JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
October  7,  1897. 
P>40 
CAMASSIA  ESCULENTA. 
Camassia  ESCULENTA  (fig.  52)  is  not  a  very  widely  known  plant,  but  it 
has  some  claims  to  recognition  which  it  may  be  well  to  advance.  In  the  first 
place,  when  it  has  pushed  up  several  stout  stems  surmounted  by  racemes 
of  bright  blue  flowers  in  summer  it  is  an  object  which  most  persons 
admire,  and  in  the  second  place  it  is  no  delicate  or  tender  plant,  requiring 
careful  nurture  to  bring  it  to  perfection,  but  it  is  vigorous,  hardy,  and 
accommodating.  To  these  recommendations  it  may  be  added  that  the 
bulbs  are  cheap  and  very  easily  grown.  We  first  made  the  acquaintance 
of  this  plant  in  the  garden  of  a  great  flower  lover,  an  amateur  whose  love 
of  gardening  had  concentrated  itself  in  an  intense  passion  for  hardy 
flowers.  He  thought  very  highly  of  it,  finding  it  not  only  extremely 
decorative  in  the  garden  but  of  considerable  value  for  cutting.  We 
also  admired  it  greatly,  and  returned  thanks  for  the  promise  of  a  few 
bulbs  in  the  autumn,  but  which  promise  was  not  kept.  They  are  to  be 
bought  from  the  majority  of  seedsmen  in  autumn,  and  could  no  doubt  be 
had  now  from  most  advertisers  of  bulbs.  They  should  be  planted  at 
once  towards  the  middle  of  the  border,  as  they  grow  about  18  inches 
high,  well  working  the  soil  previous  to  inserting  them,  and  covering  them 
2  inches  deep.  They  may  also  be  grown  in  pots,  jilacing  them  half  an  inch 
below  the  surface,  employing  rich  porous  soil,  and  plunging  in  cocoa  nut 
fibre  refuse  for  a  few  weeks  prior  to  placing  in  the  greenhouse.  On 
looking  up  the  habitat  of  Camassia  esculenta  we  find  it  is  a  native  of  North 
America,  and  the  bulbs  are  said  to  be  eaten  by  the  Indians,  hence, 
presumably,  its  specific  name.  The  tastes  of  the  Bed  ]\Ian  are  not, 
however,  such  as  we  care  to  copy,  and  we  can  very  well  content  ourselves 
with  growing  the  Camassia  for  the  sake  of  its  flowers,  which,  as  the 
engraving  will  indicate,  are  extremely  attractive. 
NOTES  ON  BULBS. 
Hyacinths. 
When  the  last  instalment  of  these  notes  came  to  a  conclusion  on 
page  288,  we  had  brought  the  bulbs  to  that  stage  where  feeding  was 
commenced  as  they  advanced  to  the  flowering  stage,  and  we  would 
now  take  up  the  line  from  there.  Opinions  vary  very  considerably  on 
the  question  of  staking,  which  is  in  almost  all  cases  an  absolute 
necessity,  for  the  spikes  when  well  grown  are  too  top-heavy  to  stand 
in  an  upriglit  position.  Some  growers  use  pieces  of  stout  wire  cut  to 
the  desired  length,  but  for  my  own  part  I  prefer  neat  wooden  stakes, 
either  green  or  white.  Whether  painted  or  not,  it  is  obvious  that 
they  must  be  put  as  closely  to  the  spike  as  possible,  or  they  will 
become  unsightly.  To  obviate  this  the  sticks  should  be  very  sharp- 
pointed,  when  they  may  be  forced  into  the  bulb  itself  and  will  not  do 
it  any  material  injury,  provided  they  are  not  pushed  in  too  far.  For 
tying,  of  course  the  thinnest  pieces  of  raffia  ought  to  be  used,  and  these 
can  with  patience  be  so  hidden  by  the  bells  as  to  be  absolutely  imper¬ 
ceptible.  If  the  plants  are  to  be  exhibited  their  good  appearance  is 
enhanced  by  placing  the  jict  containing  the  bulb  within  a  larger  one, 
surrounding  it  with  damp  moss  and  surfacing  the  -whole  wuth  natural 
furnishing  moss.  This  acts  admirably  as  a  foil  for  the  flowers,  and  the 
colour  effect  is  considerably  heightened. 
Let  us  now  pass  for  a  moment  to  the  varieties,  of  wdiich  there  are 
scores  of  all  colours  amongst  the  singles,  and  lesser  numbers  though 
still  plenty  for  selection  of  the  doubles.  Some  growers  go  in  for  the 
greatest  possible  number  of  distinct,  or  so-called  distinct,  varieties,  but 
this  has  never  been  my  practice,  as  I  am  strongly  of  the  opinion  that 
with  a  reasonably  limited  selection  the  best  results  can  be  achieved. 
