And Told in Pictures 



Made by W. C. McCOLLOM 



8. Use a spade to dig out the Carinas, leaving them exposed 

 to dry off slightly 



Jfr^.-'-.J^^m 



9. Then trim off the tops and take the roots indoors 



12- Keep each variety separated and store away with 

 names attached 



11. — trim off the top before finally cleaning up the roots 

 for winter storage 



13. Several varieties in one box, separating them by strips 

 of wood 



closer, equally important. Then fold the 

 papers over the top, first having laid a few 

 thicknesses on the tubers, and lay something on 

 top of the papers to hold them close, but not 

 too heavy. 



If tubers are bruised in digging, cut away to 

 make smooth and then dust with powdered 

 sulphur. Varieties that are apt to decay at 

 the crown should have the crown and stalk 

 thoroughly sprinkled with sulphur. The 

 power of sulphur to prevent decay and to arrest 



14. Tuberoses are handled like the other tender roots — 

 lifted, trimmed and stored in pans of sand 



it if it has begun, is remarkable. One spring 

 we planted a Suzanne Cayeux; in the fall it 

 had more than doubled in size, and the next 

 spring it was firm and good except that it had 

 begun to decay. We cut out the decayed part, 

 dusted it well with sulphur and planted it 

 again. It grew well, and when we again dug 

 it, it was as firm and sound as when 

 planted, the sulphur having prevented further 

 decay. 



When the tubers are packed by themselves 



163 



10. Store roots in flats packed with sand ; then place in a 

 cool cellar till spring 



it is easy to look them over, just moving from 

 one box to another. This inspection should 

 be done after a month or so, say between 

 December ist and 15th. If any are beginning 

 to decay, carefully cut the decayed part away 

 and dust with sulphur; if any stalks or crowns 

 show moisture, sprinkle with lime dust and 

 sulphur, and return to the box. The boxes 

 should be kept away from furnace heat, pre- 

 ferably in a room in one corner of the cellar 

 where the temperature will not be above 50 

 or go below 3 8°, with the window darkened. 

 Ours are kept in a corner room with brick 

 walls, cement floor, and with a loss of one per 

 cent, against a loss of from ten to twenty-five 

 per cent, when kept in sand, cork or in piles. 

 Some kinds will dry up, these may be put in a 

 box with a moist sponge or wet papers, but not 

 so that they will touch, and this may save 

 them. But there are varieties enough that 

 are good enough so that an amateur may 

 well discard the kinds that are difficult to 

 keep over winter. After all, one's own ex- 

 perience is the best teacher, but ours may 

 be helpful. 

 Massachusetts. E. V. Wilson. 



Gladiolus Bulbs 



AFTER the tops have matured it is a sim- 

 ple matter to merely dig up the attached 

 bulb as shown in the illustrations 5, 11, and 

 12. The top need not be cut off immediately; 

 indeed it is usually better to gather the bulb 

 with the attached leaves and proceed to the 

 cutting off in a conveniently sheltered place 

 later on. But in order to avoid handling too 

 much material they can be shortened consid- 

 erably as they are gathered in the garden. 

 Gladiolus bulbs are kept over the winter in 

 just exactly the same way as other bulbs, with 

 the one precaution that they must not freeze. 

 After slightly drying off they must be cleaned 

 up, the new flowering bulb separated from 

 the remnants of the old one which has ren- 

 dered its service and at the same time separat- 

 ing the mass of smaller cormels which are 

 produced more or less, according to the char- 

 acteristic ot the variety. These small cormels 

 may be stored into size, the larger ones of 

 which will, soon develop into flowering vigor. 

 The smaller ones can be sown out next year 

 in nursery rows, to be grown on and treated 

 like the older bulbs. 



