32 
BULLETIN 1082, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
ment of Agriculture has usually shipped a minimum carload in bulk. 
With containers ready and tulips cleaned on the shelves, four men one 
year packed 300,000 tulips in a little over a day. But this was what 
might be termed " bulk shipment." The filling of small orders would 
be slower, and more time would be consumed in proportion to the 
number of the orders. It is believed that the cost of marketing 
tulips will not differ very much from that of marketing gladiolus. 
Planting tulips. — Commonly the planting crew consists of two men 
and four boys. A crew as large as this is used because inexperienced 
boys are not able to keep bulbs set ahead of the two good men 
mucking and raking. Usually with a little- experience and selection 
boys may be found, two of whom can do the work. It is considered 
that a good planting crew consists of two men and two adaptable, 
experienced boys. Such a crew as this has put in 25 beds a day. 
One crew of this size put in an acre of tulips on two occasions in a 
little less than eight days. The same performance was duplicated 
last year. Mr. Houser, who managed the crew both years, is of the 
opinion that such a crew after two weeks' experience should be able 
to put in an acre in seven days. 
Cultivation. — Under cultivation is included all work done on the 
ground in the way of raking, fall and spring cultivating, and hand 
weeding. It is interesting to note that one man spent 1^ days in 
hand weeding 1 acre for the 1920 crop. The total time on this work 
was 18 man-boy days. 
Marking and opening the beds. — Boys did the work of marking and 
opening the beds on the acre in 10 J days. 
Sizing and storing. — The time required for sizing and storing tulip 
bulbs in the experiments at Bellingham, Wash., is much in excess of 
that necessary for commercial operations, on account of the multi- 
plicity of varieties. One man occupied on this and other miscel- 
laneous duties worked 16 days. 
Roguing. — It took one man 4J days to rogue the acre of tulips in 
1920. 
Cutting flowers . — To remove the flowers from the beds and compost 
them took the labor of one man for 6 days. 
Table 4. — Labor of growing an experimental acre of tulip bulbs. 
Operation. 
Labor 
sum- 
mary: 
Man-boy 
labor 
(days). 
Digging 
Cleaning 
Planting 
Cultivation and weeding. . 
Marking and opening beds 
18 
104 
Operation. 
Sizing and storing 
Roguing 
Cutting flowers.. . 
Total 
Labor 
sum- 
mary: 
Man-boy 
labor 
(days). 
16 
