THE GROWING 



All bulbs like a rich, well-drained, mellow 

 soil. They will not do well in heavy soils, and 

 a great deal of moisture about their roots is 

 fatal to them. Therefore in selecting a place 

 for them choose one naturally well drained, if 

 possible. If you are not sure of good, natural 

 drainage, set about providing a means of 

 escape for surplus water by excavating the soil 

 to the depth of at least a foot eighteen inches 

 would be better and filling in at the bottom 

 of the excavation with from four to six inches 

 of broken pottery, brick, old cans, anything, 

 in fact, which will not decay readily and allow 

 the soil above it to settle back into its former 

 hardness, and thus become as retentive of mois- 

 ture as it was before anything was done with it. 

 Too little attention is given to this part of 

 the work, and the result of the neglect is soon 

 seen in the failure of the bulbs to bloom, and 

 their entire disappearance in a year or two. 

 If you cannot provide good drainage, do not 

 undertake to grow them. Failure is a fore- 

 gone conclusion if your bulbs have to stand 

 with their roots in mud at the time when active, 

 healthy growth ought to be taking place. 



In making a bulb-bed, throw up the soil and 

 let it remain exposed to air and sunshine until 



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