COMMERCIAL, DUTCH-BULB CULTURE. 



31 



to continue their development until digging time. If the job is care- 

 fully done the resultant bulbs will be but little inferior the next year, 

 while in regions adapted to the production of bulbs if given a year 

 of proper treatment the}^ will entirely recover. 



It is often possible and desirable to use carpeting plants, such as 

 pansies, arabis, and phlox, to add to the mass of color or to prolong 



Tig. 18. — A pot of hyacinths showing 

 the right kind of root development at 

 the time they are brought into full heat. 



I , I \J .1, \ 



Pig. 19. — A pot of crocuses showing the 

 time they are brought under forcing 

 right kind of top development at the- 

 conditions. 



the season, when the bulbs may be allowed to ripen in place and be 

 lifted, and still later bedding plants may be put in. If the bulbs 

 are set deep it is quite possible to spade or fork the ground shallowly 

 without disturbing the bulbs and to grow any shallow-rooted crop 

 for ornament or profit. We have 

 known cowpeas to be planted to 

 improve the soil and keep down 

 weeds. These can be put in be- 

 tween the plants after the flowers 

 have faded. 



INDOOR CULTURE. 



Fig. 20. — A pot of hyacinths showing a 

 minimum of top development at the time 

 they are taken out of the heeling ground. 



While the florist successfully 

 forces millions of narcissi, tulips, 

 and hyacinths each season to sup- 

 ply the cut-flower market, the 

 housewife fails as often as she succeeds with bulbs in the house. If, 

 however, a proper selection of bulbs is made and certain requirements 

 obtain, which are possibly more easily stated than found in an ordi- 

 nary home, success will be assured. There are three conditions to be 

 met. The first is to root the bulbs well before bringing them into 

 heat (figs. 18, 19, and 20) ; the second, to keep the temperature down; 



