34 DAFFODILS NARCISSUS 



stalks of the grass ripen, bend over or break, 

 and finally settle down, forming an ideal 

 blanket, giving both warmth and airiness. 

 In shrubberies, the fallen leaves accomplish 

 the same result. Nature's mulch is lightened 

 by the winds of March and the balance is 

 reduced by decay. In garden culture, it is 

 not practicable to follow these gradations in 

 covering and uncovering. The best that we 

 can do is to cover, or mulch, as soon as the 

 surface of the ground is frozen to a crust, 

 not before, and to remove the mulch in the 

 spring after hard freezing weather is over 

 before the growth of the bulbs has penetrated 

 the mulch sufficiently to prevent its removal 

 without injuring the young top growth. 



( THE BEST KIND OF MULCH 



I have used several .materials for mulching 

 my bulbs and have seen still other materials 

 used by others. The answer to the question 

 "What is the best mulch" depends largely 

 on what is available. The one direct lesson 

 from nature is warmth, with air. In Hol- 

 land the water rushes are used and they are 



