AND FLOWER-GARDEN DIRECTORY. 21 
acter and beautiful in appearance, add much to the beauty of the 
garden. They are all perennials in root, which, in the greater 
part, are bulbous—onion like—either solid, as in tulips and some 
other sorts, or tunnicated, or of several involving coats, as in the 
onion and lily; and some sorts are composed of many fleshy 
scales. The tuberous roots are solid, knobbed, and fleshy, either 
single or many in a cluster, and in some many smaller tubers 
connected ina head. All of which are durable or perpetuated in 
the roots by offsets, and some from seed. They delight in a rich 
sandy loam. Those requiring support, such as the Tuberose, 
Dahlia, &c., should be securely staked, to prevent their being 
broken off by high winds. The depth which each variety should 
be planted will be found indicated by the figures attached to each 
in the list, signifying inches, always measuring from the top 
of the bulb. The summer and fall-flowering roots should be 
preserved through the winter in dry sand or saw-dust, in a tem- 
perature rather under than above what is natural to them. The 
spring-flowering varieties can be preserved in the same manner 
through the summer, but, for convenience, they may be kept 
loose in boxes or papers, free from dampness, till the season 
of planting. The offsets should be separated when the parent 
root is taken up. As a general rule, it will be found advisable 
to plant offsets of all the spring-flowering bulbs as soon as sepa- 
rated; for, if kept long out of the ground, they become exhausted 
and perish. As soon as the tops have died down, bulbs may be 
taken up and separated. Hyacinths, Tulips, and Crocuses, will 
flower much stronger and produce a greater abundance of offsets 
if taken up every alternate year. Never purchase bulbs which 
have made much growth before planting, for they are always 
weakened, and generally will not flower the first season. The 
spring-flowering varieties should be planted in October and No- 
vember, and the summer and fall-flowering kinds in May or June. 
Decrpvovs pLants.—This class of plants defoliate or shed their 
leaves in autumn. Their fine foliage and the beauty of their flow- 
ers add greatly to the appearance of the garden. They are all 
