PROPAGATION BY SEPARATION AND DIVISION 59 



FIG. 46. Cut hya- 

 The second au- cinth bulb with resulting 



bulbels. 



it is desirable to place them, at least for the first year, in a 



bed or border where they may receive careful attention; or, 



if they are especially small and delicate, 



they may be planted in pots or flats and 



be treated about the same as single-eye 



cuttings. In some lilies, the bulbels are 



allowed to remain attached, and the 



whole mass is planted in autumn in close 



drills. Sometimes the larger lily bulbels 



may produce flowers the following (or 



first) season, but they usually require the 



whole of the second season in which to 



complete their growth. 



tumn they are ready to be permanently 



planted. Bulbels of some species require even a longer time 



in which to mature into bulbs. 



Bulbels are sometimes produced by an injury to the bulb. 



Growth of stem and leaves is more or less checked and the 



energy is directed to the formation of minute buds, or bulbs, 



as adventitious buds form on a wounded stem. Advantage is 



taken of this fact to multiply some bulbous plants, and in the 



case of the hyacinths, at least, the mutilation of bulbs for this 

 purpose is practiced to a commercial ex- 

 tent. Hyacinth bulbs are cut in two, or 

 are slashed in various ways. The favor- 

 ite method is to make deep transverse 

 cuts into the base of the bulb (Fig. 46). 

 The strongest bulbs should be chosen, 

 and the operation is performed in spring 

 or early summer, when the bulb is taken 

 up. The bulbs are sometimes hollowed 

 out from the under side for half or more 



of their depth. This operation is sometimes performed later 



in the season than the other, and precaution should be exer- 



FIG. 47. Hollowed hya- 

 cinth bulb. 



