FOR BEDDING OUT. 85 



v 



PRESERVING THE TUBERS IN WINTER. 



WHEN the flowering is over, and the tops have been touched by the first 

 slight frost, take the tubers up, having previously labelled and marked them 

 as to colour, height, etc., as a guide for the following season, and store them 

 away in pots or boxes, with a little half-dry coco-nut fibre around the tubers. 

 (See also p. 55.) 



Should it be considered safe to leave them in the ground, each plant or 

 row of plants should, especially if the tubers are near the surface, be covered 

 with a heap of ashes, coco-nut fibre refuse, or moss, to a depth of six or 

 eight inches, which will exclude a considerable degree of frost. If, however, 

 the ground is likely to require fresh nourishment, it would be better to lay 

 on a few inches of short, partly-decayed manure, in a somewhat dry and 

 flaky condition, and over this some dry bracken or litter. This last can 

 be removed early in spring, and the manure then carefully forked in between 

 the plants, will be found to benefit them considerably. 



