GLADIOLUS. 115 
lattice frames that will exclude nearly all the sun. This 
will keep the soil moist and prevent baking, two essen- 
tial conditions. If the seed is good and the conditions are 
favorable, the young plants will appear thickly in from 
two to three weeks. When well up remove the cover- 
ing, and at all times keep the soil well worked and free 
from weeds. If the weather is not too dry their growth 
will not be checked until frost, when they should be 
lifted and stored in a dry, dark room, free from frost, 
but cool. Ours are 
stored in a dry cellar, 
heated only in case of 
necessity. The bet- 
ter plan is to put 
them in shallow box- 
es, so that the corms 
will not be more than 
two inches in depth; ® 
it is not necessary to 
put any soil with 
them, or covering over 
them. If the seed 
bed is in good condi- 
tion, and the season 
favorable for their 
growth, the corms 
will be from one- GLADIOLUS CORM WITH FULL 
fourth to an inch in SEU RSM ee 
diameter, the latter rarely. Fully three-fourths of them 
will bloom the second year. 
Propagation by Offsets.—Increase of desirable 
varieties is effected by the small corms or bulblets that 
form at the base of the new corm; some varieties increase 
very rapidly, others slowly, and many of our best seed- 
lings have failed to produce any, consequently the vari- 
ety issoon lost. It matters not how desirable the variety 
