20 
BULLETIN 1082, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
closely, therefore, the conditions of nature can be imitated during 
the time the bulbs are out of the ground the better they will be 
preserved. It should be constantly borne in mind that we are deal- 
ing with plants whose natural environment is the soil, the multitu- 
dinous influences of which are very difficult to imitate. This curing 
consists simply in drying the bulb clumps as they come from the 
ground until the old coats appear dry to the touch. The bulbs are 
dried sufficiently so that mold will not develop. The whole process 
amounts to striking a balance between an excessive moisture which 
will allow the development of molds and other decomposition fungi 
on the one hand and too great a desiccation of the bulbs on the other. 
SHELF REQUIREMENT. 
The square feet of shelf space needed in the bulb house will vary 
greatly with conditions. The main factors which influence it are 
the moisture content of the bulbs when placed in storage, the control 
of ventilation in the house, and the general atmospheric conditions. 
Under conditions which make for rapid desiccation the bulbs can 
be piled higher and consequently require less room. As a rule, tulip 
bulbs can go on the shelves 4 to 5 inches deep. (PI. XII.) As con- 
crete examples of actual performance in this respect Table 2 gives 
useful information on actual operations wherein the difference will 
be seen to vary more than 50 per cent. 
Table 2. — Space required by tulip bulbs of the Cardinal's Hat variety wnen growing in 
the field and when " curing^ in the bulb house. 
Growing space. 
Number. 
Weight (pounds). 
Shelf 
room 
Rows. 
45-foot 
beds. 
Area. 
Salable. 
Planting 
stock. 
Salable. 
Planting 
stock. 
Total. 
used in 
bulb 
house 
(square 
feet). 
3,384 
37§ 
About one-fifth acre. 
22,000 
70,000 
1,620 
1, 120 
2,740 
260 
In 1919 the merchantable turn-off of Cardinal's Hat was 22,000 
bulbs, a number large enough to afford trustworthy figures of the space 
actually employed for handling. In order to have a reliable con- 
ception of the bulb-house space, its relation to field space, weight, and 
number of bulbs is necessary. 
The bulbs were dry when dug and of prime quality. Their coats, 
though, were somewhat cracked, and they were piled higher than 
usual to get added protection from atmospheric influences. Con- 
cerning the 70,000 planting stock it may be said that about 11,000 
of these bulbs were below 5 centimeters in circumference and were 
discarded at planting time. 
