12 
planting basis wherein the propagating stocks are not stored, pro- 
vided, of course, the initial planting is clean. Just how long this 
may be practiced can not be stated, but it is reported that with 
some foreign growers the method is successful indefinitely. 
Another malady affecting several members of this genus is one 
of the true smuts. So far it has proved to be inconspicuous and to 
have very little effect on the general vigor of the plants. The parasite 
seems to be perennial in the tissues of the host, but is not outwardly 
observable except at the time the plant is in blossom. Although 
not conspicuous, it destroys the value of the cut flowers if the in- 
fection is severe, because the florets shed a powdery mass of brown 
olivaceous smut spores instead of pollen. The fungus fructifies in 
the ovaries and anthers of the host. It seems to be confined to certain 
individual plants and not to spread rapidly. 
The way to rid a planting of this smut, like the general method 
of toning up and keeping other bulb stocks up to the required vigor 
and standard, consists in gouging out and destroying the diseased 
individuals. The only time to do this is while the plants are in 
blossom, when the planting should be examined carefully for any 
sign of the disease. With a little practice this can be done very 
rapidly if the planting is in beds. A short piece of lath can be used 
to bend over the flower spikes in a row, so the partially upturned 
florets can be detected readily. Commonly, every floret of the 
spike is smutted when the plant is at all infected. All smutted 
plants should be destroyed by either burning or burying them 2 or 
3 feet deep where no bulbs of any kind are likely to be planted. 
The cause of this smut is a fungus known to botanists as Ustilago 
vaillantii Tul. It has rarely been reported in this country, but on 
account of its inconspicuous nature it may very easily have been 
overlooked. It would be surprising if it has not been imported 
much more frequently than the records indicate. Thefe is no easy 
way of detecting it in dormant bulbs. In these experiments it has 
appeared in the Conicum and Heavenly Blue varieties, but is re- 
corded on others in Europe. 
WHERE GRAPE HYACINTHS MAY BE GROWN 
The Puget Sound region seems better adapted in some ways to 
the production of grape-hyacinth stocks than the Atlantic Coastal 
Plain. The floral display in the Pacific Northwest will always be 
more satisfactory, because the flowers are slightly larger and the 
stems longer. The average in the Conicum variety is about a 12- 
inch pulled stem under open field conditions on Puget Sound. In 
the vicinity of "Washington, D. C, under open field conditions the 
stems are somewhat shorter. Experience is more limited here, but 
the few tests thus far made indicate perfectly satisfactory yields of 
bulbs. 
The commoner varieties naturalize and persist indefinitely in 
New York, Illinois, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, and other 
States; indeed, in portions of Virginia and Michigan they are con- 
spicuous weeds in cultivated fields. It is believed that the varieties 
can be successfully produced commercially on any good well-drained 
sandy loam soil of these regions. 
