26 BULLETIN 962, U. S. DEPARTMEiSTT OF AGRICULTUEE. 



The fertilizer used will be that which is most available. As indi- 

 cated above, the experimental culture described in these pages has 

 been on poor soil fertilized with stable manure, and the ground has 

 been covered with crops to turn under whenever the time during 

 which it was not occupied would permit. Manures should be well 

 incorporated and applied sufficiently in advance of planting to avoid 

 the detrimental effects of raw fertilizers. Experience indicates that 

 rots in the base of the bulbs are rather easily induced by carelessness 

 in the use of manures. 



STORAGE OF BULBS. 



Bulbs of the Easter lily should be exposed to atmospheric in- 

 fluences as short a time as possible. Imported stocks are packed in 

 pulverized dry earth as soon as possible after they are dug. In this 

 pack the evil effect of a bulb mass is avoided, the bulbs are kept dry, 

 and excessive desiccation is prevented. 



Cold-storage handling has been developed to a high degree of per- 

 fection. The bulbs are held 2 degrees above the freezing point for 

 a year, and in some cases for two years, and still they give results. 

 They usually go into storage in the original pack. 



The handling of home-grown stocks is, of course, a matter for 

 experiment. There is much to leam about it. The temperature 

 must be kept down, the atmosphere kept dry, and the ventilation 

 controlled, so as to prevent the bulbs from wilting too much. These 

 requirements are not difficult to fulfill in September or October in 

 a reasonably well-arranged building which is dry. The light on the 

 bulbs should also be subdued or they will turn green in a short time. 

 It is particularly important that the atmosphere of the storage house 

 be dry, because root action starts very quicklj' in a moist atmosphere 

 and blue mold is likely to cause trouble. If the bulbs must be kept 

 out of the ground longer than a month, or six weeks at most, they are 

 better packed in pulverized dry earth, as are imported stocks. 



Stocks of bulbs of the Easter lily have been carried by the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture on a basis not altogether ideal. The bulbs were 

 out of the ground in 1920 from September 20 to November 1 and were 

 somewhat wilted when planted, but not injuriously so. After digging 

 they were worked over on the benches in a greenhouse, a very bad 

 place. They were then stored in a poorly ventilated half basement 

 which was only moderately dry. 



It is not a difficult matter to hold the bulbs over winter in the 

 climate of Washington, D. C. They have been carried over for 

 spring planting in almost perfect condition when packed like im- 

 ported bulbs in dry sand in boxes and buried in dry earth under a 

 porch of a dwelling. The box was put down in the ground 1 foot 



