PKODUCTION OF GRAPE-HYACINTH BULBS 5 
correspondingly lower. Above all things this crop should not be 
attempted commercially on a heavy clay soil or one that bakes; not 
that the plants may not grow fairly well even there, but there will be 
too much difficulty in handling such a soil, and the reduced number 
of days in the year when it can be worked will lessen labor efficiency 
too much, especially in such a region as the Pacific Northwest, where 
efficiency is naturally low on account of the copious rainfall. 
PLANTING AND CULTIVATION 
Like many other bulbs, grape hyacinths are planted thickly and 
preferably in beds, their width varying with circumstances. A very 
convenient planting is the conventional bed 3 feet wide with rows 6 
inches apart across it (PI. II, fig. 1). The bulbs should be set 3 to 4 
inches deep. With most of the Muscari the bulblets are strewn 
along the rows across the bed, occupying a space when planted 
possibly slightly less than 1 inch in width. At the end of two years 
the ribbon or row of bulbs will be matted and may be 2 inches or 
more wide, so that there will be 4 inches or less between the bulbs 
in contiguous rows, leaving just about room enough to dig nicely. 
In setting the bulbs the smaller size can be strewn along the row 
about 3 to the inch, while the larger size may b>e set up about 14 to 
21 to the 3-foot row. It is not believed that there is any advantage in 
setting up bulbs under 6 centimeters (about 2% inches) in circum- 
ference. 
Cultivation must be given during the dormant period and 
should be very thorough, to kill all weeds and put the surface in 
good tilth. In the case of the varieties which vegetate in late sum- 
mer, this must be in July and August, but the others can be culti- 
vated with a wheel hoe or other tools during the entire autumn. At 
other seasons the weeds must be removed by hand. 
When digging takes place at the end of two years the ground is 
dug only about 4 inches deep if the planting be permanent, but if 
on another site the tillage can be made thorough, of course. 
For best results the planting should be done as early as possible, 
because the leading varieties begin to show above ground in late 
August. The stocks, on the other hand, are wonderfully adaptable 
and may be held under good storage conditions up to December or 
even later. 
Little cultivation is possible in such a planting, and indeed little 
is necessary under the conditions illustrated in Plate I, Figure 1. 
The few weeds that gain a foothold in the beds are pulled out by 
hand and the wheel hoe is run in the paths. As soon as the tops die 
down the whole surface is cleaned with hoe, wheel hoe, or scuffle hoe. 
DIGGING OR HARVESTING 
The digging of the bulbs does not differ from that of Dutch bulbs 
generally. If planted in 3-foot beds with the rows running across 
the bed the bulbs can be taken out with a short-handled small spade, 
the digger working on his knees on the dug-over space, as illustrated 
in Plate II, Figure 2. If the bulbs are grown on a sandy loam and 
the digging is done one year after planting, it can be accomplished 
with a flat-blade d garden trowel. 
