BULB CULTURE 69 



flower beds must be spaded over and refertilized in the fall, all bulbs 

 should be removed in the late spring and stored in the usual manner 

 in a cool, dry, dark place in the cellar or shed until time to plant them 

 in the fall. If it is necessary to dig up bulbs in the fall after some root 

 growth has started, then these bulbs should be taken up with some soil 

 attached to the roots. They should be kept moist and replanted 

 just as soon as practical. They should never be left to dry out because 

 after the root growth has once started this drying out of the roots is 

 likely to cause considerable injury to the bulbs. Only such perma- 

 nent sorts as the tulips, especially the Darwins, narcissi, and the lilies 

 will as a rule repay the trouble entailed. Hyacinths seldom can be 

 depended upon for good bloom after the first display, in any event, 

 and are thus hardly worth the trouble of replanting. In the eastern 

 states and in the Middle West root growth in bulbs hardly ever starts 

 before the latter part of September because the dry months of late 

 summer keep the bulbs dormant until the fall rains. When replanting 

 of bulbs is done after September 15th, a good mulch of straw 

 manure put on to keep the frost out of the ground as long as possible is 

 essential. 



Of lilies, in the case of the foreign and the hybridized, it is practically 

 useless, in general, to try to prolong life and to improve bloom from 

 year to year by taking the bulbs up annually. Careful study and ex- 

 perimenting are necessary to determine what kinds it is best to plant. 

 The tiger lily, the speciosum, white and pink-dotted, and the madonna 

 lily are managed easily and the native lilies are apt to be permanent, if 

 given their natural conditions. The one named last should be planted 

 early in the autumn or even late in the summer, not more than two or 

 three inches deep and in heavy or somewhat clayey soil. The bulbs 

 of this and of the others-named here may be taken up every few years, 

 as they increase in number, and be replanted in fresh soil. The bulbs 

 of nearly all lilies except notably the madonna may be kept over winter 

 packed in moss or sand and stored in a cool place where they will not 

 freeze. Then they can be successfully planted in the spring (Con- 

 sult XXXIII-F, Page 253). 



Narcissi are best left undisturbed for several years. It is best to 

 allow crocuses and early tulips to run out, unless the tulips are wanted 

 for formal effects. All tulips, like hyacinths, yield most satisfactory 

 bloom if they are taken up annually and replanted at the proper season. 

 Only the larger bulbs should be planted, where uniformity of effect is 



