57 
the soil immediately underneath it remains very loose, 
moist and mellow. 
It prevents baking or packing of the soil and as it 
is gradually worked into the surface soil it makes this 
very workable. It is extremely valuable in case of the 
use of an overhead system of irrigation. 
There is one danger point in the use of coarse sand. 
It becomes very hot in hot sunshine and if a very hot 
scorching day should hit us, after several weeks of cool 
rainy weather in the spring, we may expect to find 
some of the bulblet tops burned off. To prevent this, 
some dirt may be mixed with the sand, or if river sand 
be used it will probably have sufficient silt in it. Or 
a coating of sheep guano may be spread thinly over 
the rows soon after planting; a thin coating of this 
will give ample protection and the water soaking 
through from rains or irrigation will fertilize the young 
plants. Even though some of the tops may be burned 
off they will in most instances grow right up again and 
are usually not greatly injured, and by the methods of 
protection just indicated, none will probably be burned. 
Sand is one of the very finest things we have yet 
found for the keeping of the surface of the beds in first- 
class condition and we strongly recommend its use. 
Fine river sand in which there is some silt is probably 
the best. 
Some growers plant entirely in sand, and if the 
beds are located so that sufficient moisture can be re¬ 
tained, this makes one of the most perfect methods of 
growing, because of the ease of weeding, cultivating 
and digging and cleaning the bulbs. 
