230 THE FLOWER-GARDEN. [CHAP. VIIL 



those bulbs that form every year below the old 

 bulb sink so low in the course of a few years 

 that they become too far removed from the air 

 to vegetate; while those that form above the old 

 bulb are pushed so high out of the ground that 

 they are often killed by frost or drought. In 

 this way, valuable plants often disappear from 

 gardens, without their owners having the 

 slightest suspicion of the cause. It is, how- 

 ever, not necessary to take up the common 

 garden bulbs, such as the snowdrop, the crown- 

 imperial, the corn flag, and others which form 

 their new bulbs at the side of the old bulb ; and 

 even the finest kinds of Gladiolus succeed best 

 when left in the ground and covered during 

 frosty weather with dead leaves, litter, or some 

 other substance which may serve not only as a 

 covering, but as a manure. When raised from 

 seed, bulbs are generally from three to five years 

 before they produce flowers ; and they are never 

 propagated by layers or cuttings. 



Tulip. — Experienced florists raise tulips from 

 seed to obtain new varieties ; but, as the young 

 bulbs are frequently from five to seven years 

 before they flower, this mode of propagating 

 tulips does not suit amateurs. Even when seed- 

 ling tulips do flower they produce only self- 

 coloured flowers for the first two or three years, 

 and in this state they are called breeders. To 

 make them break, that is, produce the brilliant 

 and distinct colours which constitute the beauty 

 of a florists' tulip, they are subjected to the most 

 sudden and violent changes of soil, climate, and 

 management. At one time, they are grown in 

 poor soil, and only allowed enough water to 



