BULBS IN POTS. 165 



may therefore be left in the ground, where they 

 will form fine patches. I have some planted in 

 this manner, which appear to me to flower finer 

 every year; in a bed, they should be planted 

 four inches apart, and three or four deep. 



Bulbs intended to flower in pots should be 

 potted in good soil, such as I have described, 

 and placed in a frame, or under a south wall, 

 and then covered afoot deep with mould: this 

 process occasions the bulb to throw out roots 

 before the leaves begin to grow, and thus there 

 is good support for the leaves and flowers ; for 

 it is from the roots that a portion of the nou- 

 rishment is supplied: thus, by covering the bulb 

 deeply with earth, the roots, which will grow at 

 a temperature lower than the leaves, vegetate 

 first. This is the mode in which the plant 

 grows in its natural state ; and as I have said 

 before, the surest method of succeeding in 



