20 DAFFODILS NARCISSUS 



warm exposure, should receive the Bulboco- 

 dium, cyclamineus and triandrus sections. 



Although most of the important type 

 groups of the narcissus family like cool, moist 

 soil, yet it is essential that the moisture be not 

 stagnant; that is, water must not remain con- 

 tinuously about the bulbs nor roots, but be 

 drained away from below. "Wet feet" pre- 

 vents maximum root development, and is apt, 

 sooner or later, to cause "basal-rot" in the 

 bulbs. Maintained moisture with abundant 

 soil aeration is the ideal while the bulbs are 

 in growth and flower. 



The old idea that there is as much of the 

 tree below ground as there is above is also ap- 

 proximately true of the narcissus and if the 

 plant grows i8 inches high the roots pene- 

 trate the earth to approximately the same 

 depth. It may be more practical to reverse 

 this order of reasoning and say that if the 

 roots can only forage six inches below the sur- 

 face the growth of the plant and flowers 

 above will be correspondingly small and stun- 

 ted. The whole secret of success in pro- 

 ducing the best, the largest, the most perfect 

 and the richest coloured flowers and foliage is 



