Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1912-02-16

I None of it 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. l was sorry to see
it go, for it was the only thing l ever
made grow, and l have spent a for
tune on ferns and various kinds of
plants. They die the minute l touch
them. So FlOssie suggested bulbs.
They were quite cheap, she told me.
. "'Just get some cheap, plain glass
bowls said FIossie, and you can
gather enough pebbles this summer to
fill them. Then get the bulbs-at %
cents a 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
1t sounded delightful, so l decided to
try it.
THAT was in July. We were going
north for the rest of the summer, so
| 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 all summer long,
| and he got awfully mad once because
l | 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.
81 brought back four boxes of stones
! perfect beauties, blue and white and
yellow and pink. Then l began to
/ look up bowls. Flossie 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 l got two Of those
| and then looked at pottery bowls
Harry says that there's where l lost
my head, but 1 looked on the bowls
I as an investment. And | got some
beauties. They cost more than the
others, but l thought they were worth
the money, and the Japanese clerk
was such dear about choosing them.
| Then l got the bulbs. And instead
of costing % cents dozen they were
three for a quarter Flossie said
went to the wrong place, but l didn't
know that, and l had bought six
bowls, so l had to have plenty Of
bulbs.
About October l l began to sci
them out so they would begin bloom
ing about November Is. never have
got over this part of it. Harry has
always given his cigar boxes to &
neighbor boy and he came over tc
play in our basement one day anC
found my pebbles in those boxes anC
threw them all into the alley!
| Harry wasn't at all sympathetic
He simply refused to go and gather
more pebbles by the lake, which he
might have done to save expense, anC
so l had to go back to the bulb store
and buy little ugly, commonplace
stones for ten cents quart.
81 finally got one bowl started il
the dark in the coat closet There
Harry found it before it was a weeE
old and spilled it all over the sill
lapels of his new tuxedo OF course
his tailor could fix that, but he insists
on counting it in as part of the ex
pense. He never seemed to care fol
| my bulb ambitions
THAT bowl was broken, and o.
course it was the incest and the little
tender sprouts were harmed, so l hac
to begin again. took all the things
out of the closet and had the janitol
| put up some shelves, and it didn't cos
much and was a splendid place for the
bulbs.
But all winter Harry has said thai
he hasn't been abh x fad thing
in its proper place. tie quoted dowr
bit after the bulbs got to blooming
until he got his newspaper in bow
one night, and then you really should
have heard him rave, though it was
just his own carelessness.
"Of COURSE. have learned a lot
l oh 70 hot