8o 



I'l,Ai\T I'M ll'AGATION 



but so far we have nu tunicate or scaly bulb industry 

 comparable with that of Japan, Bermuda or Holland. 

 Probably this is because until recently little attention 

 has been devoted to the work. But good bulbs can be 

 grown in this country. 



120. The bulb industry in Washington State has been slow to de- 

 velop, mainly because the rail cost of delivery in eastern markets is 

 higher than the water cost from Europe. The United States De- 

 partment of x^griculture has for several years been experimenting 

 in this industry and has published a progress report. Virginia 

 grown narcissus, tested at the Department of Agriculture with 

 European bulbs from three sources, gave decidedly better results. 



An Illinois experimenter is reported to have grown annually 

 about 100,000 bulbs of tulip, narcissus and lily-of-the-valley on low 

 well-drained, deep, black loam, heavily manured with stable inanure. 

 The majority of the bulbs were somewhat smaller than the imported 

 ones, but in earliness and ust. for forcing, size of flowers and length 

 of stem were apparently as good, except lily-of-the-valley flowers, 

 which excelled in size, substance and number of bells. 



121. Division is a form of separation in which the parts 

 do not naturally break apart but may be easily torn or 



cut from the parent 

 plant (rhizomes, tubers, 

 offsets, crowns). AMierc 

 separatioa ends and divi- 

 sion begins is hard to 

 say, because they blend 

 one into the other. 



122. Rhizome, or root- 

 stock, a subterranean 

 stem, especially if uni- 

 formly thick, for storage 

 of plant food. 



123. Stolon, a slender 

 branch which naturally 

 takes root or bears a 

 bulb at its extremity, 

 where it forms a new 



FIG. 70— BULB "SCOOPING" MACHINE i . t^ ■ 1 J 



plant. It IS produced 



Used by U. S. Government in Washington , , - , 



State bulb growing. abovc Or Ijclow grouud. 



