cast on the lawn, as if the bulbs were some sort of Brobdingnag- 
ian grass seed, that you get any result at all approximating what 
you want. Undoubtedly the best bulbs for naturalizing are 
Crocuses, Snowdrops, Daffodils of all kinds, Grape Hyacinths, 
Glory of the Snow, Star of Bethlehem and English Bluebell. All 
of these bulbs are quite inexpensive and at least a few hundreds 
of them should be bought even at the prices we have to pay the 
retail seedsman here. For as little an outlay as ten dollars we 
can get several hundred bulbs of the ordinary and most 
attractive kinds, while if we really feel impelled to squander, 
there are Daffodil bulbs which are quite calmly cataloged at 
50 guineas each. There are just two things we must look to in 
planting bulbs: the first is that they should be planted deep 
enough. By this I do not mean that you should tunnel almost 
to China and then plant them upside down as did a gardener 
of my acquaintance when told to plant deep ; the next spring 
the owner of the place said sadly to me that no flowers had come 
up, so we started to dig frantically and more than a foot down 
we found the unfortunate Crocuses busily engaged in trying to 
get to the surface while standing on their heads. The best rough 
rule for bulbs is that they shall be planted either two or three 
times their own height below the surface of the ground with 
the right or more pointed side up. The second essential is that 
the bottom of the bulb should not have air underneath it when 
planted. This is very difficult to prevent when large bulbs are 
planted with a dibble as it makes a more or less V-shaped, hole, 
the sides of which suspend the bulb so that the bottom has air 
beneath it. This is obviated by using a bulb-planter, a tool 
which cuts out a part of the ground leaving a flat surface at the 
bottom on which the bulb is placed. A winter like the one we 
have just endured proves better than any argument how 
necessary it is to plant bulbs deep enough as I have already seen 
hundreds of them forced out of the ground by the frost and 
lying on the surface. 
Iris reticulata is the first of the Irises to flower as it usually 
blooms with the Crocuses and few of us grow enough of this 
early bulb. It is quite inexpensive and in most places grows 
as readily as the Crocus. Another early flower is the Pheasant's 
Eye, Adonis Vemalis, a bright buttercup-yellow flower sur- 
rounded by a fine network of ferny leaves. The Guinea-Hen 
flower is one of the many which recall to us today our somewhat 
rusty mythology as this is the plant that commemorates the 
sisters of Meleager who were changed into Guinea Hens by the 
angry Artemis as a punishment for their unceasing tears shed 
over their brother's death. 
Haedy ^ a garden with beds and borders is to be made and not an 
Borders informal one, another long vista opens up before us, Tulips and 
Hyacinths, Crown Imperials and Bleeding Heart, Primroses and 
Moss Pinks. Fortunately the old-fashioned rigid Tulip and 
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