BULBS AND TUBERS FOE OUT-DOOR CULTURE. 67 



one. Much has been said upon it, and we have much still to learn. 

 Experience, that best though sternest of tutors, is each day teach- 

 ing us something new. Sometimes the lesson is dearly bought, 

 but if the result is favorable we must not repine at the cost. But 

 results are often very aggravating, as, for instance, after we have 

 petted plants in the greenhouse or conservatory, if we find, by ex- 

 perimenting, that they do better out of doors, — either bedded out 

 or in a cold frame. 



There are no invariable rules for cultivating any plant, so much 

 depends on the location and exposure. Two gardens may be 

 found, growing side by side but where one only is sheltered from 

 northerly' winds, and these gardens will be in many respects en- 

 tirely unlike. The gardener should select the best places, or what 

 seem to be the best places, for his different plants, and if it proves 

 that the}^ do not thrive where placed, he must next 3'ear change 

 the location. No amount of obstinacy will make a plant grow if 

 it is not at home. I have changed plants, that did not thrive, 

 several times, and until they seemed to grow as if, at last, they 

 were exactl}' suited. There is no pleasure in growing a plant that 

 simply drags out a miserable existence. 



It is well, as far as practicable, to change every year the loca- 

 tion of many kinds of bulbs, and their kindred ; and of bedding 

 plants as well. One plant will absorb the element that another 

 has declined ; so that change is very beneficial. We must also 

 take special note of the country from which our tubers, etc. come, 

 and of its conditions of sun, soil, and climate. Some plants re- 

 quire partial shade, others the unobstructed rays of the sun. 



The careful student of nature takes note of all these matters, 

 and the result well repays him. I often hear one person say to 

 another " I wish I were as successful in my garden as you are in 

 yours," when I cannot help feeling amused, knowing how the 

 plants have been set out, and how cared for, in the unsuccessful 

 garden. I cannot think its owner intended to be negligent ; but 

 on the other hand I know that the envied one is a more thorough 

 student and more diligent in finding out how to make his plants 

 grow. 



Bulbs, tubers, and corms (or hard bulbs as the last are com- 

 monly called) are elongated root-stalks ; and are simply store- 

 houses for the embryo plant, serving to nourish and sustain it un- 

 til the roots start ; which is generally from the base. Bulbs enlarge 



