CHAP. VIII.] 
BULBS. 
277 
that of the tuberous-rooted flowers differs in 
different plants. 
Bulbs are generally planted in autumn to 
flower in spring; and are taken up when 
their leaves begin to wither, to be kept out 
of the ground a month or two in complete 
repose before they are replanted. They are 
generally propagated by offsets, which are 
produced by the side of the old bulb; or 
rather, by the side of the new bulb, which is 
formed every year to supply the place of the 
old one, which wastes away. The new bulb 
sometimes forms beside the old one ; and 
sometimes below it or above it; and this is 
one of the principal reasons why bulbs should 
be taken up and replanted every year; as, 
when this is not attended to, those bulbs that 
form every year below the old bulb, sink so 
low in the course of a few years, that they 
become too far removed from the air to ve¬ 
getate ; while those that form above the old 
bulb are pushed so high out of the ground 
that they are often killed by frost or drought. 
In this way, valuable plants often disappear 
from gardens, without their owners having 
the slightest suspicion of the cause. It is, 
