20 



BULBS FOB WINTEB FLOWEBING 



nure — the ideal fertilizer for all bulbs — 

 use bone meal in the proportion of a 

 coffee-cupful to a half bushel of soil. 



I would advise putting several bulbs 

 in one pot. A six-inch pot will accommo- 

 date at least four Hyacinths of ordinary 

 >size. Five or six Narcissuses can be 

 planted in a seven-inch pot. It doesnH 

 matter if they touch each other. The soil 

 below them will supply all the nutriment 

 that is needed. Both of these bulbs should 

 be pressed down about half their depth into 

 the soil. Do not cover them. If you can 

 have but one kind of a Hyacinth, by all 



BERMUDA LILY 



means choose the Eoman. Its flowers are 

 loosely arranged along the stalk, and are 

 therefore much more graceful than those 

 of the Holland varieties, which crowd each 

 other, so thickly are they set along the one 

 stalk which each bulb produces. The Ro- 

 man sorts throw up several stalks from 

 each bulb, thereby producing a finer effect, 

 from an artistic standpoint. 



My method of growing the Bermuda 

 Lily is this: I put three bulbs in each 

 seven or eight-inch pot. I fill the pot 

 about one-third full of compost. On this 

 I jjlace the bulbs, crowding them down to 



firm the soil somewhat. Then I cover 

 them lightly, after w^hich I water them 

 well. I then set them away in a dark, 

 cool place to make roots. When the top 

 begins to grow I bring them to the light. 

 As the top elongates I fill in about it with 

 earth. I continue to do this until the pot 

 is filled to within an inch of its brim. The 

 reason for this treatment is this: Lilies 

 have two sets of roots, one from the base 

 of the bulb, the other from the stalk above 

 the bulb. A Lily planted on or near the 

 surface of the soil in a pot would be un- 

 able to develop its stalk roots, because there 

 would be nothing for them to take hold of. 

 But by low planting, as described, and fill- 

 ing in from time to time, we give these 

 roots a chance to properly develop, and the 

 plant is greatly benefited by the treatment. 



After potting Hyacinths and Narcis- 

 suses, water them well, and place in a 

 cool, dark place, as advised for Lilies. I 

 Avould not advise a place where they will 

 freeze. A room or place where the tem- 

 perature is low, and can be kept so, an- 

 swers all purposes, as such a condition 

 favors the development of roots and does 

 not encourage the growth of top. What we 

 aim at, is to secure a root development be- 

 fore top growth begins, thus imitating 

 the processes of nature by which roots are 

 formed in fall for the support of the plant 

 in spring, while flowering. If we pot a 

 bulb and place it at once in the light, the 

 growth of top begins before roots have 

 made much development, and the bulbs 

 often fail to produce flowers, or give such 

 inferior ones that they are not enjoyable. 

 Be sure to leave your bulbs in cold storage 

 until roots have formed, if you want fine 

 flowers from them. 



A Little Flower 



BY MRS. FLORENCE M. WALKER. 



A little flower so lowly grew, 



So lonely was it left, 

 That Heaven looked like an eye of blue 



Down in its rocky cleft. 

 ."What could the little flower do 



In such a darksome place 

 But try to reach the eye of blue, 



And climb to kiss Heaven's face. 



