EXPERIMENTS 
Being born with a bump of curiosity, we can’t refrain from trying new 
things now and then. Last year, we tried two successful ones. Perhaps 
you have tried them too, but anyway, here goes— 
STRAW MULCHING—not new by any means but very successful for us. 
Spikes six inches or more higher than unmulched. More florets and 
larger. Bigger bulbs. More moisture in the ground for a longer time after 
rains. Less weeds. Caution—a fire hazard—rather unsightly. Mulch should 
be about three inches thick, applied when the spikes are about six inches 
tall. Be sure to shake all the wheat kernels out of the straw, or you will 
have a wheat field growing in your glad patch. 
SEEDS IN BANDS—a remarkable time saver and very good results. 
Three of four seeds were planted in a 3” band, or one seed in a 1-3/4” 
band, and the bands were then moved to the cold frames. Results ex- 
cellent—Bands are planted close together, no trouble to keep them 
watered. Easy to keep track of each cross—five bands of this cross— 
ten of that, ete. And when you come to dig in the fall, oh! how nice and 
easy. No wondering if this seed belongs in the previous lot. Each band is 
easily dug, coming out in a three inch cube with no trouble separating 
the bulbs from the dirt. No danger in leaving bulblets in the cold frame 
to grow up next year as few if any of the roots go down below the three 
inch bottom. Well worth the cost of the bands. You can gain extra time 
‘too if you start the bands in flats inside and thus get a little larger bulb. 
We even had one or two bloom from seed planted in the greenhouse in 
February and transplanted outside in May. 
SHIPPING 
With special handling, shipments can be made almost anytime, but we 
prefer, if possible, not to start shipping before early March. We usually 
check weather reports very carefully before shipping to the colder states 
and have often held up shipment for a week or ten days when there are 
adverse weather reports. 
EARLY ORDERS 
Hach year we make a plea to you to get your orders in as early as 
possible. By getting your orders early, we are able to fill them without 
any rush. It is easier to give you what you want as the stocks are not 
depleted, there is a full tray to pick from, and all sizes are in stock. 
It gives us more time to pick out extras which we think you would like. 
We try to start planting early in April (April 7th this year) which re- 
duces the stocks we have ayailable and cuts down on the time we have 
for filling orders. We certainly would appreciate your early ordering. 
If possible, orders sent after the middle of March should provide for 
substitution of size, and if possible, for substitution of varieties. When 
we substitute, we always try to give a greater value on the substituted 
item than was called for on the original item. 
EXTRAS 
Some of the fun of buying bulbs is the opening of the package to see 
what the shipper included in the way of extras. Sometimes you get a 
package where if you ordered ten, you get ten, and maybe one or two 
extras. Then again, you will get a package where the ten counts out to 
eleven to twelve and you find four or five different extras, depending 
upon the size of the order. 
We would sooner be in the last class, so do not be embarrassed about 
suggesting extras. What we can do depends upon the size of your order 
and when we get it. The early orders give us more time to fill, we can 
work them at times when the weather is bad, and we have a much 
better stock to select from. We would appreciate your suggesting the 
extras you would like. 
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