Plant lily bulbs very deeply. Note the trowel is 

 plunged into tlie earth for its entire length 



A little sand under, round and over the bulb will 

 help drainage and so prevent rot 



Mark the place of each bulb with a stick so as to 

 avoid injury in working 



Hardy Bulbs for Everybody's Garden-By w. c. McCollom, 



New 

 York 



FOR THE GREATEST IMMEDIATE RETURNS IN FLOWERS OF EARLY SPRING PLANT HARDY BULBS NOW — 

 SELECTIONS OF VARIETIES FOR ALL PURPOSES AND SITUATIONS— HOW TO AVOID THE COMMON ERRORS 



"DUYING bulbs is like buying a cat in a 

 ■*-* bag. You can, of course, tell by the 

 bulb what quality of flower it will throw, 

 provided it is properly handled, but you 

 cannot tell the color or variety. So you are 

 really at the mercy of the party that supplies 

 you. Therefore, go to a good, reliable house 

 to make your purchases, and, barring errors, 

 you will get exactly what you buy — not a 

 lot of cheap varieties that are somewhat 

 similar in color but lacking some of the 

 essentials of a high grade variety. 



What quality of flower the bulb will throw 

 is told not by the size of the bulb so much as 

 by its firmness. That is, two bulbs of equal 

 size and of the same firmness will throw the 

 same quality of flower, but let one be soft 

 and there would be a perceptible difference 

 in the blooms in favor of the firm bulb. But 

 to get the best conception, cut open a bulb 

 or two, and the young embryo flower will be 

 found in the bulb, and you can readily tell 

 what you are buying. 



But still, a great deal depends on the way 

 the bulb is grown. Good ground, good 

 cultivation and proper care will develop 

 better flowers than poor ground and neglect 

 from bulbs of equal quality. The poorly 

 grown bulb will have just as many flowers 

 as the well-grown bulb, but they will not be 

 as large nor as fine. 



The soils that bulbs like best is of light 

 texture. That gives good drainage and the 

 percentage of loss is not so great if a lot of 

 rain comes just after planting. If your soil 

 is stiff and clayey and takes a long time to 

 dry out, add sand in large quantities, mixing 

 it well with the soil. If this is not practical, 

 dig out the soil to a depth of eighteen inches 

 and throw about four inches of broken 

 bricks or old stones in the bottom of the 

 trench for drainage. Then, fill in with the 



soil. In this case it is also a good plan to 

 have some sand when you plant, putting a 

 small handful in each hole as you plant 

 the bulbs. 



Bulbs demand good soil. True they can 

 grow without it, but if a thing is worth doing 

 at all, it is worth doing well. Spade under 

 a liberal quantity of manure which should 

 be well rotted and short. There is no need 

 of going deeper than eighteen inches in this 

 because the roots don't go down any more 

 than that. If you have good, rich, mellow 

 ground the application of some good fer- 

 tilizer will answer the purpose. If you use 

 manure, he sure it is buried below the level 

 at which the bulbs are to be planted, as the 



The Easter Uly (Lilium longiflorum) may be grown 

 out-of-doors if protected in winter 



112 



bulbs should not come in contact with fresh 

 manure until they have rooted. If the bulbs 

 are to be planted in beds, it is a good scheme 

 to raise the bed a few inches above the 

 surrounding ground. This also insures 

 good drainage. After digging the ground, 

 firm it gently by treading on it. The ground 

 should not be soft and spongy, and on the 

 other hand it should not be too hard. 



Be very careful not to let any unplanted 

 bulbs get wet, as that will cause them to 

 decay, and don't leave bulbs lying about 

 for several weeks before planting them. 

 They are better off in the ground. There 

 is only one thing that should delay planting, 

 and that is excessive rainfall at planting time. 

 In that case put the bulbs away in a cool, 

 dry place until the ground is in proper 

 condition. 



Bulbs will flower in either sunshine or 

 shade, but (like most flowering plants) 

 they are mostly partial to sunshine, especially 

 the early spring flowers such as the tulip,, 

 hyacinth and daffodil. At the same time 

 if they are wanted in a shaded place, don't 

 hesitate to plant there as they will surely 

 flower and look well; but the flowers will 

 probably be weaker stemmed and not so 

 large as if grown in the sunlight — also a. 

 little later. Bulbs that will do well in the 

 shade will be so mentioned, and those that 

 are not so mentioned will be accepted as 

 sun-lovers. 



Although in a good many cases it is not 

 necessary, yet generally speaking, it is 

 advisable to mulch bulbs the first season 

 after planting. Always wait until the 

 ground is frozen a little on top, and then 

 apply about four inches of rough stable litter 

 or leaves. 



Beds of nothing but bulbs are laid out in 

 various designs and are very attractive, on. 



