102 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



tion, laid in regular rows, one deep on the shelves, which are 

 about seven inches apart. Tulips will be found in another 

 section, double and single varieties being in different parts. 

 Other leading species of bulbs, such as Narcissuses, Scillas, 

 Crocuses, etc., are each in their allotted section. All are care- 

 fully named and labelled, the varieties of the species being kept 

 distinct by means of movable blocks of wood. All other bulbs 

 with dry roots are stored before shipment in a similar manner. 



Each section of the magazine is under the charge of a careful 

 workman, who is capable of filling all orders for bulbs from his 

 particular department. When all have been lifted, dried, cleaned, 

 graded, and put in place in the magazine, the filling of orders 

 commences. This is proceeded with in the following manner. 

 Orders begin to come in several weeks before they can be filled. 

 As soon as they are received, the paper labels for bags are all writ- 

 ten ; an assistant then pastes these labels on t.ie right sizes of bags 

 required to hold the number called for. Afterwards the labelled 

 bags for the whole order are tied together and marked with the 

 customer's name. All orders are tluis written up when received 

 and laid aside till the time for filling. When all is ready a 

 number — perhaps twelve orders — are selected, and the labelled 

 bags of all the twelve orders are given to the men in charge of the 

 various departments. The man in charge of the named Hyacinths, 

 has the making up of all that class of Hyacinths called for by all 

 the twelve orders before he returns to the packing room with his 

 truck load of packages. The Tulip man gets all the empty Tulip 

 bags of the twelve orders to fill, and so with those iu charge of 

 other sections of the magazine. Each workman is supposed to 

 get a just proportion, so that all may get through together. 



All bring their loads to the large packing room, when each original 

 manuscript order is taken separately and the items as called for 

 are handed from the trucks by the men who filled them. When 

 the first order is thus all called for and filled, the bags are packed 

 and boxed by men who attend to that work especially. The other 

 orders are filled in the same way till the twelve are completed, and 

 so the work goes on from day to day during the season. 



For packing in the bags, chaff of buckwheat is used to protect 

 bulbs from being chafed. In packing crocuses, sawdust is now 

 more commonly used on account of being less kindly to the 

 increase of a tiny insect which preys upon the bulbs. 



