194 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
August  28,  1902. 
Bulbs  for  Early  Forcing. 
Bulbs  for  early  forcing  ought  to  be  potted  or  boxed  within 
the  next  week  or  two,  as  a  frequent  c.uise  of  failure  in  early 
batches  is  that  they  are  taken  into  heat  before  they  have  sent  out 
plenty  of  active  roots.  I  know  that  one  may  occasionally  meet 
with  an  individual  who  professes  to  be  able  to  manage  such 
matters  better  than  ordinary  mortals,  they  pride  themselves  on 
their  ability  to  introduce  bulbs  into  a  sharp  heat  a  few  weeks 
after  potting  has  taken  place,  and  yet  to  get  wonderful  results. 
I,  however,  have  never  been  fortunate  enough  to  achieve  suc¬ 
cess  by  such  haphazard  methods;  to  me  the  old  dictum,  “get  the 
roots  thoroughly  in  advance  of  the  growth,”  appeals  as  strongly 
as  it  ever  did,  and  at  present  I  can  see  no  prospect  of  Nature 
reversing  the  order  of  her  ways  in  this  respect. 
If  those  intended  for  early  forcing  are  potted  now  in  sweet 
friable  soil,  and  plunged  in  cocoa-nut  fibre  in  the  open  air,  by  the 
time  the  tops  have  grown  an  inch  or  two  the  soil  will  have  become 
permeated  with  healthy  roots.  Those  who  have  hitherto  found  a 
difficulty  in  getting  suitable  soil  should  try  cocoa-nut  fibre,  as 
nearly  all  bulbs  thrive  splendidly  in  it.  Another  excellent  plan 
is  to  mix  one-third  of  this  useful  material  with  the  potting 
soil. 
White  Roman  Hyacinths  must,  of  course,  be  included  among 
the  bulbs  requiring  early  attention.  During  the  last  two  years 
they  have  been  so  expensive  that  it  is  a  pity  a  substitute  cannot 
be  found  ;  for  market  purposes  there  is  but  little  if  any  money  to 
be  made  by  growing  them  to  supply  cut  flowers.  Those  who  have 
bulbs  which  were  forced  last  year  should  pick  out  the  best  and 
pack  them  closely  in  boxes.  If  these  are  brought  on  steadily  they 
will  supply  numbers  of  small  spikes  suitable  for  use  when  making 
wreaths  and  button-holes,  as  large  spikes  have  often  to  be 
reduced  in  size  for  such  purposes.  The  white  Italians  come  in 
very  useful  for  spring  work.  Last  spring  I  saw  a  fine  breadth  of 
the  wild  white  Hyacinth  in  a  wood,  and  it  struck  me'  that  if 
taken  in  hand  and  cultivated  well  it  would  make  a  splendid  pot 
plant,  and  it  is  quite  possible  it  might  force  well. 
Among  the  Narcissus,  Paper-white  grandiflora,  and  Double 
Roman,  are  excellent  for  private  establishments,  as  they  may  be 
flowered,  with  ease  by  the  first  week  in  November,  and  the  latter 
has  cheapness  as  well  as  great  utility  to  commend  it.  Poeticus 
crnatus  ought  also  to  be  potted  early,  although  it  will  not  bear 
very  sharp  forcing.  Ard  Righ  (giant  yellow  trumpet),  and  the 
Double  Van  Sion,  are  well  known  to  be  excellent  for  early 
forcing,  provided  the  bulbs  are  potted  during  August.  Where 
large  quantities  of  cut  flowers  are  required  Princeps  should  be 
extensively  grown,  as  notwithstanding  its  low  price  it  is  one  of 
the  most  showy  pale  yellow  kinds,  and  it  forces  splendidly. 
Tulips,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  varieties,  are>  much  lower 
in  price  than  last  year,  and  for  flowering  from  the  middle  of 
November  till  Christmas,  I  know  of  nothing  better  than  Due 
Van  Tholl  (scarlet),  and  Rose,  the  latter  variety  will  usually 
flower  slightly  earlier  than  the  former.  For  an  early  white 
LTmmaculee,  or  a  good  strain  of  La  Reine,  are  excellent  if  really 
good  bulbs  are  obtained.  White  Pottebakker  comes  in  a  little 
later,  and  when  it  does  come,  the  flowers  are  superior  to  the 
other  whites  named.  The  scarlet  and  yellow  Pottebakkers  are 
also  splendid  for  flowering  simultaneously  with  the  white  type. 
