32 GENERAL RULES OF CULTURE. 



crocus : the former, in a favorable season, will bloom in 

 February ; and the latter, very early in March. 



The bulbs being planted (say about the middle of Octo- 

 ber), there is nothing more to be done until the ground 

 begins to freeze. But the bulbs are by no means idle : 

 no sooner are they planted than they begin to grow. A 

 crocus or hyacinth will in a few days throw out a root 

 an inch long, if in a moist soil ; the shoot also begins to 

 protrude, and in a few weeks the plant is fairly established. 

 As soon as the ground begins to freeze at night, the bed 

 should be covered with three or four inches of coarse 

 litter, which will prevent the earth from freezing very 

 deep, and thus allow the roots to grow all winter. Unless 

 the cold is very severe, the plants will continue to push ; 

 and, when the covering is removed, which it should be 

 about the middle of March, or when the snowdrops push 

 up through the litter, the bulbs will be found to have 

 made sprouts an inch or more in length. These, of course, 

 will be yellow, from not having been exposed to the light ; 

 but they will soon turn green. As soon as the flowers 

 have faded, all seed-vessels should be removed, unless it 

 is desirable to raise seedlings ; as the ripening of seed 

 weakens the bulb. If the spring is very dry, the bed should 