I  have  one  or  two  prime  favourites  of  red,  white,  blue,  and  yellow,  and 
of  these  I  grow  several  bulbs,  while  of  others  not  so  popular  the  stock 
is  restricted’to  two  or  three  of  each,  these  being  desirable  for  the  sake 
of  change.  For  example,  of  La  Grandesse  we  always  have  two  or 
three  dozen  and  the  same  of  La  Franchise,  and  thus  insure  a  number 
of  pure  and  tinted  whites  of  the  first  quality.  Similarly  Grand 
Maitre  and  King  of  the  Blues  receive  good  attention  amongst  the 
blues,  while  reds  are  represented  by  the  charming  Von  Schiller  and 
the  brilliant  Vuurbaak.  As  the  yellows  of  the  best  quality  are 
much  scarcer  the  only  one  grown  in  quantity  is  Ida,  which  if  older 
than  many  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  useful.  Doubles  wm  are  not 
very  much  entranced  with,  as  the  majority  of  them  produce  spikes 
that  are  somewhat  loose,  but  below  will  be  found  a  brief  selection  of 
the  best  that  -we  have  tried  of  this  section.  As  few  growers  will 
confine  themselves  to  half  a  dozen  varieties  we  purpose  now  naming 
several  others  that  can  be  recommended  strongly  for  their  excellent 
properties,  if  sound  bulbs  are  procured  from  a  reliable  source. 
Giving  precedence  to  the  blues  as  being  alphabetically  first  on  the 
list,  we  shall  find  abundance  of  material  from  which  to  choose.  Let 
us  not  omit  to  insert  here  Grand  Maitre  and  King  of  the  Blues,  to 
wnich  we  wiU  add  ten  to  give  a  dozen,  as  this  will  be  more  than 
enough  for  the  majority  of  people.  Czar  Peter,  usually  described  as 
porcelain  blue,  is  a  first-rate  variety,  as  is  Grand  Lilas,  which  can  go 
as  a  companion  to  King  of  the  Blues,  this  latter  being  Oxfoi  d  and  the 
formef  Cambridge  blue.  For  a  rich  purple  we  have  not  found  one 
superior  to  Souvenir  de  J.  H.  Veen,  though  several  have  been  more 
recently  introduced.  King  of  the  Blacks  needs  no  descriptive  word. 
Blondin  is  old,  but  undoubtedly  good,  its  greyish  blue  flowers  with 
their  silvery  sheen  being  very  beautiful.  The  wliite-edged  bright 
blue  bells  of  Lord  Palmerston  are  always  admired,  as  are  the  handsome 
light  blue  spikes  of  Leonidas.  The  veteran  William  the  First  is  still 
worthy  of  inclusion  amongst  the  dark,  as  is  the  equally  aged  Charles 
Dickens,  which  is  blue  shaded  with  purple.  This  bring  us  to  eleven, 
and  as  a  twelfth  we  will  add  Lord  Derby,  -^yhich  when  seen  in  good 
form  is  quite  equal  to  any  of  the  foregoing. 
In  making  a  selection  of  a  similar  number  of  reds  we  would  add 
to  the  two  already  named  Queen  of  Hyacinths,  carmine  in  colour  and 
very  pretty;  Belle  Quirine,  bright  rose  Avith  lighter  stripes;  Cavaignac, 
a  soft  pleasing  salmon ;  and  Countess  of  Rosebery,  dark  red,  to  make 
the  first  half  dozen.  Then  we  would  follow  with  King  of  the  Belgians. 
This  is  a  very  good  variety,  the  colour  being  bright  red  and  the  bells 
well  set  on  the  spike.  The  large  trusses  of  Fabiola  would  be  missed 
if  omitted,  as  would  the  delicate  piuk-hued  flowers  of  Gigantea,  which 
is  one  of  the  closest  in  the  truss  that  Ave  have  grown.  Linnaeus,  deep 
carmine,  and  Macaulay,  carmine  striped,  are  both  Avorthy  of  inclusion, 
while  to  exclude  Diebitz  Sabalkansky,  scarlet,  Avould  be  an  error. 