I  have  only  dealt  with  a  few  good  things"  for  very  early  forcing, 
other  notes  I  hope  to  add  in  due  time. — H.  D. 
- - ..#•» - 
Growing  Asparagus  on  the  “American  Method.” 
A  correspondent  writes: — “I  have  been  reading  Mr.  F.  M. 
Hexamer’s  book  on  Asparagus  growing  in  America;  what  do 
you  think  of  their  plans  of  not  touching  the  subsoil,  but  culti¬ 
vating  the  top  soil  very  well  and  growing  on  the  level,  plants 
3ft.  apart  in  the  rows,  and  4ft  between  the  rows?  This  would 
make  work  easier  and  cheaper,  but  could  one  expect  such  good 
returns  as  in  the  way  you  advised  me,  namely,  bastard  trench¬ 
ing  the  ground,  and  mixing  the  manure  in  the  bottom  spit  as 
well  as  the  top?  I  am  thoroughly  satisfied  with  your  plan, 
but  thought  that  by  the  other  way  one  could  put  down  a  lot 
of  ground  quickly.  I  have  four  acres  of  Sainfoin,  three  years 
old  ;  I  want  to  get  it  into  form  for  Asparagus  beds.  I  am  told 
that  my  best  plan,  from  a  farming  point  of  view,  is  to  plough 
in  the  Sainfoin  and  put  it  down  in  Wheat;  then  after  I  have 
gathered  the  crop  next  year  it  will  be  in  a  much  better  state 
for  cleaning.  There  are  wireworms  in  my  Asparagus  beds,  and 
consequently  moles,  which  make  the  beds  very  light;  what  had 
I  better  do?  Is  there. anything  that  will  kill  Bellvine?” 
[The  so-called  American  method  is  simply  an  old-fashioned 
British  practice,  there  being  many  acres  of  land  in  this  country 
under  Asparagus,  the  subsoil  of  which  has  not  been  broken  up, 
but  the  top  soil  being  very  well  done  in  mat  taps  of  manuring 
and  tillage,  the  Asparagus  being  grown  on  the  level,  and  the 
plants  3ft  apart  in  the  rows,  and  4ft  between  the  rows.  It  is 
a  garden  plan,  to  the  writer’s  knowledge,  practised  over  half 
a  .pentury  with  a  view  to  produce  very  fine  heads.  The  system 
is  only  adaptable  where  the  subsoil  is  of  an  open  nature,  such  as 
sandy,  though  on  very  stiff  soil  it  would  be  worse  than  worth¬ 
less  bringing  up  stubborn  material,  breaking  up  and  leaving 
being  quite  a  different  matter,  and  then  doing  the  top  soil  well, 
fairly  good  Asparagus  may  be  grown  on  the  so-called  American 
method.  Of  course  the  produce,  will  be  less  in  the  first  two  or 
three  years  of  cutting.  We  advise  the  method  you  have  found 
successful,  and  as  for.  the  four  acres  now  under  Sainfoin  intended 
for  Asparagus,  you  could  not  do  better  than  plough  in  the  Sain¬ 
foin,  and  put  the  land  down  in  Wheat,  then  after  you  have 
gathered  the  crop  next  year  we  should  bastard  trench  the  land, 
enrich  the  subsoil  as  well  as  the  top  soil,  in  every  way  adhering 
to  our  previous  advisement.  If  you  like  to  speculate,  you  may 
clean  the  ground  as  well  as  you  can  after  the  Wheat,  manure 
and  plant  in  the  spring  following.  It  will  cost  less,  but  as  for 
the  result  we  take  no  responsibility,  our  experience  being  that 
nothing  pays  so  well  as  thorough  cultivation.  ' 
The  wirewerm  would  be  best  overcome  by  dressing  the 
ground  with  mustard  leaves,  l£cwt.  per  acre,  and  as  for  the 
moles  they  should  be  trapped.  There  is  not  anything  that  will 
kill  Bellvine  or  Bindweed  without  also  injuring  other  plants, 
though  heavy  dressings  of  salt,  lOcwt.  per  acre,  are  useful 
against  it  and  couch  grass.  The  thing  is  to  free  the  ground 
of  the  roots  as  much  as  possible,  and  keep  the  tops  pulled  as 
often  as  made,  thus  weakening  the  underground  part,  and 
ultimately  causing  its  destruction.] 
