63 
be pulled out of the ground any time in the summer and 
left lying in the hot sunshine and yet the bulb will ripen 
and will grow the next season when planted. It is ob¬ 
vious, however, that if we are to secure the finest bulbs 
and the most bulblets we should give them every oppor¬ 
tunity to mature, and for this reason we do not aim to 
lift the higher priced ones till just before there is dan¬ 
ger of freezing. 
There are several methods of handling the bulbs im¬ 
mediately after digging and we vary these according 
to the ends sought. If the variety is only of medium 
price and it is desired to sell the bulbs, or to use them 
for the growing of cut flowers, it is well when digging 
to place the bulbs in shallow crates or boxes, leaving 
the tops of the plants on for a week or two so that 
the leaves will draw out the surplus moisture. Expose 
them to the sunshine or place them in a drying shed 
where the air will pass through. Within a couple of 
weeks or a month after digging, the roots, bulblets, and 
old shriveled bulb may be removed, the bulbs washed 
and dried thoroughly, and placed not more than four 
inches deep in crates, or in sacks filled only about half 
full so that they may be spread out. In this way, 
bright, salable bulbs will be secured, but if left too long- 
in dirt they will not be so bright and clean looking. 
But when it comes to the higher-priced varieties, the 
bulblets are of much more value than the bulbs and we 
must give the bulblets first consideration. 
In order to give the bulblets every opportunity to 
mature, we take up some dirt with the bulbs when dig¬ 
ging. This dirt will also contain many valuable bulb¬ 
lets, for in most varieties the bulblets do not cling very 
tightly to the bulb and many are broken off and lost 
