BULBS. 633 



poured upon the ground after planting. It is a tender annual, 

 fifteen feet high. 



BULBS. 



Tuberose. Of all the summer flowering bulbous plants, the 

 tuberose is most desirable. The flowers are waxy, white, double, 

 and very fragrant. They are useful in making button-hole bou- 

 quets, large bouquets, or as a single specimen. Each bulb flow- 

 ers only once, but the smaller bulbs can be set out for future 

 flowering, when their growth is completed. The best way to 

 grow tuberoses is to fill five-inch pots half full of cow manure, 

 and the remainder with good, rich earth, mixed with sand. 

 Plant the bulbs in April, water moderately, and hasten growth 

 by putting in a warm, light place. When the weather has be- 

 come warm, plunge the pots into the earth out of doors. They 

 will usually bloom before cold weather ; if they do not, they can 

 be brought in, and will blossom in the house. 



Cyclamen. A well-known and much admired bulbous plant, 

 producing exceedingly handsome red and white flowers. The 

 seed should be sown in spring, and by autumn it will produce a 

 bulb, which, if potted and placed in a conservatory, will bloom 

 the following spring. It is propagated only from seed. 



Cyclamen Persicum, mixed, is a greenhouse variety, of great 

 beauty and many colors. 



Lily. With ordinary care in the culture of the lily, fail- 

 ure is impossible. Select deep, rich soil ; enrich it well with 

 thoroughly decomposed manure, and set the bulbs from three 

 to six inches deep, according to size. In the autumn the beds 

 should be protected by a liberal supply of leaves, and care 

 should be taken that the bulbs have proper drainage, no water 

 being allowed to stand around the roots. The bulbs can be 

 transplanted, either in spring or autumn, but should be kept out 

 of the ground the shortest time possible. Once firmly estab- 

 lished, they should not be disturbed oftener than once in five 

 years. Many varieties force well in the greenhouse, but are 

 suitable for parlor culture. 



Crocus. One of the earliest of bulbous plants. Even in a 

 cold climate, it makes its appearance in March, peeping up 

 sometimes before the snow is gone. It grows low on the earth, 



