Democratic Sentinel, Volume 7, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 March 1883 — The Treatment of Bulbs. [ARTICLE]

The Treatment of Bulbs.

An ounce of nitrate of soda dissolved in four gallons of water is said to be a quick and good stimulant for bulbs, to be applied twice a week after the pots are filled with roots and the flower spikes are fairly visible. A large handful of soot, or about a pint, tied up in a piece of old canvas and immersed in the same quantity of water for a day or two will give you a safe and excellent stimulant; also good and safe is a quarter of a pound of fresh cow-dung mixed in a large garden pot of water and used as required. Any of these stimulants will do good, as the whole of them applied alternately will benefit bulbs that need more sustenance than the soil affords.