32 DAFFODILS — NARCISSUS 



bulbs. This is best done just before replant- 

 ing. Do not remove any offset unless it is 

 entirely detached from the mother bulb, with 

 the exception of the union at the base. This 

 may be cut through with a sharp knife 

 if the variety is choice, though the common 

 sorts are usually merely broken apart. Be 

 sure not to cut or break through any other sub- 

 stance of the bulbs than the basal plate.^ Any 

 surplus offsets which cannot be accommodated 

 in the garden may well be used for natural- 

 ising in the grass. 



Commercial growers dig and divide their 

 bulbs every year, a practice that may be justi- 

 fied on a business basis, though I feel sure 

 that the commercial stocks of some varieties 

 would have better constitutions and produce 

 bigger and stronger bulbs if these growers 

 would dig and divide them only every second 

 year. 



WINTER MULCHING AND PROTECTION 



During the summer, nature provides a 

 mulch by covering the ground with weeds. 

 We, in opposition, cultivate to kill the weeds 



