For vigorous spring blossoms of narcissus, as well as hyacinths, daffodils and crocuses, the early fall, or as soon as received, is the time to plant 
The Last Word On Spring-Blooming Bulbs 
THE TESTS TO DETERMINE WHAT BULBS WILL BLOOM—NEW VARIETIES AND STRAINS INTRODUCED 
FROM HOLLAND —THE BEST TIME TO PLANT TULIPS, DAFFODILS, NARCISSSUS AND CROCUSES 
by Chester Jay Hunt 
Photographs by Chas. Jones and R. R. Raymoth 
T OO frequent, indeed, is the gardener's lament that the beds 
and borders are not what they ought to be. More often 
than not, the attempt to be relieved of responsibility for this 
condition brings forth against the seedsman or nurseryman the 
accusing excuse of poor seeds, weak plants or worthless bulbs. 
It is irksome to shoulder bravely the results of our own mistakes 
and confess an ignorance or a carelessness which has undone all 
the painstaking labor of the grower who has produced a perfectly 
good plant or bulb for us to mistreat. 
Yet, in the case of flowering bulbs, there may sometimes be 
cause for complaint. Nearly all bulbous plants which flower 
early in the spring are prepared during the previous year for 
their daring of delayed frosts; and whether a bulb will flower 
satisfactorily or not, de¬ 
pends upon the nature of 
the season of growth, as 
well as upon a proper ripen- 
i n g after growth has 
ceased. The former fac¬ 
tor is wholly in the hands of the gods and the weather man; the 
latter is to some extent under the control of the grower. 
If at fall planting time the bulb of a hyacinth, tulip or narcissus 
be cut through from top to base, the promise of success or failure 
for the coming spring may readily be determined, for a miniature 
flower, perfect in all its parts, will be found at the base of the 
stem. In fact, the bulb itself is but an enlarged development of 
stem or leaf structure, designed to provide nourishment for an 
early growth too rapid for the roots alone, and to protect during 
the winter the flower already formed. After blossoming, the 
plant sets to work to form a new bulb, which will blossom in its 
turn if conditions have been suitable for maturing its growth. 
It is possible, however, to determine in a great measure from 
the outward appearance of 
the bulb whether it is what 
it should be, without hav¬ 
ing to be so inquisitive as 
to spoil our toy by taking 
it apart to see the wheels 
Basal rot is found among the Holland varieties of Horsfieldi, 
but these from England are generally free from it 
Number the Poeticus varieties among 
this year’s plantings 
The bulbs of the best Barii class of 
narcissus are small 
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