November  1,  1900. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
405 
Hyacintlis  in  Beds. 
It  has  now  become  quite  general  in  both  large  and  small  gardens 
to  have  one  or  more  beds  of  Hyacinths  out  ot  door.-',  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  is  here,  and  bulbs,  if  not  ready, 
should  be  procured  at  once. 
To  grow  Hyacinths  well  in  beds  the  soil  should  be  rich,  light, 
and  deep,  supposing  the  soil  in  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.  Level  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  manure  ;  then  mix 
the  soil  that  has  been  thrown  out  with  some  well-decomposed 
cow  manure,  leaf  mould,  and  plenty  of  river  or  sea  sand  well 
screened  ;  the  proportions  to  be  one  part  cow  manure,  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,  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.  I  may  just  remark  that  if  cow 
manure  cannot  be  precured  hotbed  refuse  well  decayed  will  do;  but 
I  greatly  pre  er  the  former  because  it  is  of  a  cooler  nature,  and 
generally  has  less  straw  among>t  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  up  at  each  end  high  enough  to  clear  the  bed  ; 
then  procure  a  dibber  to  pi  nt  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  aj  far  Irom  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  Hyacintn  should  have  at  least  5  inches  to  grow  in,  but  6  inches 
would  not  be  too  much  space  for  the  leaves  to  expand,  esiiecially  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  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  better  than  levelling  the  holes  with  a  rake,  because 
they  are  when  i-o  covered  sure  to  be  at  the  right  depth.  When  all  are 
planted,  rake  the  bed  very  lightly,  and  the  operation  is  complete. 
Tne  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.  When  this  is  scarce,  half-decayed  leaves  would  answer 
the  same  purpose,  or  a  mat  or  two  thrown  over  the  be!  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.  It  an  amateur  or  florist  cultivates  the  Hyacinth  in  long 
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  rains.  If  so  protected  the 
season  of  bloom  will  be  considerably  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  bells 
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  woul  1  injure 
them  touch  if  allowed  to  fall  upon  them.  When  the  leaves  are  all 
quite  decayed  dress  them  off  carefully,  without  bruising  the  bu  bs,  and 
then  put  them  away  in  a  dry  cool  room  till  the  planting  siason  comes 
round  again. — J. 
ImproviDg  Soil. 
Without  good  soil  it  is  quite  useless  to  plant  or  sow,  however 
favourable  the  season  may  be.  This  fact  is  so  self-evident  that  to  put 
it  on  p'per  appears  almost  an  absurdity ;  and  yet  do  we  not  constantly 
hear  it  said  that  soil  is  so  heavy,  stiff,  sodden,  cold,  that  timely 
planting  is  impossible?  Remember,  it  is  not  of  a  field  or  farm  land 
that  I  am  writing,  but  of  those  choice  morsels  of  mother  earth  termed 
gardens,  sometimes  defined  as  “  rich  well- cultivated  spots,”  so  precious 
as  to  be  enclosed  by  costly  walls  and  fences.  Now,  one  would 
naturally  suppose  that  when  a  portion  of  land  is  so  enclosed  it  would 
forthwith  be  brought  into  the  highest  possible  state  of  cultivation; 
but  this  is  very  Irequently  only  half  done,  the  unfinished  part,  the 
weak  point,  remains  unaltered  till  it  leads  to  almost  total  failure.  In  a 
cold  late  spring,  with  the  land  cold  and  damp,  soils  badly  drained  or 
deficient  in  gritty  matter  are  so  saturated  that  cropping  is  out  of  the 
question — a  serious  matter  when  a  steady  unbroken  supply  of 
vegetables  has  to  be  maintained. 
