248 Cornell Extension Bulletin 10 



called white. For example, Blue Jay, Golden King, and Viking, respec- 

 tively blue-, yellow-, and French-purple-flowered varieties, have white 

 corms; while White Excelsior, Frilled Pink, Scarsdale, Lemon Drop, and 

 Independence, although they are white-, pink-, magenta-, yellow-, and 

 carthamin-red-flowered respectively, all have yellow corms. 



STORAGE OF CORMS « 



Gladiolus corms should be stored in a cool, airy place, not too moist 

 nor too dry. The temperature should range between 35° and 50° F. 

 in the coldest weather. If the storage house is protected sufficiently by 

 dead-air spaces in the walls, little artificial heat is required. Large 

 corms may be placed in crates; the depth is of less importance than when 

 storing the smaller corms or the cormels, which become somewhat packed 

 together, causing a heating due to fermentation. The small corms should 

 be stored in shallow flats not over 2 or 3 inches deep. 



Commercial growers handling bulbs on a large scale construct special 

 storage houses. B. H. Tracy has a building that is thought to be fireproof. 

 It is 80 feet long and 60 feet wide, and is constructed of concrete and 

 terra cotta blocks with a " slapdash " finish. Enough space is afforded 

 in the second story for a showToom, offices, and bulb storage space. The 

 first fioor contains the wholesale flower room, garage, carpenter shop, 

 and additional space for bulb storage. 



J. L. Childs has constructed his storage house of hollow cement blocks 

 covered with stucco. The temperature during the winter is maintained 

 between 40° and 50° F., a temperature which not only keeps the bulbs 

 in good condition but is not too cold for the men to work about the building. 

 The bulbs are placed in flats 3 inches deep, 30 inches wide, and 4 feet 

 long. Throughout the entire room used for storage, racks are constructed 

 8 feet high, each rack holding seven flats. The first flat is placed 18 

 inches above the floor. 



Oberlin (1891) writes substantially as follows of his storage method 

 and the trays he uses: The cellar joists are 9 inches wide and 20 inches 

 apart. It is this space that is used for storage purposes. Roofing laths 

 are nailed 20 inches apart at right angles to the joists. The laths for 

 another row should be placed 4 inches from the first so as to leave room 

 for shifting and moving the trays. The trays are of plastering lath also, 

 unplaned, i| inches wide, 4 feet long. Nine and one-third laths are 

 required for each tray. If the following measurements are used there 

 will be no waste material, the remaining two-thirds being used to make 

 the next tray. Two laths are taken for the sides and 31I inches are 

 sawed from these; the other two pieces left for ends should be 15! inches 



' The proper condition for the storage of cormels is considered under the discussion of cormels (page 250). 



