33 



The Gladiolus may be propagated by bulbs, or rather corms,* 

 the little corms or offsets, and by seeds. Plant the corms in the 

 open border about the 'JOtli of May, or as soon as the ground be- 

 comes warm and friable. Eight to twelve inches apart is a good 

 distance, and two to three inches deep, according to their size. 

 iSomc may be put into pots, and forwarded in a cold frame or hot 

 bed, and turned into the open border about the first of June. 

 iSome of these will bloom in July ; Avhilo those {)lanted in May, 

 will, if the plants and varieties are numerous, furnish a succession 

 of flowers from the middle of August, until destroyed by the frost. 



When of sufficient height, neatly stake and tie the plants. It 

 will take but little time, and will keep the plants looking neat and 

 fresh, if the dead blossoms are removed, say once a day. Cut- 

 ting oft' the flower stalks that have done blooming, is not only 

 essential to neatness, but the corra is strengthened thereby. 

 After the extremities of the leaves have begun to turn, or the 

 frost has killed the flowers, the sooner the corms are out of the 

 ground the better. If they remain till cold weather sets in, it is 

 troublesome drying tliem. They should be housed before the 

 close of October, and so arranged as to be readily removed to 

 warmer quarters, in case of a sudden cold snap. Choose a dry 

 day — take up the plants carefully, with a spading fork — let them 

 lie spread, root and branch, in the sun a day or so. They may 

 then remain, for two or three weeks, spread out in some airy loft, 

 during which time the roots and tops may be removed at your 

 leisure ; after which the corms should be packed in paper bags or 

 boxes, and kept in a cool, dry room or cellar, away from frost, 

 until the time for planting arrives. It is well to examine them, 

 occasionally, during the winter, and if found to be damp, spread 

 and air them for awliile, some mild, sunny day. 



Offsets are little hard buds or cormlets, which are found of va- 

 rious sizes and quantities, clustering, like eggs, around the lower 

 part of the ripened parent corm. Propagation by these is very 



* A Corm or solid bulb, as of Gladiolus and Crocus, is a sort of rounded 



tuber Bulbs are t^cali/, as in the lily, when the scales are narrow ; or 



coated, as an onion, when the scales enwrap each other, and form coats. — 

 Grai/. 



A l)ulb is a collection of fleshy scales formed under ground by certain 

 kinds of plants, as the tulip, the onion, and the lily. — Emerson. Flint. 



Tlie conn, or solid bulb, though commonly considered a root, is merely 



a short and thick rootstock The real roots .... branch out below 



them. — Wilhon. 



Corms are only a solid mass of feculent matter, which modern botanists 

 do not allow to be bulbs, but call underground stems. — London. 



Bulb. — A scaly body formed on a jilant, . . . emitting roots fi-om its base. 

 .... It is always formed of imbricated sl ilcs. A solid bulb has no e.x- 

 istence. — Lindley. 



