ere
will be scores of little fellows the size of a pea, clustered about the
larger corms. These should be saved, and planted out next spring. Sow
them close together in rows, as you would wheat. The following year they
will bloom.

So extensively is the Gladiolus grown at the present time that enough to
fill a good-sized bed can be bought for a small sum. And in no other way
can you invest a little money and be sure of such generous returns. What
the Geranium is to the window-garden that the Gladiolus is to the
outdoor garden, and one is of as easy culture as the other.

[Illustration: A GARDEN GLIMPSE]

Some of the choicest varieties are sold at a high price. One reason for
this is--the finest varieties are slow to increase, and it takes a long
time to get much of a stock together. This is why they are so rare, and
so expensive. But many of them are well worth all that is asked for
them.

You may have a mixed collection of a thousand plants and fail to find a
worthless variety among them. Indeed, some of the very finest flowers I
have ever had have been grown from collections that cost so little that
one hardly expected to find anything but the commonest flowers among
them.

LILIES

The Rose, like the Lily, is a general favorite. It has more than once
disputed the claim of its rival to the title of Queen of Flowers, and
though it has never succeeded in taking the place of the latter in the
estimation of the average flower-lover, it occupies a position in the
floral world that no other flower dare aspire to.

This plant does well only in soils that have the best of drainage.
Water, if allowed to stand about its roots in spring, will soon be the
death of it.

Therefore, in planting it be sure to choose a location that is naturally
well drained, or provide artificial drainage that will make up for the
lack of natural drainage. This is an item you cannot afford to overlook
if you want to grow the finest varieties of Lilies in your garden. Some
of our native Lilies grow on low lands, and do well there, but none of
the choicer kinds would long survive under such conditions. The
probabilities are that if we planted them there we would never see
anything more of them.

The ideal soil for the Lily seems to be a fine loam. I have grown good
ones, however, in a soil containing considerable clay and gravel. This
was on a sidehill where drainage was perfect. Had the location been
lower, or a level one, very lik