. Bulletin of the Department of Agriculture. Agriculture; Agriculture. COMMERCIAL, DUTCH-BULB CULTURE. 19 In the work of the Department of Agriculture at Bellingham, tulip bulbs are placed in boxes, which are moved along by the digger. No effort is made at this time to get rid of the dirt. About a bushel of the bulbs are then shaken lightly in a homemade shaker which has a quar- ter-inch wire-mesh bottom (see fig. 8), and the loose dirt is thus re- moved. After drying, the bulbs are taken from the shelves to tables and picked over by hand. This process consists in breaking the clumps of b
. Bulletin of the Department of Agriculture. Agriculture; Agriculture. COMMERCIAL, DUTCH-BULB CULTURE. 19 In the work of the Department of Agriculture at Bellingham, tulip bulbs are placed in boxes, which are moved along by the digger. No effort is made at this time to get rid of the dirt. About a bushel of the bulbs are then shaken lightly in a homemade shaker which has a quar- ter-inch wire-mesh bottom (see fig. 8), and the loose dirt is thus re- moved. After drying, the bulbs are taken from the shelves to tables and picked over by hand. This process consists in breaking the clumps of bulbs apart and removing the old scales and bases. Of late, much labor has been saved by passing the bulbs over a 5-centimeter to T-cen- timeter screen before hand picking. All the smaller loose bulbs and some scales and dirt are thus elimi- nated. These bulblets are then passed through a blower (fanning mill), when they are ready for planting, the large bulbs and clumps (fig. 11) being the only ones worked over by hand. This simple device of sieving out the smaller sizes re- duces the handwork in cleaning tulips nearly one-half. The sieves used are made of parchment, and the blower is padded w^ith canvas to protect the bulbs. Extreme care is necessary in all of these operations lest the bulb be bruised. Narcissus bulbs, except the smaller sizes, which go into the bulb house immediately on being dug, are thrown into windrows, allowed to dry a few hours, and then covered with debris to j)revent injury from the sun. Later they are sieved, like the tulips, and placed in the bulb house or in open sheds on trays or shelves. After the roots are dry the bulbs are worked over by hand to break the clmnps apart. In some cases the roots are pulled off also, but it is questionable whether anything is gained in taking time for this. There was a time when the narcissus bulbs which were imported into this cOun-. Fig. 11.—Bulbs of a T>arwia tulip, showing a normal reproduction of two flowe
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