16 BULLETIN 1082, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



mind the planting scheme, which enables him to pick up the loosened 

 bulbs and drop them in the tray with no lost motion. 



The beds when ready to dig have been hoed off, and there is nothing 

 to indicate the position of the bulbs. The first row in the bed may 

 vary as much as 4 or 5 inches in its position. In starting to dig, 

 therefore, it is necessary simply to find one bulb in the first row. 

 This is done by scratching off the soil over 6 inches or more of the 

 surface until the nose of a bulb or perchance the remains of some 

 of the stems are seen. It is then a simple matter to dig behind the 

 row straight across the bed and remove the bulbs. 



The digger always keeps a furrowlike trench in front of him in the 

 position of the last row dug. In starting on a new row he strikes 

 back 6 inches with his spade. The bulbs are located in the middle 

 of this 6-inch space. With a few short, sharp jabs with his spade he 

 removes 2 to 3 inches of the upper layer of soil in a 6-inch strip across 

 the bed. This invariably exposes some of the bulbs and visually 

 demonstrates the exact position of the row. This operation of uncov- 

 ering proceeds from right to left or from left to right across the bed. 

 The digger then begins back on the right or left again. With another 

 thrust of the spade and again pulhng the dirt and bulbs toward him 

 he loosens the bulbs for a 6 or 8 inch section of the row. The bulbs 

 are then placed in the screen-bottomed trays and the rest of the row 

 removed in the same way, and so on with the next row. In some 

 cases, especially with large bulbs, the whole row of bulbs is loosened 

 after being uncovered before any of the bulbs are picked up. These 

 directions for digging appear more complicated than they reaUy are. 

 The operations are simple and quickly made. 



The uncovering of the row before loosening the bulbs seems to be 

 advantageous on heavy soils, but on the lighter soils the loosening 

 of the bulbs is accomphshed with one movement of the digging tool. 



The bulbs come out of the ground for the most part in clumps. 

 The digger lifts the whole clump without any attempt to get it free 

 from dirt and places it in the hand screens described elsewhere. 

 These receptacles the digger pushes ahead of him over the bed as he 

 digs. When the tray is two-thirds full, the contents are sifted lightly 

 to remove the loose dirt and the bulbs poured into the lug boxes and 

 taken to the bulb house. 



In case the quantity of the variety being dug is large or the bulbs 

 very damp, it is often advisable to employ a large shaker, like that 

 shown in Plate IX, Figm-e 2. This is operated by two men, and about 

 a bushel of bulbs is cleaned of loose dirt at one time. 



IMPORTANCE OF CLEAN DIGGING. 



Wherever bulb culture is taken up in earnest great care should be 

 exercised to get aU the bulbs out of the ground. Aside from the 



