IN THE GARDEN BORDER 31 



planted, without the young roots being ex- 

 posed to sun, air-drying or handling, the dan- 

 ger of injury will be lessened; but it is difficult 

 to properly divide freshly lifted bulbs and 

 their offsets on account of the adhesiveness 

 of the soil and matting of wiry old roots. 

 Therefore, it is considered good practice to 

 lift early better too early than too late 

 store the clumps in a cool, airy, shady place 

 (preferably in trays) and there let them ripen 

 and cure until the old leaves and roots are 

 dry, when they are easily cleaned off and 

 divided. 



The actual work of "lifting" should be 

 done by a spading fork. Never take a spade 

 for this purpose, as the danger of cutting the 

 bulbs is increased. Insert the fork a few 

 inches from the clump, until the tines are com- 

 pletely buried. Work it from side to side and 

 up and down to loosen the mass. , JQien in- 

 cline the fork so that it will passfunder the 

 bulbs and the clump is removed. 



"Dividing" is a term expressing the opera- 

 tion of separating bulbs held together by 

 matted and intermingled roots and removing 

 the offsets or young bulbs from the mother 



