VI. 
SPRING BULBS AND AUTUMN FLOWERS. 
Spbikg bulbs are among the most satisfactory of flow¬ 
ers, and especially suited for amateur cultivation. Requir¬ 
ing very little care, they seem to bloom simply because they 
musty and not because they are coaxed into it. A box of 
hyacinths is an April window-garden of delight, and one 
that fills the house with its fragrance. 
A bed of crocuses in the open air is the first fulfillment 
of spring after the snowdrops, which seem more like an 
avatar of the winter covering from which they derive their 