There  can  be  no  necessity  to  groAV  as  many  as  a  dozen  A-arieties  of 
white  varieties,  so  the  number  named  will  be  restricted  to  eiaht,  and 
we  will  make  up  the  dozen  with  four  yelloAvs.  jMadame  Van  der 
Hoop,  though  really  a  pure  white,  shoAvs  traces  of  a  slight  tint  occa¬ 
sionally  ;  but  this  rather  adds  to  than  detracts  from  its  beauty. 
Another,  with  large  bells,  is  Mont  Blanc,  and  the  same  may  be  said  of 
Alba  Maxima.  Very  charming  too  are  Grandeur  a  IMerveille  and 
Leviathan,  Avhich  are  both  blush  in  colour,  and  these,  with  Alba  superb- 
issima,  and  the  two  already  noted,  will  give  us  our  selection  of  eight. 
Of  yellows  we  should  add  to  Ida,  Bird  of  Paradise,  King  of  Holland, 
and  La  Pluie  d’Or,  each  of  Avhich  is  very  good  in  its  way.  The  violet 
and  mauve  varieties  we  do  not  touch,  as  they  are  not  popular  in  our 
establishment,  and  mention  has  only  been  made  of  those  of  which  we 
have  had  personal  experience. 
Our  collection  of  doubles  is  always  limited  to  one  dozen  A’arieties, 
allotted  in  the  following  manner : — Four  each  red  and  white,  three 
blue,  and  one  yellow  ;  and  though  we  do  not  groAV  exactly  the  same 
each  year,  the  best  results  have  been  achieved  Avith  the  under¬ 
mentioned.  Still  giving  the  blues  the  premier  place,  we  commend  to 
all  Laurens  Koster,  rich  ymrple:  Blocksberg,  light  blue;  and  Charles 
Dickens,  blue  Avith  a  shade  of  purple,  as  forming  a  good  trio.  First 
of  the  whites  must  be  La  Tour  d’Auvergne,  Avhich  is  early  and 
excellent  for  forcing,  while  to  it  we  Avould  add  Princess  Alice,  Bouquet 
Royal,  and  Lord  Anson,  the  first  two  being  pure  Avhite,  and  the  latter 
pair  tinted.  Of  reds  we  always  grow  Koh-i-Noor,  and  usually 
Noble  par  M^rite.  I'or  tw'o  others  try  Grootvorst,  blush,  and  Louis 
Napoleon,  bright  red.  The  double  yellow  Avith  which  we  have  had 
the  most  persistent  success  is  Jaune  Supreme.  With  these  the  list 
maybe  c'osed,  and  we  think  .that  well-grown  plants  will  be  certain 
to  give  satisfaction.  It  will  be  observed  that  no  very  expensive 
varieties  are  included ;  this  is  because  our  annual  allowance  for  bulbs 
Avill  not  permit  of  the  purchase  of  those  which  cost  2s.  or  3s.  apiece. 
Like  many  others,  aa’c  have  to  cut  according  to  our  cloth. 
In  the  issue  of  the  Journal  of  Horticulture  for  August  19th, 
page  171,  there  appeared  over  the  initial  of  “  S.”  an  excellent  article  on 
the  culture  of  Roman  Hyacinths,  so  that  it  will  be  superfluous  for  us 
to  give  details  here.  Suffice  it  to  say  the  treatment  there  recommended 
has  been  proved  to  be  in  all  its  details  gooff.  Our  earliest  Romans  are 
making  good  growths,  but  it  is  not  until  Christmas  and  the  New  Year 
that  we  experience  any  particular  demand  for  them,  though  they  are 
much  appreciated  earlier. — H.  Rose. 
(To  be  continued.) 
THE  PLEASURES  OF  FRUIT  OROWINO. 
( Concluded  from  page  306.) 
The  other  example  is  of  a  different  character,  but  not  less 
interesting.  A  farmer  determined  to  test  for  himself  the  possibilities 
of  hardy  Iruit  culture,  and  commenced  the  investigation  cautiously 
but  judiciously.  He  had  experienced  the  difficulties  of  ordinary 
farming,  and  possessing  the  freehold  of  some  20  acres  of  land,  he 
thought  that  planting  a  portion  of  this  Avith  fruit  would  furnish  him 
Avith  change  and  recreation,  while  it  might  yield  his  family  some 
return  in  after  years.  The  result  has  been  that  in  about  a  dozen 
years  he  relinquished  his  original  occupation,  and  now  devotes  himself 
entirely  to  fruit  groAving,  with  manifest  satisfaction  to  himself  from 
every  point  of  vieAv.  The  employment  was  a  jileasurable  study  to 
him  at  first,  and  it  now  combines  both  pleasure  and  profit,  the  latter 
in  a  degree  that  had  not  been  anticipated. 
