2o8 Cornell Extension Bulletin io 



I have seen is on our farm at Wheat Ridge. It is made of boiler iron in four sections, 

 each section being four and one-half feet long and six feet in circumference, making 

 the well eighteen feet deep. At the location of this well the water level is only six feet 

 below the surface which gives a standing body of water twelve feet deep. When 

 pumping, the engine throws a stream of nearly ten inches (irrigation measure) which 

 continues almost two hours as the water runs in nearly as fast as the pump can take 

 it out. Three pumpings can easily be made per day. For convenience wells are much 

 more satisfactory but are more costly to operate. 



On the approach of frost the gladioli must be dug up. Many of the 

 varieties will not be very much ripened by that time, so that it is 

 advisable to allow the plants to remain in the soil as long as possible. 

 An ordinary frost is not injurious to the corms, but if left in the ground 

 during a freeze they may be injured. The stock is much easier to handle 

 if the tops are green. 



Two methods are used in giving the proper treatment after digging. 

 Some growers cut off the tops about an inch and a half above the corm, 

 while others leave the tops on for a month or two. It is held by the 

 latter that the leaves contain much plant-food, which they continue to 

 deposit in the corms even after these are dug. Cutting off the tops thus 

 produces a more poorly matured corm. Those who remove the tops 

 immediately contend that the leaves, in trying to continue to grow, 

 exhaust the food from the corm, and poor corms are thus produced. 

 It is a difficult question to settle. The writer has tried both methods, 

 and with the comparatively small nimiber handled has preferred to let 

 the tops remain, storing the plants in an airy place until October or 

 November. Then the tops, the old corms, and the cormels are removed, 

 and the whole stock is thoroughly cleaned for winter storage. For small 

 lots, ten-pound sacks left open at the top have been used. 



If the weather is favorable, it is well to allow the stock to lie on the 

 ground to dry a little before taking it indoors. The heavy dews of autumn, 

 however, ma}' make the stock more moist if it is allowed to remain out 

 over night than it would be if taken directly under shelter. A great 

 deal of the soil can be easily shaken from the corms in the field, especially 

 if the soil is sandy or loam^^ 



THE GLADIOLUS BLOOM 



The gladiolus bloom consists of six perianth segments fused at their 

 bases. There are an outer and an inner row, the outer row being con- 

 sidered as sepals, the inner as petals; collectively they form the perianth. ^ 

 The flower may be divided also into upper and lower segments. 



The perianth segments are various!}^ arranged. The most frequent 

 arrangement is that in which the uppermost segment is without, over- 

 lapping the adjoining segments, the lowermost is within, embraced by 



2 The horticulturist often applies the term petal to any segment of the perianth. 



