PRODUCTION OF TULIP BULBS. 7 
plied by the figure at the head of the column. The total number of 
bulbs of any one variety planted is the sum of the product of the 
number of rows of each size multiplied by the number of bulbs 
planted to the row in each size. 
SIZES AND QUALITY OF BULBS USED FOR PLANTING. 
The quality of one's planting stock can not be designated in centi- 
meters any more than by any other known standard of measure. 
There are so many factors entering into consideration as to make 
the grower's planting stock the most variable element in the pro- 
duction of tulip bulbs. There is one idea which the producer should 
always have in mind, i. e., he should strive to set for the next season's 
turn-off as large a percentage of sizes which will mature in one 
year as is compatible with the production of sufficient planting stock 
of the same character for the succeeding year. In other words, 
it is the smallest planting bulbs which will grow to maturity in 
one year, which are set and dug but once, that will yield the 
greatest net cash returns, and it should be the grower's aim to use 
in his planting as large a percentage of such bulbs as possible. 
When any stock is scarce or hard to get and it is desirable to increase 
the planting, the grower may find it to his advantage to plant every 
bulblet he has, in which case his planting bulbs may vary from 3 to 
14 centimeters or more in size. In the general run of the business, 
however, bulbs below 5 centimeters in size should be discarded, 
because the length of time it takes to bring them to maturity cuts 
down the profits too much. Practically all bulbs of 5 to 7 centimeters, 
under good cultural conditions, should reach merchantable size 
the second year, and those 8 centimeters and over should reach 
maturity in one year. 
Often the commercial grower reserves his toppers 2 and plants 
them. It is from these that he gets his greatest proportion of increase. 
But there is as much psychology in this practice as there is in selection. 
The grower can not afford to turn off the small percentage of over- 
sized bulbs to the consumer, who may be ignorant as to what the 
size of the bulbs should really be and is likely to gauge the quality 
of his receipts by the quality of the small percentage of top-sized 
bulbs. These toppers, on the other hand, while giving a merchant- 
able bulb the next season, together with a numerous progeny, are 
expensive to grow, for the reason that they are large and require a 
greater space than the smaller bulbs which are just large enough 
to come to maturity in one year and be turned off. 
The proper size to plant in order to obtain a mature bulb at the 
next digging is dependent directly on the fertility of the soil and 
inversely on the thickness of the planting. 
2 The largest bulbs of a variety. 
