GARDENING BY M YSELF. j ^^ 



moss well before planting : if a common 

 flower-pot is used, this is not needful. Lay 

 the moss lightly in, arrange your bulbs as 

 you wish, and cover with more moss. 



Sand (sea-sand) must be washed to get 

 rid of the salt ; and river sand should be 

 dried in the oven, to kill all animal life that 

 may be there. The tiny shell fish of our 

 river shore, will sometimes try the taste of 

 land plants if they have a chance. Some 

 planters mask the surface of the sand with 

 moss, after the bulbs are in ; others like the 

 contrast of the green leaves and silvery 

 soil. But however you plant, the earth or 

 moss or sand must be thoroughly watered 

 at once ; and then the pots and boxes and 

 glasses must be set away in a cool dark 

 room or cellar, where there is neither frost, 

 nor sunshine, nor mice. 



Florists generally advise the planting of 

 several bulbs in the same pot. I can only 

 say that with me it does not work well. 

 One will bloom, and another will lan- 

 guish, — three gay tulips, and one dying 



