244 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



October, 1906 



LL bulbs, so far as my experience with them 

 goes, delight in a light, rich, well-drained 

 soil. If a naturally drained location can not 

 be secured for them, artificial drainage must 

 be resorted to. This can be obtained by ex- 

 cavating the soil to the depth of a foot — 

 better, a foot and a half — and filling in at the bottom with 

 from four to six inches of something that will not decay 

 rapidly, allowing the soil above to settle back into its original 

 compactness. 



If the soil is heavy with clay, it can be lightened by work- 

 ing a liberal amount of coarse sand into it. Bulbs will not do 

 well in a soil that clings to them tenaciously. A heavy soil 

 injures them nearly as much as one too retentive of moisture. 

 It is a theory of mine that they require a soil so light and 

 open that air is admitted freely to their roots. 



Those who think a soil of moderate richness answers all 

 purposes are sure to discover their mistake after a little. 



Bulbs are strong feeders, and if they can not find the food 

 they crave, they deteriorate rapidly. We read, frequently, 

 of bulb-growing in Holland, where the soil is literally a bed 

 of sand, and from this we get an impression that they ought 

 to grow exceptionally well in our soil, which is superior, in 

 all ways, to pure sand; but were we to visit Holland and 

 see the great quantities of manure that the florists mix with 

 the sand in which their bulbs are grown, we would speedily 

 revise our ideas about lack of fertility there. No growers 

 of bulbs are more skilful than the Hollanders, and they never 

 lose sight of the fact that in order to grow bulbs well they 

 must feed them liberally with the best of food. 



The ideal fertilizer for bulbs is cow-manure — so old that 

 it is black, and crumbles readily under the application of the 

 hoe. If it can not be obtained, bone-meal can be substituted, 

 in the proportion of a teacupful to a square yard of earth, 

 measuring by the surface if the soil is of ordinary fertility. 

 If not, use more. No exact rule can be given, as soils differ 



A Bed of Paper-white Narcissus 



