22 
STRAINS 
In the same 
variety, strains 
may develop dif¬ 
fering from each 
other greatly in 
vigor. In view of 
this, we must be 
careful in the se¬ 
lection of o u r 
“start.” Not 
enough attention 
has been paid to 
this in the past, 
but it is apparent 
that if we are to 
get the most pos¬ 
sible out of our 
bulbs and bulb- 
lets they must be 
from the most 
sturdy and vigor¬ 
ous strain pro¬ 
curable. Their im¬ 
mediate ancestry 
counts for much. 
It is probable that a weak strain may result from 
any one, or all, of the following causes: removal of 
too many leaves when cutting the flower spike; failure 
to irrigate properly; growing year after year on the 
same soil; improper use of fertilizers; improper stor¬ 
age 
allowing the 
growing 
plants to be choked by 
