HOME AND FLOWERS 



19 



yellow. Eemove tliese as soon as seen. If 

 any branches are broken cut them off 

 smoothly at once. Do not take the plants 

 into the house until they have become fully 

 established in their pots. If watered well, 

 most of the plants treated as advised above 

 will not wilt, and not a bud will be lost. 

 But from careless treatment the plants 

 will receive a check from which thev will 

 not recover in time to proditce fine tlowers. 

 and quite frequently every bud will be 

 blasted. It pays to handle these plants 

 with the greatest care, for potting has to 

 be done at a critical tjjne in the life of 

 the jDlant. 



BULB PLANTING 



BI'LB planting is often deferred until 

 October, and frequently later, but 

 it ought to be done this month, if 

 possible. The reason for earh planting is 

 this : Bulbs imx into the ground now 

 will develop strong roots an<l make all 

 preparation for next spring's work before 

 the close of the season. Late planted ones 

 can not do this, consequently thev will 

 have an arrested development when cold 

 weather comes, and the work that remains 

 undone in fall will have to be taken up 

 and completed in spring, at the very time 

 when all the energies of the plant ought 

 to be concentrated in the development of 

 flowers. Therefore plan to plant your 

 bulbs early. Send on your orders for them 

 as soon as you receive your catalogues. 

 And when your order has gone, begin at 

 once to get the gTOund ready for them. 

 Spade it up to the depth of at least a foot. 

 Work it over until it is fine and mellow, 

 ■ nd make it very rich. The best fertilizer 

 'r bulbs is old, well rotted cow manure. 

 If this is not procurable use fine bone 

 meal in the proportion of a pound to each 

 yard square of soil. Set the larger bulbs 

 about five inches below the surface, and 

 about the same distance apart. The 

 smaller ones, like Crocus and Snowdrop, 

 can be set close together, or in groups, 'and 

 ought not to be planted more than three 

 inches deep. 



All newly made bulb beds ought to be 

 covered to the depth of ten or twelve inches 

 with litter before cold weather sets in. If 

 tliis is not done the frost will cause the 

 soil to heave, and this will break the roots 

 of the bulbs and greatly injure them. By 

 covering we do not keep out cold, as many 

 suppose, but we keep the cold in, thus pre- 

 venting the frequent alternation of freez- 

 ing and thawing, which is what does the 

 mischief with our bulbs. By all mea.ii5 

 have a good sized bed of Tulips, another 

 of Hyacinths, and one of Xarcissus, with 

 Snowdrops. Crocuses, and other small 

 bulbs tucked into nooks and corners, here 

 and there, all about the grounds. The 

 value of a collection of buros is not under- 

 stood by tho-e who have never grown them. 

 They begin to bloom as soon as the snow 

 goes, and for at least six weeks they will 

 make the garden gay. as not all will come 

 into bloom at the same time. Thus they 

 bridge over the long interval between the 

 opening of spring and the advent of the 

 earlier hardv perennials. The lover of 

 flowers who is without them is not living 

 ttp to his or her privileges. 



BULBS FOR WINTER FLOWERING 



NO collection of winter flowering- 

 plants can nowadays be considered 

 as complete if it does not include 

 such bulbs as Eoman and Holland Hya- 

 cinths. Xarcissuses, and Bermuda Lilies, 

 better known as the ^'Easter Lily."" and 

 catalogued as L. Rarrisi. No flowers are 

 easier to grow, if properly treated, and 

 none afford more pleasure. I have not in- 

 cluded the Tulip in the list, because I 

 find it qttite difficult to grow well under 

 amateur treatment. The care expended 

 on it will give much greater returns when 

 bestowed on more tractable plants. 



Bulbs in pots demand a light, rich, - 

 rather sandv soil. Garden loam answers 

 the purpose very well, if lightened by a 

 liberal admixture of sand and well rotted 

 manure. AYork it over until it is fine and 

 mellow. If you can not obtain cow ma- 



