316 BULBOUS-ROOTED FLOWERS. 



potted, the top of the bulb should: bo level with the rim of tho 

 pot, and the soil half an inch below the rim, so as to admit of 

 easy watering. When first planted it should be watered copiously. 



After being potted they should be placed in a temperature ot 

 about fifty degrees, and not be watered again until the leaves 

 begin to grow. When these begin to start the pots may be 

 brought into a room where the temperature is about seventy 

 degrees, gradually increasing the watering as the leaves and 

 flower-scape increase in size. The best time for starting the. 

 bulbs into groAvth is in January, and the heat while the plant is 

 blooming should be hardly as great as after it is done blooming 

 and while it is perfecting its leaf growth. After that is per- 

 fected, which will usually be in July, the watering should be 

 gradually diminished, so that they may be at rest about the first 

 of October. While at rest they should be kept in a temperature 

 never lower than fifty degrees, and if possible, not much above 

 sixty degrees. 



While at rest they should never be watered again imtil they 

 begin to grow. When they are ready they will start, and water- 

 ing before this time only tends to injure the roots and produce 

 decay. As a rule they will begin to grow in January, and attain 

 their full growth in July. Just after they have attained their 

 full growth, which may be known by the leaves ceasing to 

 elongate, is the best time to re-pot the bulbs, if it be necessary ; 

 but re-potting should be avoided as long as the soil remains 

 sweet. After re-potting they will require to be kept in the shade 

 for a few days, until again established, giving just water enough 

 to prevent the leaves from flagging. Indeed, after the growth is 

 over, this is all the water that any of them wUl require. But in 

 treating these bulbs we should not be guided by the almanac, 

 but by the indications of the bulbs themselves. Sometimes 

 they will have completed their growth by May, and show a dis- 

 position to rest ; such a disposition should be humored, and 

 water withheld until the plant shows that it requires it again, 

 by starting once more into growth. Sometimes they wiU take 



