Date Corms Per Cent of 



Variety Treated Produced Corms Rotted 



Beacon 3''5 9.6 



Nov. 30 186 2.7 



Dec. 22 387 5.4 



Jan. 31 602 2.7 



Feb. 27 551 5.3 



March 27 594 5.7 



Benjamin Britten 105 12.4 



Nov. 30 52 3.9 



Dec. 22 160 7.5 



Jan. 31 235 11.9 



Feb. 27 290 2. 1 



March 27 423 4.3 



Mother Fischer 230 11.3 



Nov. 30 128 20.3 



Dec. 22 240 15.8 



Jan. 31 240 14.6 



Feb. 27 125 6.4 



March 27 133 8.3 



Nancy 415 25.1 



Nov. 30 35 0.0 



Dec. 22 128 17.2 



Jan. 31 282 13.1 



Feb. 27 120 4.2 



March 27 105 1.9 



Spic and Span 



Nov. 30 112 23.2 



Dec. 22 385 10. 1 



Jan. 31 207 18.4 



Feb. 27 164 5.5 



March 27 151 5.3 



Spotlight 551 18.3 



Nov. 30 424 32.6 



Dec. 22 626 21.6 



Jan. 31 784 36.0 



Feb. 27 776 24.9 



March 27 543 37.? 



well. If gladiolus cormels can best withstand heat treatments when the cormels are 

 nearest complete dormancy, the results of this experiment show that cormels of all 

 varieties do not become dormant at the same time. The period of greatest dormancy 

 in Mother Fischer and Spic and Span was reached by December 22, in Beacon, Nancy, 

 and Spotlight by January 31, and in Benjamin Britten by March 27, In Mother Fischer 

 and Nancy the period of greatest dormancy had passed by February 27, in Spic and 

 Span by January 31, and in Spotlight by March 27. The period of greatest dormancy 

 in Beacon and Benjamin Britten had notpassed by March 27. Results of this experi- 

 ment agree, at least in part, with the observation of Roistacher, Bald, h Baker | 

 (1953), who stated that capacity for germination, that is, breaking of dormancy, may ' 

 be rapid or slow, depending on the variety and the conditions of storage or treatment. , 



When yields of corms from treated cormels were compared with yields from 

 the untreated checks it was found that the amount of rot in 17 of 25 treated lots was 



Table 6. --Effect of date of hot-water treatment of cormels, as indicated by number of corms pro- 

 duced and per cent of corms rotted. 



