Peeling Bulblets.
It is sometimes desirable to increase a stock of bulbs faster than it
can be done in the ordinary course of nature, even with the best of care
and skill in growing. This is often the case with new, high-priced
varieties, and occasionally with an old and popular one that naturally
increases very slowly, as the Shakespeare. It has been discovered that
this end can be achieved by peeling the bulblets before planting. Even
if the bulblets have been kept in perfect condition, the shells are
somewhat of an obstruction to their growth, and it is easy to see that
the removal of these would be a great advantage by giving the kernels
freedom to start and flourish unhindered. The hard covering is nature's
safe protection for the beautiful little bulblet within, and it comes so
near to being waterproof and air-tight that the tiny sprout is slow in
making its way out. Many of them remain shut in, and so are lost to the
grower. Careful peeling overcomes this difficulty, and they all grow,
like bulbs. Not only this, but they grow much larger for the peeling,
and also yield a fair product of bulblets, thus increasing their rate of
multiplication in various ways.
When I first heard of the advantages of peeling bulblets I decided to
try it, and engaged a number of girls to do the work at their homes in
the winter, paying ten cents an hour. I had a choice lot and the work
amounted to over thirty dollars. I found that there was a difference in
girls. Some did the work carefully and others bruised or wounded the
tender kernels. The bulblets were put away in the cellar, and in a short
time they became a moldy mass. They were a complete loss, for not one of
them was planted, and the ruin of my choice bulblets hurt more than the
waste of the money. After that I had very little confidence in peeling
bulblets, until Mr. E. V. Hallock of Long Island, New York, one of the
most experienced and skillful growers in the country, gave me an
important item of information, which explained my failure and revived my
interest in the subject. This was the secret: "The bulblets should be
peeled the same day they are planted." Mr. Hallock also gave me some
valuable hints on cultivation.
By experimenting on the work of peeling, I have found what seems to be a
good way of doing it. Hold the bulblet firmly between the thumb and
fingers of the left hand--unless you are left-handed--with the top
upward. Then with the thumb nail and first finger of the right hand take
tight hold of the point of the shell, and pull to the right, as if
husking an ear of corn. This will usually strip off a piece of the
covering, leaving a part of the kernel bare. Now take a sharp-pointed,
thin-bladed knife and insert the point under the edge of the broken
shell, being very careful not to cut or bruise the kernel, and lift up
the husk in pieces, until it is all removed.
For planting, make the soil rich and fine, as much like potting soil as
possible, and have the ground ready when it is time to plant corn. Lay
out a bed four feet wide, and rake it smooth. Make drills across it
about an inch deep, more rather than less, and far enough apart to
permit working between with a narrow hoe, say six inches. Place the
newly peeled bulblets in the drills, about an inch apart, and cover at
once with sifted sand, about two inches deep, and then press it down
level with the surface. Sand is preferable to most kinds of soil,
because it never bakes, and not only this, but it shows where the rows
are, so that if it becomes necessary to hoe the surface before the young
plants appear it can be done without danger of injury to the bulblets.
The bed should have frequent stirring and perfectly clean culture.
Bulblets thus treated will produce bulbs from three-fourths of an inch
to an inch or more in diameter. They will also yield a goodly number of
bulblets the first year, and the second year the increase will be still
greater.
Soaking the bulblets, as mentioned elsewhere, is next best to peeling,
and is available for large quantities, while the latter is profitable
only in special cases.
I will add, by way of suggestion, that I have lately tried peeling
bulblets in advance of planting, and mixing them with potting soil to
keep. My work along this line has not been extensive enough to warrant
pronouncing it a success, but the few bulblets that I have experimented
with have kept perfectly.
[Illustration: Black Bulblets (Hard Shell)]
[Illustration: MARGARET]