30 BULLETIN 962, U. §. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
Late in the season, say about November 1, it is desirable to go 
_ over the beds and loosen the soil around the stems, being careful 
not to interfere with the bulbs. After the soil is loosened a quick 
jerk will remove the stem and its bulblets, leaving the bulb in place 
for next season’s growth. It is very deeraule that this be done in 
order to prevent the plants from becoming too crowded. Instead 
of jerking the stem out of the bulb it may be cut off below the bulb- 
lets where the stem is bare. Deep planting—6 to 8 inches—is ad- 
visable for permanent plantings of this kind. | 
LENGTHENING THE FLOWER SEASON OUT OF DOORS. 
Bulbs planted at the regular planting time, the 1st of November, 
will blossom in the climate of Washington, D. C., in early July. 
If the bulbs are held over and planted as soon as the ground can 
be worked in the spring they will blossom a month later, ana seed- 
lings grown frem sowings made the 1st of January will begin to 
open about the same time as spring-planted bulbs. These will con- 
tinue to flower until frost. — : 
To get blossoms out of doors earlier than from normal] stocks is 
a little more difficult, but still entirely possible. Bulbs can be put 
into 4-inch pots and set away at a temperature of 40° F. early in the 
year. They can be kept in frames and.brought to varying degrees of 
development by spring, when they can be knocked out of the pots 
and set in the open. It will make no difference except to slow up 
their growth if the temperature goes below the freezing point for 
short periods a few times after the plants are well rooted. Handled 
in this way they can be brought to flower at least a month earher 
than normal November planted stocks, thus giving blossoming plants 
out of doors from May until frost. 
REDUCING THE COST OF HEAT IN FORCING, 
By a little maneuvering, and this is always necessary in getting a 
batch of lilies in blossom for any particular date, methods can be 
worked out for flowering lilies with much less cost for fuel than now 
obtains with imported stack. 
Seedlings potted from the field in October, in various stages of de- 
velopment, can be put into groups according to size and held in 
frames until the first of the year if wanted for Easter. The most 
advanced of them will need no heat until a later date, and from that 
time they can be kept much cooler than is usual with freshly potted 
bulbs. 
It is suggested that it may be qa feasible to carry bulbs in 
ordinary storage so far into the summer that when planted out they 
can be repotted for winter flowering in the field after as much as a 
