Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-06-08
WHERE THE TUBERoSES GROW.
Millions of Bulbs Raised in One County
Of North Carolina.

From the New York Sun.
Most of the tuberoses now blooming in
the open about New York and in the fore
ing houses of florists come from COM
paratively small area in Duplin county,
N. G. Here a group of nursery men pro-
duce annually many million bulbs of the
tuberose for sale ip this country and for
expectation to Europe. The bulbs flourish
there wonderfully In a light sandy soil,
with porous clay subsoil which seems to
provide exactly the right conditions for
them. The young bulbs set out in the
spring to be developed for the next years
Towering.
The crop, which must be richly manured
and frequently cultivated. natures in Au-
gust and Is gathered from six to nine
weeks later. The tops are then cut off at
the ground and the bulbs are ploughed out,
much as If they were potatoes. They are
gathered by colored women, who shake
them free of earth and remove the young
bulbs to serve to start the next years crop.
The most careful growers have the bulbs
punched in tens by little negroes and hung
up indoors to dry. Sometimes artificial
heat is used to hasten the drying The
curing process occupies from one to two
months. The bulbs are not ready for mar
ket until December. They are then packed
in paper-lined barrels, holding from 600 or
800 to 1,300, and In these packages they
are shipped to various parts of the world.
New York Is the port from which most of
the bulbs are shipped to Europe, and eX
porters here sometimes send away as many
as 100000 bulbs in a season. The price
which has greatly fallen within the last ten
years, varies from $1.75 to s. a thousand.
Mammoth bulbs are from six to eight
inches In circumference. After that come
No. bulbs, which are at least four inches
in circumference, and No. 2, which are at
least three inches In circumference. The
small bulbs produce satisfactory flowers in
the south, but the larger bulbs are better
for forcing in the north. Europe, which
takes more delight in the tuberose than
America and demands the flower the year
round, imports bulbs from South Africa
and from the United States. The South
African bulbs reach the European markets
some months ahead of ours. and are i'm
medtately forced for early Towering. Ours,
which arrive in December and January
are retarded by being kept at low tenn
perature, in order that they may furnish
summer and autumn flowers 1t is really
difficult to make the American tuberoses
flower in winter or early spring. The tube
rose growers of North Carolina are con-
stantly experimenting with view to OBJ
taining new varieties, and they have at
tanned wide reputation for their bulbs.
They produce dwarf tuberoses of a pearly
tint that have great reputation, double
flowers, tuberoses with variegated leaves,
the orange-flowered tuberose, the blossom
of which resembles that of the orange an
albino and others Curiously enough, both
the popular name and the botanical name
of the tuberoSe have been the subject of
much discussion. Linnaeus named these
flowers polianthes, but in an early work
of his the name was by mistake spelled
polyanthes, which was naturally taken to
mean many Powered" 1t is now be-
lieved that he intended shining Powered"
though some botanistS think he had in
mind 1.-The city flower