cleared  of  their  summer  occupants,  the  soil  should  he  prepared  for 
planting  bulbs.  A  dressing  of  well-decayed  manure  and  a  sprinkling 
of  soot  ought  to  be  given  previous  to  digging.  Old  hotbed  manure, 
which  has  been  turned  a  few  times  to  sweeten,  answers  the  purpose 
well ;  manure  in  a  fresh  state  should  never  be  used  in  beds  to  be 
planted  with  bulbs,  as  their  tender  fleshy  roots  will  not  penetrate  it 
until  by  decay  it  gradually  gives  up  to  the  soil  the  plant  food  it 
contains. 
During  ordinary  seasons  the  soil  is  quite  moist  in  October,  and 
when  such  is  the  case,  I  like  to  dig  on  a  fine  day,  allow  the  surface  of 
the  soil  to  dry  for  a  few  hours,  then  tread  and  level  with  the  rake  ready 
for  planting,  because  if  the  opportunity  is  once  missed,  days,  and  some¬ 
times  weeks,  elapse  before  the  soil  is  again  dry  enough  for  proper  prepara¬ 
tion,  which,  of  course,  greatly  delays  the  work  of  planting,  and  early 
planting  is,  above  all  things,  essential  to  success  in  bulb  culture.  In 
dealing  with  heavy  soil,  plenty  of  burnt  refuse  and  old  potting  soil 
should  be  incorporated  with  it  as  the  work  of  digging  proceeds,  and  if 
frosts  are  likely  to  occur  the  soil  should  ,be  thrown  up  roughly  to  their 
ameliorating  influence  for  a  week  or  ten  days  before  the  bulbs  are 
planted.  Such  attention  given  annually  for  a  few  years  will  reduce  a 
stubborn  soil  to  a  free  working  condition  suitable  for  the  roots  of  bulbs 
to  permeate  rapidly. 
Now  we  come  to  the  question  as  to  what  form  of  arrangement 
shall  we  adopt  ?  Tastes  differ  much  in  this  respect,  and  fortunately  in 
these  matters  we  do  not  now  allow  ourselves  to  be  bound  down  by  any 
“  unalterable  laws  ”  framed  by  dogmatic  authorities.  Still  there  are 
certain  important  points  which  have  to  be  borne  in  mind.  Let  us 
suppose  we  have  a  taste  fcr  masses  of  colour,  and  decide  to  plant  a 
certain  group  of  beds  with  Tulips  of  two  distinct  colours,  each  bed  to 
contain  one  colour  only,  the  alternate  beds  being  white  and  yellow,  or 
scarlet  and  white.  To  insure  the  desired  effect  it  is  necessary  that  the 
two  varieties  planted  should  flower  simultaneously.  There  are  plenty 
of  good  scarlet,  white,  and  yellow  Tulips  suitable  for  bedding  purposes 
which,  if  planted  at  the  same  time,  would  flower  at  widely  different 
periods.  When  this  happens  our  cherished  ideal  of  a  blaze  of  colour  is 
shattered,  in  its  place  we  get  a  succession  of  patches. 
Again,  beds  of  mixed  Tulips,  when  the  colours  are  well  blended  or 
contrasted,  form  pictures  of  wonderful  beauty,  which  the  eye  can  rest 
upon  and  admire  for  an  indefinite  time,  instead  of — as  in  the  case  of 
masses  —  seeing  its  whole  beauty  at  a  glance ;  but  the  picture  is 
marred,  we  might  say  entirely  spoilt,  if  the  flowers  of  some  of  the 
varieties  employed  have  faded  before  others  begin  to  open.  Here, 
agaiD,  we  want  simultaneity  of  flowering. 
Some  readers  may  here  exclaim,  Yes  !  but  it  is  a  moot  difficult 
matter  to  select  from  the  numerous  varieties  catalogued  those  of 
suitable  colour  which  flower  at  the  same  time.  Granted,  it  is  for 
those  who  do  not  make  special  study  of  the  matter ;  but,  good  reader, 
you  need  not  puzzle  your  brains  about  the  matter,  it  has  been  thought 
