Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1909-08-26

open and allowed to develop by putting
the stems in water and setting In the
shade.
Until I had learned about keeping
highly colored varieties in the shade
had dscourag'ng number OF failures.
! now use a sort Of coarse OF cheesecloth
that comes Just one yard wide This I
fasten on a wire running on the tops OF
posts eight feet from the ground. This
gives Just the amount Of sun and shade
necessary for the perfect development
OF the flowers and preserves their color
Ing. I also find this covering great
protection against heavy rains. which
might otherwise break or disfgure the
flowers, besides protecting them against
early frosts.
by careful selection and proper care
daffodls may be had In the open ground
for fully three months OF each year. In
the first place We must remember when
We set out to accomplish this that we
must select our locality In such a way
that there shall be beds suited for late
as we'll MS early blooms. The next step
Is to arrange so that the early varieties
shall bloom earlier than usual and the
late varieties later.
"My way Of telling the difference be-
tween tho early and the late grounds
Is by watching how the snow melts.
The spot whore the snow mets soonest
and the sun fingers longest Is the early
ground. BY planting some bulbs OF your
earliest variety in the early ound and
mulching lightly. removing the mulch
| as early as possible. you will get early
| blossoms. BY planting some Of your
latest variety In the late ground putting
the bulbs az much MS six inches under
the ground and mulching heavily and re-
tanning the mulch az long as possible
you will find the blooming period Of the
two beds three months and sometimes
| longer apart
IN buying bulbs II you are trying for
flowers OF the maximum size be re
that YOU get what florists call top bulbs.
These AFRO the largest bulbs OF the vari-
ETY., md of course you must expect to
pay top prices for them. Where you are
willing to wait a year for results II Is
much cheaper to buy smaller bulbs. bed
| them properly and so raise your own top
bulbs. In buying bulbs press them be-
tween your fingers, and II they do not
yield IN any way you may depend on
their being sound.
THE most adaptable OF all the varie-
ties OF daffodils Is the large trumpets or
Ajax daf'odils In yellow. in white and in
white with yellow trumpets. This vari-
ETY. will flourish in almost any soil and
under almost any method of cultivation
The whites are not 20 easily grown as
the yelows and require more shade &c
produce perfect flowers
about the most important group OF
the entire dafYodil and narcissus family
Is the medium crowned hybrids. all the
product OF crossing the large trumpet
daffodis with those OF the small s-uce,
type. The majority Of these varieties
preserve the most desirable features OF
each parent
The popular white petalled. red cup
ped poets dafYodil is especially adapted
20 heavy soils and can be effectively
naturslzed Is meadows and along tht
banks OF streams They must be kept
cool else they will go blind. BY going
blind I mean the sheaf encloses the buds
will never open.
The tazetta dafYodils. known best in
the popular varieties of paper white. Chi
nese sacred and double Roman. have
fragrance and freedom OF bloom, but
lack hardness except In the Southern
States. The Nnrcissus poeticus has
fragrance and also hardness. but lacks
abundance OF bloom. The two varieties
have been bred into one another &; C
have given us a large lowered cluster OF
reliable hardness. These are at presen,
little known among amateur gardeners
but am sure they will In time become
great favorites.
"As for my own way Of making my
pin money from the sale OF daYodils,
san say have found the work botf
pleasant and profitable. I do not know
Of any flower growing out Of doors tina
meets with such ready sale as daffodtls
both as cut flowers and when potted, =
New York Sun