THE PLANT WORLD 237 



levied upon all land, those having large areas, which they hold for pur- 

 poses of speculation, will turn it into the Government rather than pay 

 taxes on what yields them no income. If they do this small grants can 

 be made in the regular manner to thrifty young men anxious to provide 

 for their families, and in this way much idle land may become produc- 

 tive. Whatever action we may take, however, we do not wish to be unjust ; 

 nor is it to the interest of the island to discourage stock-raising or the 

 breeding of carabaos, several herds of which, I am told, are to be found 

 in the interior of the island. 



This afternoon there was an auction of Spanish army property. Don 

 Gregorio Perez bought some of the old field carriages, for the sake of the 

 iron tires of the wheels, I suppose. I bought one or two cane-bottom 

 bed-frames and a large ammunition chest with sloping lids. I can keep 

 my plants in this and there will be no danger from rain, hurricanes, nor 

 earth-quakes. 



Began building a stone wall between my property and that of Atanasio 



Taitano, the neighbor on my west. He is going to let me have a small 



piece of land, so as to make my wall run straight to the street back of 



my property. Don Jose Herrero and Don Pedro Duarte walked with me 



to the place which I have picked out for my chicken ranch on the other 



side of the river. The site is beautiful, overlooking the broad marsh, 



with its islands of coconut trees on the west, and the great ocean on the 



north. Susana says she does not see why I have to climb a hill to look 



at the ocean, when I can see it by walking down to the beach. She 



highly approves of the chicken-ranch project. There are about forty 



coconut trees on the place, the area of which is about two and a half 



hectares. They are old and spindling, and are not very productive. 



The land is said to be pretty well '^ ca7isado,'' or "tired," and not fit 



for cultivation. 



[to be continued.] 



Planting Bulbs in the Fall. — The time to prepare for the spring feast 

 of flowers is in the fall, says Country Life in America. Too often people 

 forget all about it until they see the tulips in the parks or in their neigh- 

 bors' gardens, and then they hie to the bulb-seller in a quest for bulbs. 

 Generally speaking, from the middle of October until the ground is 

 closed with frost, the bulbs for spring flowering may be planted. Some 

 of the species are late in ripening, — lily-of-the-valley, for instance, — and 

 so the planting stock is not available until November. In our northern 

 climate frost and snow may have made their appearance before these are 

 procurable, so the expedient of covering the ground where they are to be 

 planted must be adopted. Coarse bagging spread over the ground and 

 a covering of three or four inches of leaves, hay, or litter of any kind 

 will answer. 



