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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
DEPARTMENT BULLETIN No. 1327 
Washington, D. C. 
April, 1925 
PRODUCTION OF GRAPE-HYACINTH BULBS 
By David Griffiths, Horticulturist, Office of Horticultural Investigations, 
Bureau of Plant Industry 
CONTENTS 
Page 
General characteristics of grape hya- 
cinths 1 
Sources of supply 2 
Uses of the plants 2 
Varieties and their commercial ap- 
plication 2 
Detracting characteristics 4 
Who should grow the stocks 4 
Soils 4 
Planting and cultivation 5 
Digging or harvesting 5 
Importance of proper drying of bulbs 
in storage 6 
Packing for shipment 7 
Page 
A possible advantageous method of 
growing 7 
Preparation and sizing of stocks 8 
Planting stocks 8 
Merchantable stocks 9 
Propagation 9 
Growing from seed 10 
Prime difficulty with grape hya- 
cinths 11 
Where grape hyacinths may be 
grown 12 
Present demand 13 
Growing under glass 13 
Yields 14 
Future of grape hyacinths 14 
Summary 15 
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF GRAPE HYACINTHS 
The grape hyacinth (Muscari sp.), a group of the lily family, 
constitutes quite a distinct genus, separated from the common hya- 
cinth mainly by the constriction of the mouth of the bell-shaped 
flower into a vase or urn, The plants may be looked upon as grace- 
ful small-flowered hyacinths. 
The group in general is one of easy culture, no more difficult than 
the common hyacinth, is adapted to a much greater variety of con- 
ditions and treatments, and is capable of being produced under a 
much greater diversity of climatic and soil conditions. 
The bulbs have always been cheap. In pre-war days the whole- 
sale prices in the Netherlands were but $5 to $7 per thousand. Since 
that time they have not been available on our markets except tempo- 
rarily. None was on sale at any price in commercial quantities from 
1917 to 1923; not that there have not been a great many bulbs in 
the country, and a few commercial stocks are being developed, but 
there are not enough in the possession of any one individual to con- 
stitute a commercial supply. 
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