Teachers' Leaflet. 551 



PLANTING OF FALL BULBS 

 JoHxN W. Spencer, 



Fall-planted bulbs are peculiarly adapted to children's gardens. 

 When once the conditions of planting have been complied with, good 

 results are almost certain to follow. This class of plants gives so much 

 and asks so little that the harvest seems much like getting something for 

 nothing. \'ery few weeds grow after the bulbs are planted in October, 

 and only a few make much headway in April and May when the bulbs 

 are at the height of their glory. If a farmer were as sure of an abundant 

 return by merely planting the seed with no after cultivation, agriculture 

 would be so simple and easy that the ignorant and the lazy could 

 succeed. 



In another chapter I have spoken of three grades of children's gardens 

 viz. — the apprentice, the journeyman, and the master-gardener. Among 

 the varieties of bulbs that I may hereafter mention, none will be too com- 

 plicated in management for the apprentice grade to undertake, and at 

 the coming of the robin and the bluebird in the spring, we all of us have 

 such a flower hunger that even the modest snowdrops find appreciation. 



There was a time when I thought that the pleasure of bulb-growing 

 was for the rich alone. That was years ago when I saw these flowers only 

 in the parks and on the lawns of the wealthy. That opinion was one of 

 inference, which is not always the best foundation for opinions. 



It is true, a paper of seeds of annuals cost but five cents and bulbs 

 are a little more expensive, but the number of seeds that germinate and 

 develop into productive plants is as uncertain as luck, and the seeds of 

 annuals must be planted each season and the same risks incurred ; whereas 

 if a daffodil be planted it remains a perennial possession, — certainly it is 

 a pleasure to me to care for those that mother planted many years ago 

 which have increased in number year by year. 



F[7/v "o^r plant a certain class of bulbs in the fall. 

 We call them fall bulbs because the fall months is the proper season 

 for planting them. There is a large group of them. Conditions neces- 

 sary for their best development are peculiar as compared with bulbs that 

 should be planted in the spring. Fall bulbs belong to the cold-loving 

 class of plants. 



Selection of bulbs for fall planting. 

 The question of the best way to order bulbs depends on the needs and 

 money resources of the one making the order. A dollar and a quarter will 

 not buy many bulbs, when " named " or rare varieties of hyacinths are 

 chosen, but when the choice of variety or color is left to the seedsman, 

 the sum will buy a hundred tulips. The reason that " mixed " lots in 



