THE PRODUCTION OF NARCISSUS BULBS 3 
mental bedding conditions will grow up and most of it will flower 
the second year. 
Most of the three main Dutch bulbs which come into the country 
by the millions each autumn are employed by florists in the produc- 
tion of flowers for winter consumption. The millions of narcissus 
bulbs thus used go to the rubbish heap as soon as the flowers have 
been cut. The idea has grown up in the florist business that this is 
the only use to be made of forced stock, and possibly for the ordinary 
greenhouse man in his cramped quarters this is true so long as bulbs 
are cheap. Nevertheless, as a general proposition it is a very waste- 
ful practice, and herein exists a fertile source of propagating stock 
at low cost. To be sure, this material is not as good by any means 
as the bedded stock described above, but the big bulbs should all 
flower the second year and many of them the first and by that time 
have a propagation which will more than equal the original planting. 
In spite of the oft-repeated and usual statement that forced bulbs 
are of no value, it is noted that foreign growers for some time have 
been offering as high as $20 per thousand for certain expensive varie- 
ties of bulbs after they have been forced, to be shipped back to the 
Netherlands. If the rare forms have such a value after being forced 
the cheaper ones are certainly not without merit and at least can be 
brought back to first-class condition again as truly as the higher 
priced ones. Under American conditions of scarcity and high price 
of stocks this source of supply can and should be used. The state- 
ment sometimes heard that the florist can not afford to take care 
of this material has no weight, for the simple handling of the flats 
is a matter of small expense and can easily be provided for. Few 
florists will forego a small return on the forced bulbs, even if they 
make no more than wages out of the handling. 
Even with an extensive bulb industry established, this forced ma- 
terial should not be wasted. It would be economy even under ex- 
tensive production to use these forced stocks rather than depend 
upon the ordinary field methods of reproduction. Even forced bulbs 
cut at the surface of the flats when in flower can be brought back 
to prime condition again as easily as the smaller half of the splits 
from field propagation. 
Many times there is a decided advantage in the use of the bedding 
and forced stocks over freshly imported materials of equal monetary 
value. The opportunity for culling which occurs in the beds and in 
the flats is a factor not to be disregarded. Diseases, weak plants, and 
rogues difficult to detect in daffodils will be discovered in the beds 
and flats and can be culled; or, if bad, the entire stock can be re- 
jected, protecting the fields from inoculation and the grower from 
the expense of a year's culture of stocks which may later prove costly 
to clean up. 
It should be noted that in all references to forced stocks those are 
meant which have been forced into good flowering condition and even 
all leaves cut off at the surface of the flats. It is seldom, however, 
that all daffodil leaves are removed with the flowers in forced stock. 
Any leaves uncut and left to mature on the plants help to build up 
the bulb. 
Some growers are now utilizing this forced material very effec- 
tively. One instance is known in which the florist grows Emperor 
