Meade County news. [volume] (Meade, Kan.) 1900-1918, 1912-07-04
On Flossiie S
Advice

a shallow bowl filled with blooming
bulbs, they did bloom at last and
they are pretty. But don't you ever
let any one tell you what Flossie told
me about them, for it isn't true
"Chinese lilies or narcissus?" asked
her visitor, as she slipped off her pin
less hat and warmed her blue tipped
fingers against the tea cozy, all set
for gentle brewing.
I'm sure I don't know. l bought
both kinds of bulbs and they got
mixed, and now every bowl has some
flowers with yellow centers and some
that are white and everybody tells me
a different story about which is which.
But that doesn't matter nearly so
much as the rest of it." Young Mrs.
Tomlinson sank into her wicker chair
and began to arrange the delicate tea
cups, and after that she uncovered a
pile of cheese sandwiches.
1T Is all lovely" exclaimed her
friend. "All-tea, cheese, sandwiches
and flowers. l am cold and hungry,
so hurry the tea, and do tell me what
Flossie said that wasn't true"
None Of 1t was true-about the
bulbs" declared young Mrs. Tomlin-
son, sternly. And she started me
on them, you know. She was here last
summer when we gave our rubber
plant to Aunt Sophie because Harry
said it was too big to live with and
fused so about it. / was sorry to see
It 20, for 1t was the only thing l ever
made grow, and / have spent a for
tune on ferns and various kinds OF
plants. They die the minute I touch
them. So F1ossie suggested bulbs.
They were quite cheap, she told me.
"'Just get some cheap, plain glass
bowls said Flossie, and you can
gather enough pebbles this summer to
fill them. Then get the bulbs-at 20
cents dozen-and you have flowers
for the entire winter. Plant them two
weeks apart and then keep them in
the dark for two weeks. In six weeks
they bloom and you can keep taking
out your bowls as the old flowers die
It sounded delightful, so l decided to
try it.
THAT was in July. We were going
north for the rest of the summer, SO
l Just made a note OF it and watched
for pebbles. Whenever we were In
swimming or were walking by the
lake l made everybody pick up peb-
bles for me. Harry said his pockets
were full of stones aN summer long,
and he got awfully mad once because
] emptied the cigars out OF a new
cigar box to put stones in, though
covered up the cigars and they weren't
hurt a bit.
'I brought back four boxes of stones
perfect beauties, blue and white and
yellow and pink. Then / began to
/ look up bowls. F1ossie said the bowls
would cost almost nothing at all, and
I began to look for plain glass bowls
The cheap ones were dreadful pressed
glass things and the only pretty ones
were 81 each, so / got two OF those
and then looked at pottery bowls
Harry says that there's where | lost
my head. but [ looked on the bowl:
as an investment. And | got some
beauties. They cost more than The
others but | thought they were wortf
the money, and the Japanese clerl
was such a dear about choosing them
"Then got the bulbs. And instead
of costing rs cents a dozen they were
three for a quarter. Flossie said
went to the wrong place, but didn'
know that, and l had bought si'
bowls, so l had to have plenty o
bulbs.
About October 1 l began to Sc
them out so they would begin bloom
ing about November 16. never hav'
got over this part of q, it. Harry ha
always given his cigar boxes to
neighbor boy and he came over L
play in our basement one day an
found my pebbles in those boxes an
threw them all into the alley!
4 Harry wasn't at all sympathetic
He simply refused to go and gathe
more pebbles by the lake which b
, might have done to save expense, an
so l had to go back to the bulb stor
| and buy little ugly, commonplace
T stones for ten cents a quart.
II finally got one bowl started i
the dark in the coat closet. Their
Harry found it before it was a wee
old and spilled it all over the sill
lapels of his new tuxedo. Of course
his tailor could fix that, but he insist
on counting it in as part OF the e.
l pense. He never seemed to care &c
= my bulb ambitions.
. THAT bowl was broken, and
j.. course it was the incest. and the littl
4 tender sprouts were harmed, so ma
. to begin again. | took all the thing
q out of the closet and had the jamie
| put up some shelves, and it didn't CO.
/. much and was splendid place for tn
= bulbs.
D But all winter Harry has said tn;
r he hasn't been able to find a thin
in it's proper place. He quoted dow
+ a bit after the bulbs got to bloomir
q until he got his newspaper in boy
4 one night, and then you really shou
have heard him rave, though it W;
: inst his own carelessness.