HARDY AND HALF-HARDY GARDEN BULBS. 373 



and then covered with mats, care being taken to leave 

 a part to open when the weather is fine. When the plants 

 are near flowering, a frame should be placed round them 

 to support an awning to shield them from the sun 

 and rain. As the bed is generally four feet wide, the 

 frame, which includes a walk round it, is about twelve 

 feet wide ; the length varies according to the extent of the 

 ground, or the number of bulbs to be planted. When 

 the flowers fall, and the leaves begin to turn yellow at 

 the tips, the bulbs may be taken up and laid on 

 shelves, with the root end uppermost, to dry. When 

 the fibrous roots are sufficiently withered to allow them to 

 be rubbed off, the bulbs may be placed in drawers or 

 boxed, where they must be kept dry until the season for 

 planting arrives. 



If the bulbs are not taken up they soon deteriorate, 

 the flowers returning to the original red self- color of the 

 species. 



The CROWN IMPERIALS (Fritillaria Imperialis) are the 

 most stately of spring bulbs. The varieties are yellow 

 and red, single and double, golden and silver-leaved, and 

 many named varieties, which do not, however, differ much 

 in color from those above named. 

 32 



