PRODUCTION" OF TULIP BULBS. 25 
When proper control of the bulb house is not possible, it is a good 
plan to pile the bulbs higher on the shelves and cover them with 
buckwheat hulls or old burlap sacks. 
The above relates to the stock which is to be marketed. The small 
bulbs which constitute the planting stocks are put through the fan- 
ning mill and then returned to the shelves, where they remain until 
required for planting. They should be handled with just as much 
care and in practically the same way as the bulbs which are to be 
marketed. On account of poor aeration it is not safe to pile the 
smaller sizes of bulbs as high on the shelves as the larger bulbs. They 
must be kept from molding and from too rapid drying out. In the 
climate of Bellingham, Wash., when digging is done in July and 
planting in August, difficulties of this nature are not serious. 
PACKING TULIPS FOR SHIPMENT. 
Many methods are employed in packing tulips for shipment, the 
main requisite being a well-aerated pack. For short shipments and 
small packages aeration need not be considered, but large quantities 
must be aerated lest they should heat. 
The most satisfactory shipments are made in perforated paper 
sacks holding 250 to 400 bulbs, like those used with imported bulbs. 
These sacks are packed in slatted crates holding 15 to 20. Shipments 
may be made both with and without buckwheat or other chaff be- 
tween the bulbs, and apparently with good success in either case. 
Often bulbs of the cheaper sorts from Holland placed loose in slatted 
crates arrive in good condition. The more expensive sorts are 
always packed with greater care. 
Sacks for large shipments are not always readily obtainable in 
this country, especially in a strength of stock that is required. The 
Bureau of Plant Industry has used a square-bottomed sack of sterling 
leather paper having a bursting strength of about 55 pounds, but 
about 75 pounds is safer, and this is what is used by the foreign 
grower. Since there is some moisture present, it is important that 
the sack be well glued. The sacks for large shipments are about 9 by 
19 inches, and when filled hold 250 to 400 bulbs. The top is folded, 
so that a tie once around each way with a stout cord holds. (PL XIV, 
Fig. 1.) At times, cloth sacks holding 1 peck have been used with 
satisfaction, but there is objection to cloth for the reason that the 
aeration is not so good as with the perforated paper sack. 
The style of crate used by the Bureau of Plant Industry has varied 
from year to year and, of course, will vary until a bulb business 
develops in some locality where cooperation and teamwork will 
standardize operations and materials. The crates now employed 
are about two-thirds the capacity of the larger Dutch crates. 
