HARDY PLANTS FORCING 415 



tip of the bulbs. They are then watered freely and placed 

 in frames or in a bulb cellar. 



After the flowers develop, they should not be placed 

 in direct sunlight, for the petals are delicate and they wilt 

 easily or are burned. For a succession of flowers, the 

 bulbs should be potted early, and a number of pans or 

 flats should be brought into the house about once in two 

 weeks. The early single varieties are best suited for 

 forcing. It is difficult to get satisfactory tulips in flower 

 for Christmas. The Due van Thols are the earliest. 



685. Outdoor culture. Outdoor tulips are cultivated 

 in much the same way as are hyacinths and narcissi. 

 They lend themselves well to either formal -or informal 

 methods of treatment. They are, however, more satis- 

 factory when planted in borders than in formal beds. 

 Pansies, forget-me-nots and English daisies make excel- 

 lent ground covers when planted among them. All types 

 are attractive, but the varieties of Darwins are especially 

 so. The early varieties are more likely to be injured by 

 late spring frosts. The bulbs should be planted outdoors 

 from September to November, planting them four inches 

 deep to bottom of bulb, and four or five inches apart, 

 while care should be taken to put bulbs at the same depth. 

 Uniform colors should be selected for planting in the same 

 bed. If tulips are planted in too protected a spot, they 

 will start too early in the spring. 



686. Crocus, botanical classification. Order, Irida- 

 cese ; genus, Crocus (Greek name for saffron) ; species, 

 wrnus and susianus. 



687. Crocus, botanical characters. Crocus are stem- 

 less plants with grass-like leaves rising from the ground. 

 They spring from a solid corm. The flowers are showy, 

 white, purple, striped or yellow; funnel-shaped and up- 



