58 



THE NURSERY-MANUAL 



leek, and the like (page 4). The bulbels of the tulip are 

 shown in Fig. 43. In one of the lilies (Fig. 44) two bulbs have 



formed at the crown of the old one. 

 In some lilies, as Lilium candidwn, 

 the bulbels form at the top or 

 crown of the mother-bulb, and a 

 circle of roots is found between them 

 and the bulb; in others, as L. 

 speciosum and L. auratum, they 

 form on the lower part of the flower- 

 stalk. In some species the bulbels 

 are few and very large, or even 

 single, and they bloom the follow- 

 ing year. In such cases the bulb 

 undergoes a progressive movement 

 from year to year after the man- 

 ner of rootstocks, the bulb of one 

 year bearing a more or less distinct 

 one above and beyond it, which con- 

 FIG. 44 Two bulbs of lily tinues the spec ies, while the old one 



formed from one. ' . . 



becomes weak or dies. This method 



of bulb formation is seen in the cut of Lilium pardalinum, Fig. 

 45. In the hyacinth the bulbels form at 

 the base of the bulb. 



Bulbels vary greatly in size and fre- 

 quency in different species. Sometimes 

 they are no larger than a grain of wheat 

 the first year, and in other plants they 

 are as large as hickory-nuts. In some 

 species they are borne habitually under- 

 neath the scales of the mother bulb. 



The bulbels are often removed when 

 the mother-bulbs are taken up, and they are usually planted 

 in essentially the same way as the bulbs themselves, although 



FIG. 45. Bulb of Lilium 

 pardalinum. 



