House and Garden 
which answer the purpose quite as well, that of 
keeping the dirt from coming out, over the hole in the 
bottom of each pot. Next pieces of broken china or 
charcoal are put in the pot, then some earth, and upon 
this the bulb, and finally more earth which is pressed 
gently about the bulb until within halt an inch of the 
top of the pot. They are now thoroughly watered 
and then set away in a cold and perfectly dark cellar 
where they must be kept for three months m order 
to obtain the best results. Some of the bulbs, as the 
Roman and grape hyacinths, will seem ambitious to 
make a more rapid growth than the others, but you 
must not favor them on 
this account by carrying 
them into the light, for 
their roots need as much 
time to mature as do 
those of the other bulbs. 
Shortly before the 
holidays you will see by 
examining your plants 
that their roots are pro¬ 
truding out of the bot¬ 
tom of the pots and have 
formed a mat across the 
saucers in which they 
set and that white 
points, two inches high, 
are growing out of the 
earth, both of which are 
signs that the time is 
arrived when the bulbs 
are in condition to 
change their obscure 
home for a lighter and 
more cheery one. 
So now they are 
taken up-stairs into a 
room having a northern 
exposure but no sun¬ 
shine, for that is injurious to them. It is surprising 
after this move how rapidly the white spears change 
to green while at the end of a month evidences of buds 
in the form of tiny green balls between each of the 
stiff green spikes begin to appear. Now, although 
at this stage the plants are not particularly interesting 
to most people, it is then that their cultivator takes 
the most interest in them, for they develop so rapidly 
that they almost seem to be sentient and as though 
grateful for the interest and care bestowed upon 
them. 
Now, to hear Mrs. Deland tell about her experi¬ 
ence in raising bulbs one would think that all this 
was a very easy and simple matter, but anyone who 
has ever taken the entire charge of indoor plants, 
especially in this changeable and at times rigorous cli¬ 
mate where the thermometer during the winter season 
registers a different degree of temperature every 
hour out of the twenty-four, knows what a respon¬ 
sibility they are. Of course bulbs, owing to their 
hardiness, for they can stand almost any amount of 
cold, especially jonquils, which have been known to 
even freeze tight to their saucers and sustain no in¬ 
jury in consequence, are not so difficult to care for 
as are the more sensitive plants; still they require 
watering every day, the temperature where they are 
must not be allowed to get too warm, particularly if 
it is dry heat, which is very injurious to them, and they 
must have outside air occasionally, while in order 
that they may all come forward at the desired 
time, some must be 
placed in a cooler spot 
so as to retard their pro¬ 
gress, while others must 
be placed where theirs 
will be accelerated as, 
near a furnace pipe for 
instance, but never in the 
sunshine, all of which 
shows what an amount 
of care they require. 
Flower lovers say, also, 
that to be successful 
with plants a person 
must have a genuine 
love for them in their 
hearts. 
Thus as can be seen 
from the time that the 
bulhs have left their 
retreat in the cellar and 
been brought up into 
the room above until 
they begin to bloom, 
many hours of Mrs. De¬ 
land’s time are spent in 
their care. It is the won¬ 
der of all of her friends 
how the writer of “John Ward, Preacher;” “The 
Awakening of Helena Ritchie;” and other popular 
hooks; and a woman in as much demand as a lecturer 
by the innumerable women’s clubs of this section of 
the country; and, moreover, the efficient head of a 
large household, manages to accomplish so much. 
The papers do not advertise these sales in the cus¬ 
tomary way hut will delicately say, for instance, that 
Mrs. Deland hopes to make one hundred jonquils 
blossom next Monday, as this was the day set last 
spring. Thus a stranger uninitiated in this charming 
annual sale would be quite in the dark as to what was 
meant by this enigmatical notice, but to one who does 
know this hint is sufficient, and before the opening 
hour arrives many visitors are waiting to attend 
it. Although promptly on hand one afternoon 
at the end of last February .others had preceded 
me, so upon entering the anteroom of the mansion. 
AN EARLY SHOW OF BULBOUS PLANTS 
62 