- »  —  i  —  « - 
Notes  on  Conifers. 
Conifers  can  scarcely  be  termed  town  trees,  for  many  of 
them  will  not  thrive  very  well  in  a  smoke-laden  atmosphere 
or  impure  surroundings.  Nevertheless,  they  are  often  found 
in  gardens  in  the  neighbourhood  of  large  towms,  but  they 
are  often  very  sickly  looking  specimens.  Perhaps  one 
reason  may  be  because  they  are  planted  in  unsuitable  posi¬ 
tions.  One  may  often  notice  that  they  ai’e  planted  round 
about  dwelling  houses  and  other  buildings  as  a  kind  of  pro¬ 
tection  or  screen,  and  very  often  in  soil  that  is  not  at  all 
suitable.  To  obtain  good  specimens  of  many  kinds  they 
must  be  planted  in  good  soil,  that  does  not  get  very  dry 
during  the  summer,  and  be  in  sheltered  or  nartly  sheltered 
situations.  There  are  some  places  in  England  where  most 
Conifers  do  well,  but  in  a  general  way  they  grow  best,  I 
believe,  in  Scotland,  where  the  climate  is  more  cool  and 
moist  during  the  summer.  There  are  some  few  species  that 
are  suitable  for  town  gardens,  but  they  do  not  last  very  long 
in  a  healthy  condition. 
Propagation  may  be  effected  in  several  ways,  the  most 
natural  method  being  by  seed.  When  many  of  the  species 
were  first  introduced  into  this  country,  great  difficulty  was 
experienced  in  obtaining  seed.  Many  that  are  grown  from 
seed  at  the  present  time  were  propagated  by  necessity  from 
cuttings.  The  Pine  and  Fir  tribe  are  generally  raised  Horn 
seed  ;  several  may  be  increased  by  cuttings,  as  well  as  by 
seed,  such  as  the  Retinosporas,  Cupressus,  some  of  the 
Junipers,  and  some  others.  Some  are  grafted  and  inarched, 
and  others  may  be  increased  by  layering.  The  seed  is  sown 
in  the  spring,  March  and  April  being  the  best  months.  It 
takes  several  weeks  for  it  to  germinate  ;  in  some  cases  ger¬ 
mination  will  not  take  place  for  one,  and  even  two,  years. 
The  young  plants  of  many  Conifers  grow  very  slow  for  the 
first  year  or  two.  A  short  time  since  I  was  shown  a  bed  of 
Yew  seedlings  in  variety,  that  was  sown  in  the  spring  of 
1896,  and  as  far  as  I  remember  they  were  only  about  2in  or 
3in  high. 
Propagation  by  cuttings  should  take  place  in  August  or 
September ;  some  kinds  may  be  rooted  in  the  open  border, 
but  a  more  satisfactory  way  is  to  put  them  in  a  frame,  or  in 
pots.  The  frame  should  be  in  a  shady  position.  The  cut¬ 
tings,  which  must  be  about  Gin  long,  taken  with  a  heel,  be 
inserted  firmly  in  nice  sandy  soil.  Cuttings  put  in  pots 
should  remain  in  the  frame  during  winter,  where  they  will 
get  well  callussed.  They  may  then  be  introduced  to  a  little 
bottom  heat  in  spring,  wThen  they  will  soon  become  well 
rooted.  It  will  then  be  necessary  to  pot  them  and  gradually 
harden  off.  - 
In  preparing  these  notes  I  have  obtained  valuable  in¬ 
formation  from  Veitch’s  “  Manual  of  Coniferse.  Anyone 
who  may  be  interested  in  the  culture  of  these  trees  and 
shrubs  will  find  it  a  great  help. — Pinus. 
