BULB GARDENING 1 89 



would for transplanting cuttings. Place drains in the pots 

 or cans. Fill the pot a little over half full of soil and set 

 in the bulb. Now put in more soil till the top is just below 

 the surface. If you have a large pot or tin pail several 

 bulbs may be planted together. After planting, water till 

 you are certain that all the soil is thoroughly moistened. 



What do you want these bulbs to do first ? Just what 

 they do in the outdoor beds, grow roots. In order to 

 make them do this we must put them in a cool, dark place. 

 We call this forcing the roots. The pots may be placed 

 in a cool cellar and covered up with a heavy box or other 

 object. They may be placed in a shallow hole in the 

 ground and covered with about three inches of soil. In 

 this case a thick covering of straw or leaves will prevent the 

 freezing of the soil so the pots may be easily removed in 

 the middle of winter. They may be set on the ground 

 along the north side of the coal shed or other buildings and 

 covered up with ashes. They should be left in this cool 

 place at least six weeks. They may be left much longer 

 and brought in one or two at a time as desired. 



When you bring them in carefully remove one from 

 the soil so the children may see what has taken place. 

 From what points did the roots start? Are there many 

 roots ? What is the length of the longest ones ? Has the 

 shoot started to grow? What color is it? Could the 

 roots and shoot grow without food ? Where did they get 

 the food to live on ? A little discussion will bring out the 

 fact that some of the food stored up in the thick bulb was 

 used for this growth. 



At first the pots should be kept in the coolest part of 

 the room and covered from the intense light. If the school- 



