ANNUALS AND BULBS 
1 2 I 
by a yew hedge, have taken ten years to die 
out. For the first four years they were a fine 
show, but since then have dwindled gradually 
to one poor specimen. Speciosum planted the 
same time is still flourishing, but many other 
kinds of lily planted on the same soil have not 
survived the first winter, and their names are 
no longer numbered here. 
Nothing seems to completely stamp out the 
disease affecting Madonna lilies, though re- 
planting them in good soil, to which some 
lime has been added, answers for a time, 
especially if the bulbs have been shaken up in 
a sack containing flowers of sulphur, before 
planting, so that the sulphur gets beneath the 
scales. Gladioli add greatly to the brightness 
of the border, and cannot be omitted, even 
though they last in flower so short a time and 
are not very tidy at their latter end. If the 
soil is at all damp in winter, they must be 
carefully taken up and stored after flowering, 
and in such soil should not be planted earlier 
than April. 
Some of the small, early-flowering gladiolus 
may be seen flourishing in cottage gardens in 
the south of England and presumably stay out 
all winter, and the new varieties are lovely. 
The big scarlet brenchleynsis is very useful 
