June, 190 7 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



295 



If you are cramped for room, you can stacK them this 

 way for ventilation 



Showing tulip bulbs in various stages of cleaning; also A flat of hyacinth bulbs preserved by the method re- 

 what is saved and what discarded commended in this article 



On wet days the workmen remove the 

 stems and all loose old skins from the bulbs 

 and throw out anything that looks like a 

 diseased bulb. Also the numerous bulblets, 

 that form in connection with the large bulbs 

 are all discarded. Only those are saved that 

 are plump, round, and well-developed and 

 give indications of good flowers. When they 

 are cleaned, they are kept in the flats on the 

 floor of this loft, and kept well ventilated and 

 •cool until planting time in October and 

 November. I succeed better by this method 

 of treatment than by any other I have tried, 

 in retaining those healthy chestnut-brown 

 skins on the tulips, that are so conspicuous 

 on bulbs received from Holland every year. 



In gardens where only two or three thou- 

 sand, are to be preserved, they may be tied 

 up in paper bags and hung on the rafters as 

 soon as they have dried in a cool airy shed. 

 I have seen them do very well in this way, 

 hut I believe, it is much safer to spread them 

 out in flats, as there is always a liability to 

 <l sweat," and decay when the bulbs are up 

 in bags, and much damage may be done 

 before the trouble is observed. 



A close watch must also be kept on mice 

 and rats. I never used to be troubled with 

 these rodents to any extent, until the last 

 few years, when they seem to have developed 

 a sudden appetite for tulips, and I have to 

 fight them with traps and poison or they 

 would soon cause extensive losses. 



The question is often raised, how about 

 those numerous bulblets or offsets that form 

 in connection with the old bulbs? Cannot 

 they be raised or propagated and keep up 

 an unfailing and increasing supply? 



It takes two to three years for offsets to 

 form first-class flowering bulbs, and during 

 this time they must be carefully cultivated 



in a warm, light loamy, well drained moist 

 soil. 



There are many places on this continent 

 where Dutch bulbs can be successfully grown 

 on a more or less limited scale for private use, 

 or to supply the market, but the conditions 

 in labor, environment, etc., are so much 

 more favorable in Holland, that the raising 

 of tulips and other bulbs here will not be 

 profitable, at least for a long time. Yet I 

 am aware that attempts have been made in 

 some parts of the South, and the West, and 

 perhaps are still in progress, to grow tulips 

 and other bulbs as an industry, but to what 

 extent those engaged in it have made it 

 profitable I have never been able to ascertain, 

 and at least they do not appear to have any 

 appreciable effect on the bulb supply of this 

 country. 



As for private gardens and public parks 

 attempting to raise their own bulbs for a 

 permanent supply, it would clearly be a case 

 of "penny wise and pound foolish," as first- 

 class bulbs can be bought much more cheaply 

 from Holland considering the labor entailed 

 in handling them here, even admitting that 

 they could be successfully raised in quan- 

 tity. 



Any one who wishes to try as a diversion 

 the raising of tulips from offsets should plant 

 them in a bed in the garden in light well- 

 drained soil about five inches between the 

 rows and two to three inches between the 

 bulbs. If they produce miniature flower 

 stems remove them until they are three years 

 old. 



As a general rule hyacinths deteriorate 

 much more rapidly than tulips. Even when 

 carefully saved the flowers are seldom as 

 large the second year as the first, but it pays 

 to save them, and for a number of years they 



will produce flower spikes quite freely, which 

 are very handy for cutting, although grad- 

 ually diminishing in size. The propagation 

 and increase of hyacinths is a much more 

 difficult matter than that of tulips, and I 

 am not aware that it has ever been attempted 

 in this country. 



Many varieties of hardy narcissus can as a 

 rule be much more easily perpetuated in this 

 country than either tulips or hyacinths. 

 The various forms of poet's narcissus and 

 the jonquils will stand unmolested and flower 

 freely and vigorously for many years. I 

 have had them growing in the sod for a long 

 time and apparently increasing in vigor each 

 year. I endeavor to plant them in position 

 where they need not be disturbed. As a rule 

 most of the hardy, large-trumpet daffodils 

 and medium-crowned varieties of narcissus, 

 if planted in proper conditions, will do well 

 for two or three years, but as soon as they 

 show signs of weakness and decrepitude 

 they must be lifted, dried and rested until 

 the following fall. 



In lifting narcissus it is very important 

 to wait until the foliage has entirely died 

 down and the bulbs have ripened, and the 

 flower buds have formed for the following 

 year. 



I have frequently been asked why daffodils 

 have failed to flower after they have been 

 lifted and replanted, when they appeared 

 to be strong bulbs. The trouble has been 

 the lifting of them before they have entirely 

 gone to rest When for various reasons I 

 have to lift different kinds of daffodils out 

 of beds, they are given exactly the same 

 treatment as the tulips receive. The poet's 

 narcissus, jonquil, and Van Sion daffodils 

 can be increased readily by offsets, and large 

 quantities of them can soon be obtained. 



v*<* 4 



1 *H^ * ,*T* ^FVfc 



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A flat of tulip bulbs after (he tops have been removed After cleaning by this method, showing how well the After cleaning by another method, showing how few 

 and before cleaning beautiful brown coats have been preserved of the skins are preserved 



