ey were sunk
into the ground. Unless the winter is a very dry and open one the bulbs
will need no more water. If there should be little snow-fall then it may
be necessary to water the ground where the bulbs are, but this is not
usual. Little sticks were put into the ground just where the bulbs were.
These help in locating them when digging-up time comes. The girls left
them in the ground for six weeks. Then they were taken in and put in a
cold north window for a week. Helena put hers in the dark a week and
then brought them to a north window for another week. Then she put them
in a south window.

Bulbs should go very slowly from dark and cold to warmth and light. This
is a point to be remembered.

The girls who stored their pots in attic and cellar of course had to
water them. This should be done as often as the plant needs it, perhaps
three times a week.

[Illustration:
THE BULB STORY

1. Ample Drainage
2. Depth of Planting
3. Perfect Root Development
4. Ready to Come to the Light

Photographs by H.E. Angell and Henry Schultz.]

When the plant is about an inch above the ground, as one of the pictures
shows, it is the time to bring it to the light. Be sure the outer leaves
have spread apart in the ease of hyacinths and tulips; also invert the
pot and see if the roots are poking through; this is another way to be
sure that the bulb is ready to come to the light.

A way to help a hyacinth or tulip develop its stems properly and so
prevent blossoming low down in the box is to put a cone over the bulb as
soon as you bring it to the light. Make the cone of paper and have one
opening at the top two inches in diameter. The flower stem and leaves of
the bulb will quickly start to grow up to the light. Take this cone off
when the leaves are several inches high.

The girls did some water-planting, too. For this purpose hyacinths,
Chinese lilies, paper narcissus and jonquils are good. Some people put
these dishes and glasses immediately in the light. But it is better if
they are set away in the dark until the shoots start and the roots, too,
begin development. The girls bought glass dishes at the
five-and-ten-cent store. Into these dishes were put small stones which
they had gathered in the fall for this purpose. Stones should be small
for this work, from one-half inch to an inch in diameter. Josephine had
a lot of fine white sand which she packed in all about the stones. The
sand was kept thorough