I  have  soil  in  various  stages  of  improvement,  from  a  barren  crude 
state,  up  to  a  light,  rich,  gritty — very  gritty — condition,  the  best  of 
which  I  consider  to  be  as  nearly  perfect  as  is  necessary  for  all 
practical  purposes.  It  is  thoroughly  drained,  is  rich  in  fertilising 
substances,  and  contains  so  large  a  proportion  of  gritty  matter — really 
coal  ashes  and  shattered  biicks — that  a  tool  will  pass  readily  through 
it,  however  wet  it  may  be  ;  so  that  seeds  may  be,  and  in  point  of  fact 
are,  sown  on  the  first  fine  day  in  a  season  of  undue  wetness.  In  the 
beginning  of  the  last  week  in  February  preparations  for  sowing 
vegetables  were  made  by  running  hoes  through  the  soil  in  the  morning ; 
and  in  the  afternoon  drills  were  made,  and  seed  sown  of  Brussels 
Sprouts,  Cauliflower,  early  Broccoli,  Cabbage,  Savoy,  Leek,  Turnip, 
Carrot,  Radish,  Lettuce,  Spinach,  Parsley,  and  Peas.  In  due  course 
the  crops  came  up  strongly  and  well  without  a  single  failure,  all  of 
them  proving  of  the  very  greatest  service.  Now  this  soil,  in  addition 
to  its  high  state  of  culture,  had  the  advantage  of  being  thrown  up 
roughly  in  autumn,  and  thus  lay  ready  to  my  hands  when  the 
opportune  fine  day  for  wh'ch  I  was  on  the  outlook  occurred. 
Let  no  one  suppose  that  I  possess  exceptional  advantages,  or  that 
what  1  have  done  may  not  be  accomplished  even  in  the  smallest 
gardens.  The  mistake  wnich  so  many  of  us  make  is  in  trying  to  do 
too  much  iu  the  first  instance.  To  improve  the  condition  ot  the  soil 
of  a  single  border  is  a  very  different  matter  to  applying  a  similar 
process  to  an  entire  garden,  and  yet  by  having  that  one  border  in 
suitable  condition  for  a  seed  bed  at  any  time  we  secure  a  supply  of 
seedlings  ready  for  transplantation  to  less  favoured  spots  later  on,  and 
yet  quite  early  enough  to  secure  good  and  seasonable  crops.  By  all 
means  let  us  cultivate  every  part  of  the  garden  as  well  as  we  can,  but 
in  doing  so  let  us  make  sure  of  having  a  certain  portion  in  a  condition 
of  high  excellence,  aiming  to  bring  the  remainder  up  to  our  standard,, 
however  slowly  it  may  have  to  be  done. 
Let  those  who  have  a  bad  soil, devote  attention  to  one  or  two  of  their 
borders  this  autumn.  Do  not  rest  content  with  just  putting  on  manure 
and  throwing  up  the  soil  roughly  to  frost  and  wind ;  but  first  of  all 
dig  it  over,  then  put  on  a  layer  ot  old  manure  and  hard  grit— road 
scrapings,  coal  ashes,  stones  broken  finely,  mortar  rubbish,  burnt  clay, 
or  shattered  bricks.  Any  of  these  will  answer  admirably,  provided 
you  use  enough,  say  6  or  9  inches,  of  manure  and  grit.  Stir  this  well 
into  the  soil,  turning  it  over  till  a  thorough  mixture  is  effected  ;  then 
lay  it  up  in  slight  ridges  or  in  any  rough  fashion  for  the  winter,  and 
whether  next  spring  prove  wet  or  fine  you  will  have  an  excellent  seed 
bed,  not  only  because  its  free  open  nature  will  enable  you  to  sow  at 
almost  any  time,  but  also  because  it  is  that  very  property,  combined 
with  its  richness,  which  will  insure  prompt  vegetation  and  a  free 
strong  growth. 
The  foregoing  formula  applies  generally  to  new  rather  than  to  old 
gardens ;  yet  strictly  speaking  it  is  applicable  to  all  soils  that  are  of  a 
poor,  close,  or  heavy  texture.  In  old  gardens  the  soil  is  very  frequently 
found'  to  contain  such  a  superabundance  of  humus  as  to  induce  a  soapy 
condition  in  a  wet  season.  The  best  corrective  for  this  is  a  free 
dressing  of  lime  and  coal  ashes,  after  making  sure  that  the  drainage  is 
all  right.  Many  a  garden  suffers  in  spring  from  defective  drainage, 
which,  in  addition  to  the  sodden  condition  of  the  soil,  or  rather  for 
that  very  reason,  induces  a  low  temperature  and  a  moisture-laden 
atmosphere  that  is  often  fatal  to  tender  vegetation. — L. 
