26 
BULLETIN 797, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
exposing the live tissue of both ends of many of the layers. This 
gives a very effective check on both yellows and nematodes, the causes 
of the two serious maladies of these bulbs. 
The building suitable for propagation is a simple affair in which 
heat, moisture, and ventilation are under control. At present the 
department's work is done in a boarded-up room in the basement of 
the bulb storage house, in which has been installed a hot-water heat- 
ing system. Light seems to be a factor of little consequence, except 
that provision should be made for good artificial light for use when 
examining the bulbs. At present most houses in the Netherlands are 
constructed without glazing. We 
have good success also without 
lighting. 
The. bulbs are supported upon 
trays with wire bottoms, which 
are arranged in racks at dis- 
tances of about a foot apart. 
Chicken wire stretched over 
frames about 3 feet square an- 
swers the purpose very well. 
This permits the freest circula- 
tion of air around the bulbs. 
DETERMINATION OF FLOWER- 
ING QUALITY. 
For our purposes a bulb may 
be looked upon as a condensed 
plant which contains the evi- 
dence of its qualities within itself. 
The grower in his planting, but more especially in his selling, must 
be able to decide with a great deal of accuracy just what bulbs will 
flower the succeeding year. This ability is gained very largely by. 
experience, but certain indications can be learned in the abstract. 
The bulbs of the tulip, narcissus, and hyacinth have within them, 
perfectly formed, the flower spike for the next year's blossoms, and 
by the sacrifice of a few bulbs one can get a very good idea of the 
quality of the bulbs before they are planted. 
Hyacinth bulbs are utilized for ornamentation from about 12 centi- 
meters upward, the miniatures being usually about this size. They 
will flower at a much smaller size, but the number of bells will be 
progressively more numerous and larger as the bulb increases in 
growth. (Fig. 17.) 
In the case of the narcissus the varieties are so variable in the 
size of the bulb that for the uninitiated the safest plan is always to 
Fig. 17. — A mature hyacinth bulb cut 
open to show the well-developed flower 
spike at the time of planting. 
