COMMERCIAL, DUTCH-BULB CULTURE. 15 



Calif., are making their trays 3 by 9 feet and nesting them with the 

 view eventually of handling by machinery a nest of 10 or more of 

 these trays holding 3 bushels each. The Department of Agriculture 

 has used both methods and prefers the tray which in the past has 

 been 4 feet square. It is rather inclined to a 3-foot square, or possibly 

 a 3 by 4 foot tray, for its purpose of handling a large number of 

 varieties in moderate quantities. A 1-man tray may serve its ex- 

 perimental purposes better than one adapted to the handling of large 

 quantities of fewer varieties. 



The three classes of bulbs — tulips, narcissi, and hyacinths — re- 

 quire different conditions for curing. They are consequently best 

 handled in different compartments qi the bulb house. The treat- 

 ment which each class receives with reference to ventilation will vary 

 not only with the class, but also with the general atmospheric con- 

 dition of the region in which the bulbs are grown. Curing under 

 seacoast conditions will require very different handling of the venti- 

 lation from that 25 or even 10 miles inland. So variable and un- 

 certain is this factor that experience under a particular environ- 

 ment is necessary before directions, except of the most general char- 

 acter, can be given. Experiences in handling tulips upon the grounds 

 of the Department of Agriculture on Bellingham Bay and on those 

 of private individuals in the Los Angeles region illustrate this fact. 

 It is not at all unusual with us in a wet season to have small tulip 

 bulbs on the shelves of the bulb house start to mold when only 2 to 

 3 inches deep. On the other hand, a grower near Los Angeles cured 

 his tulips last year in burlap sacks. The bulbs were placed as dug 

 in sacks about three- fourths full and tied as though filled. These 

 packages were flattened out on the floor of the storehouse and turned 

 over two or three times while drying. Such handling would be dis- 

 astrous under the humid conditions at Bellingham. 



Tulips go on the bulb-house shelves or trays as soon as they are 

 dug, and always in thin layers. They should dry slowly. At Bel- 

 lingham they are seldom dry enough to clean in less than two weeks, 

 and it is quite possible that three weeks is the proper time for this 

 process. During this period the bulbs should be kept well aerated, 

 but free from draughts of air or wind and preferably not exposed 

 to too strong light. When dry, the cleaning may begin and the 

 bulbs returned to the shelves, but in deeper layers. After this, it 

 should be the grower's care to keep the bulbs from drying too much, 

 on the one hand, or molding, on the other. Much less air is necessary 

 than during the drying process, and the light should be strictly sub- 

 dued. In other words, the bulb house must be so controlled that 

 the bulbs will not dry out too rapidly or be exposed to draughts or 

 to too strong light. Any of these conditions will cause the bulb 



