172 YARD AND GAEDEN 



safe to say that no other class of plants brings 

 so few disappointments to the cultivator. 

 This is accounted for, of course, by the great 

 ease with which they may be brought into bloom 

 and by the readiness with which they seem to 

 be able to adapt themselves rapidly to various 

 conditions of soil and situation. Only occa- 

 sionally do they fail, but even in such instances, 

 provided the bulbs have been properly planted, 

 the fault can not always be laid at the door 

 of the amateur. It may be traceable to the 

 bulb beds of Holland where the plants were 

 brought forward to the flowering stage before 

 they were offered to purchasers. 



VARIETY OF TUBEROUS PLANTS 



In speaking of bulbs, botanical definitions 

 are not gei;erally observed. Commercially the 

 term applies to a consideralile class of flower- 

 ing and ornamental plants which, were it 

 strictly employed, would be excluded from the 

 list. Nurserymen and dealers in seeds and 

 bulbs, however, include in this class in addition 

 to true bulbs many that are known by botanists 

 as corms, such as the Crocus and Grladiolus ; suc- 

 culent tubers, as the Dahlia; fleshy, creeping 

 rhizomatous roots, such as are possessed by 



