New-York tribune., 1902-09-07
SELECTION OF BULBS.
A WAY TO OBTAIN GOOD EFFECTS IN
COLOR COMBINATIONS.

The lover of flowers is guilty of a mistake ioi
which she is likely to suffer later if she neglects
to add bulbs to the other attractions OF her house
and garden. There is no other class of plants that
be successfully grown by the amateur
gardener nor one of which the flowers a1ord
greater satisfaction. Between the vanishing OF tiio
and the first appearance of the early ailiuaie
there is always an ugly interregnum of brown
lawns and empty flower beds. Then begins tldI
brilliant procession of the bulbs, beginning with
the first and ending only when the gay
pageantry of hyacinth, iris, narcissus and tuhp
merges into the fuller beauty and brightness Oh
the early summer.
Then. too, besides their beauty. what a wealth
Of romantic and historic interest clings about
them Iris. hyacinth. amaryllis. narclssus-"ld'
pictures of ancient loveliness and poetry the mere
names conjure UP. The mind is Immediately hlieo
with nymphs dryads, gods and goddesses anu
then. to down to comparatively modern times
what associations has the tulip. BY way of Venice
, and Vienna it found its way into Holland in the
sixteenth century. and the rich and luxury oNlhs
Dutchmen fell slaves to it the spot They
say that some tulip bulbs sent to an Ant
werp merchant who had them boiled for dinner
under the belief that they were some new ana
choice variety of onion. But the Hollanders knew
much to make that mistake Year by year the
flower waXed in stately splendor. growing more ac-
| climatized the lush fields and sleepy dykes OF
its foster country until in the seventeenth century
it had become not only fad. but a passion, cult
| A bulb sold for a kings ransom; men mort
to buy. There tulip market just as there was
| money market. and tulips went up and down. ana
| were quoted like so many stocks and bonds. 1t
nothing less than gamble IN winch
admiration of the flower and interest in its culture
were subsidiary considerations The tullpornaiia
it been christened, and while it tasted 1t ragged
| with vtrulence hard to appreciate now
THE JERSEY LILY.
Or take the so-caed Jersey lily really the Cuern-
sey lily of delicate beauty and spotless reputation
1t is native of Japan and came quite by accident
| to make its home in the Channel Islands Had II
| not been for the cruel winds and waves that
| wrecked English ship bound home from Japan
| on the biting reefs of the channel it might have
| remained unknown. except to oriental tfadltoh-
| The ship to pieces, her wreckage ana cargo
drifting and floating hither and yon, and prooaDIy
| no one gave thought to the brown little onion
like things bobbng about in the foam of the break
| ers Years afterward, in the reign of Charles H.
a Governor of the island who was something Oh Il
| botanist struck with the beauty OF a mower
! blooming in great profusion in the sandy reaches
| along the shore. He sent few of the oulps 10
| England, where the lily was taken up and cul'l-
waited, becoming a favorite there as well as
on the Continent. Now the spikes OF the soIdel
hearted flowers worth many hundredS Oh
| pounds in cold cash annually to the people OF
Guernsey, for though the flower Will 1--we ana VIII
| blossom elsewhere nowhere-not even i'll Jersey
does it attain such perfection as on the warm
sea sands of Guernsey.
Although persons plant their DulDS Ior thelt
spring gardens so early the beginning OF Sep
tember this is rather premature. Successful bulb
growers nearly always postpone planting unui the
middle of October. for twofold reason FlahI
too early and the plants may come up just in time
to be nipped and chilled by a belated snowstorhi
| and it is possible have only the labor LOT the
| pains. But defer the operation unduy and the
| formation of the roots will be checked by the
| too early approach of winter. This postponed
| growth must be resumed next spring. and that IN
| terferes with the towering. ana one gets only i'm
perfect stunted blooms.
Bulbs are greedy plants They crave deal OF
| food and it must he good. rich food too Even
roses the gluttons of the garden are scarcely
more exacting over their table. But the two call
for different For bulbs choose a sandy loam.
| light and susceptible to the warning influence of
| the meagre spring sun. with open drainage Dig
up the bed, rake level. then lay the bulbs on top
In the positions which 1t Is desired to keep them.
| Then with a trowel one may expedltiously go
| through them, making holes three or four inches
| deep and pressing the little tubers into the holes
| Crocuses will need 10 be planted two inches
| apart hyacnths. six; tulips Cor massing). two.