El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-12-12


; myriads of blooms of many gorgeous
+ colors, in masses such as cannot be
! seen anyWh here else in this country.
The climate of the Puget Sound region
/ is much like that of Holland, being
! moist, and neither very hot nor very
/ cold As Tor the soil, in the neighbOr-
! hood of Bellingham it is a silt loan
J composing much decomDosed organic
! which in the Netherlands produces the
finest crops of bulbs.
Tulips, in particular, are historically
i associated with the Netherlands They
| are of Oriental origin, and were first
/ introduced from Turkey into Europe
I in the 10th century. 1t was on the
I dikelands of Holland. however, that
their earliest cultivation on q large
| scale was accomplished. their popu-
( larity eliminating in the celebrated
/ tulip mania" When this remarkable
craze was at its. height as much as
$1,000 was paid for a single bulb of
new and desirable variety
BelIingham Tulips Superior.
Very interesting is it, then, to learn
that the tulips grown at Bellingham
are decidedly superior to those i'm
ported, the bulbs producing better and
healthier plants, and yielding earlier
and larger flowers on longer and
stronger stems than the same varieties
produced in the Netherlands.
The narciSSuSes grown at Bellingham
seem likewise to be superior to the i'm
pOrted-that is to say, healthier, better
colored and with longer stems. This
last Is an important point commercially.
1t has already been proved that the
narcissUs in variety can be success
fully produced for market in various
parts Of the United States. At Ports
mouth and Richmond Va at Santa
Cruz and Ukiah, Cal, and in other
sections the growing of this highly
valued plant, for cut flowers or bulbs,
or for both, has developed an industry
Of considerable Importance.
ElXDeT1manrE Z RnIIfnChqr7 p
den have demonstrated beyond question
that the famous Double Van Sion va
riety-One Of the most popular Of the
forcing narcissus, and which hereto
fore has baffled every effort to pro-
duce it commercially in this country
can be successfully grown in the Puget
Sound region Imported bulbs of this
variety, unfortunately, do not produce
satisfactory blooms after the first sea-
son.
Hyacinths at $1,000 Eeaeh.
In the 18th century hyacinths were
SO highly priced that as much as $1,000
was occasionally paid for a single bulb.
Even today they are held in very high
esteem both in America and abroad.
They are propagated artificially by
"bulblets, which are obtained by
"scOOping' OF scoring mature or so
called mother" bulbs.
The former Of these two processes
consists IN ScOopIng out the base of the
mother bulb so as to expose the lower
part of the scales. This DESTROYS the
growing point and the flower bud and
all the strength Of the bulb, which 9TH
erwise would have gone to produce
plant ana flowers, Is used up in the
production Of a number Of baby bulbs
After scoOping, the mother bulbs are
laid in trays and exposed to the sun for
a day, to dry the fresh cut surfaces
The trays are then placed in a well
ventilated prOpagaUng house, where
the scales soon separate somewhat and
produce young bullets for planting
three months later. in the fall.
The scoring process consists in max
ing two CT four deep cuts across the
base Of the bulbs. This kills the flower
and the growing point, and the result is
the production OF baby bulbs, just as in
Scooplng. But the young bulblets are
larger and stronger. They are treated
IN the same way, and planted later.
The scoOped and scored mother bulbs
with baby bulbs attached, are planted
in beds few inches apart, and covered
with three or four inches of soil. A
mulch OF straw or grass IS added for
winter protection At harvest time. in
the following summer. the mother
bulbs will have practically disappeared
and in place of them, clustered close
together, will be found little colonies
Of baby bulbs. The latter. when taken
out of the ground, are dried in the
bulb house and sorted
Bermuda Has Furnished the Bulbs.
For the annual Easter lily crop We
have been hitherto dependent upon
being imported yearly from that small
group Of volcanic islands. The gov
plant bureau thinks that it
would be well worth while 70 grow
them in this country, and, with this
idea, It has been making experiments
In various parts Of the United
States
There is another reason for trying to
grow them here, which is that the i'm
ported bulbs are commonly unsatisfac-
tory. The plants produced from them
are liable to be diseased to such an
extent that from so to IS percent are
unstable. This condition manifests
Itself in spotted leaves, dWarfed growth
and defOrmed flowers.
So serious has the trouble become
hat many florists at the present time
would gladly abandon the cultivation
II the Easter lily, were it not that Z
their patrons demand the flower in its :
season and insist upon having it. Hence I
he problem Of growing the bulbs /
within our own borders, and of pro-
iucing healthy plants and flowers from /
hem, is of no small importance. The \
plant bureau is confident that it will /
be solved.
Money I'm Growing Easter Lily.
There is money in growing Easter 4
ily bulbs, as may be judged from the |
act that single acre Of land will 1
7ield about 10000 of them, represent
ng value of $1,000 to $1,000. one I
.lOrist in California who planted the /
seeding lilies cleared in the first sea
ion 500 Tor flowers from a space 40 ]
y 25 feet. One may grow the seed /
lngs either fer flowers or for bulbs. !
The latter has been done very sue /
essfully in the vincinity of Santa Ana,
al, where soil and climate are evil
lently favorable.
It appears that when the bulbs are
grown from seeds, the plants after
Yards raised from the bulbs are nearly
-lways perfectly healthy. Hence the /
prospect is that florists in this country
viii come to depend more and more
lpOn the homegrown article. Results
lave already been so encouraging TO
commercial growers on the Pacific /
cast that several Of them are now en-
aged in the propagation of Easter lily
ceilings on a large scale.
Grow Well at Yuma Ariz.
There seems, indeed, TO be no reason
Why in future we should continue to
epend upon Bermuda for our supplies
f bulbs of this highly esteemed and
plant. We can grow them
ust as well at home, and have healthy
lasuer lilies At Yuma, Ariz.. for ex-
mple, bulbs can be grown that will
reduce quite as early flowers as
hose from Bermuda. Furthermore, the /
liant bureau has obtained by cross
ng, some new and superior varieties,
which promise to prove of high com
lercial value
,rr7rv-