in the form of starches, etc., and also enzymes for digesting this food. While dormant, 
the stored up starches are turned into soluble sugar. Roots, buds and foliage begin to 
develop in their natural order and your care is rewarded. When thru flowering, the 
bulb has become smaller and is soft instead of firm and plump. This is a critical time. 
The bulb may appear at a pause for a short time but when a good root system has 
developed it will begin active growth. Encourage that. Give them food and water. 
Enough, not too much. The longer you can keep it growing, the larger and better will 
be your resulting bulb for next year. The yellowing of foliage will signify the bulb has 
reached full development. If you do not feed and water your plants, pets, domestic 
animals and children when they are awake and hungry, they do not thrive. If you know 
how to make a husband happy (or a wife) you should know how to make a plant 
“happy.” Don’t “love ’em and leave ’em,” and over-coddling is often as bad as neglect. 
Depth and Spacing often cause too much concern. Bulbs usually have sufficient 
adaptability to do well under widely varying conditions. In a general way, bulbs should 
be about two or three times their diameter apart. Small bulbs like Ranunculus No. 3 
may be covered 1”; bulbs the size of a Daffodil covered 4” to 6”. Bulbs with a heavy 
top need deeper planting to maintain an erect position. Planting in light sandy soils 
should be deeper than in heavy soils. In very cold climates, deep planting protects bulbs 
from damage from fost. Few bulbs are too finicky about their depth and many of them 
have the ability to correctly adjust themselves to the most favorable depth if left in one 
place a few years. 
Alibis. Many amateur growers refuse to accept responsibility for their failures when 
they result. They blame the bulbs, but not themselves, the weather, their soil or pests. 
Therefore they do not learn from the best teacher, experience. Luther Burbank aid, 
“A failure is an accomplishment.” It is, if you learned by it. 
ACID AND ALKALINE SOILS 
Many plants thrive in neutral, mildly acid or mildly alkaline soils and some will 
thrive only in distinctly acid soils. In the latter class are included Rhododendrons, Callas 
and most shade loving plants. 
The acid-alkali balance is expressed in pH units. pH 7 is neutral. Below that the 
acidity increases, above it the alkalinity increases. 
Soiltex Outfit. This little testing kit will enable you to determine the pH of your 
soil. No chemical knowledge is required. Directions for use are included with lists of 
plants and their preferred pH. Price $1.00 postpaid. 
If soils are too alkaline or if plants to be grown in them require more acidity the 
best remedy is to incorporate much humus. Also improve the drainage, as lack of good 
drainage increases alkalinity. Peat is most acid usually, though some American peat has 
become alkaline. Oak leaf mould is more acid than other leaf moulds. Use much leaf 
mould or peat (preferably imported) for Gladiolus, Callas, Arums, Lilies, Haemanthus, 
Nerine, Orchids and all plants that require acid soil. It is best to buy peat locally on 
account of the high cost of transportation. But be sure it is imported Canadian peat 
with acid reaction. It should be pH 2.5 to 4. Test the peat offered you with Soiltex and 
don’t buy poultry peat. 
Canadian Peat. The most acid now obtainable. We can furnish this to local or 
nearby customers who call for it at $5.00 per bale. 10 Ibs. for $1.00. Or we will ship 
by express, f. 0. b. for that price. Ask your express agent the cost before ordering as these 
bales weighed when we received them over 100 lbs. 
Garden Labels. One should label choice bulbs. We use a heavy wire bent on one end 
to form an “eye” into which we wire an ordinary tree label. We also keep a written 
record of the position and order in which we plant bulbs. We can furnish tree labels 
for $5.00 per 1000; 500 for $3.00; 100 for 90c; smaller quantities at 1c each. Postpaid. 
Rootone. We know of really remarkable results from the use of Rootone, a plant 
hormone powder that induces quicker rooting of cuttings and bulbs and sprouting of 
6 
