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 stared 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 GROW * OFFSETS. 



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 is soon lost. It matters not how desirable the variety 



