GLADIOLUS. 



119 



the fertilizer distributor, after which we scatter the 

 corms in the drill at the rate of from ten to twenty to the 

 foot, then cover with the same implement that is used 

 for corn or potatoes, and the work is complete. When 

 the leaves begin to break through the surface, we go 

 over the field with a fine wire-tooth harrow ; this effect- 

 ually gets rid of the first crop of weeds, after which the 

 cultivator is kept going. In a season prolific of weeds 

 we have been compelled to go over the ground ten times. 

 Under any circumstances, we go through the rows with 

 cultivator after every rain, whether there are weeds to 

 kill or not. This keeps the soil in the best possible con- 

 dition, keeps down the weeds, and saves an immense 

 amount of hand labor. "We commence to take up our 

 corms about the middle of September, using a subsoil 

 plow to lift them ; then they are taken from the rows, 

 the tops cut close to the corm, and are then put away in 

 racks in the cellar, eight feet deep, with plenty of space 

 for air between, each rack containing about five hundred 

 flowering corms. This plan of cultivation and storing 

 $f the corms we consider the best that can be adopted, 

 and the nearer it can be imitated in the garden, the 

 nearer the grower will reach perfect success. 



Soils for Gladiolus. — What soils are best is an 

 oft-repeated question, to which we must reply that, as 

 far as this is concerned, the best is the one we have. The 

 Gladiolus dislikes a heavy clay, but will thrive in almost 

 any other, its preference being for a light loam, or a 

 moist, sandy soil. If the ground be heavy, work it 

 thoroughly and plant shallow, not more than two inches 

 below the surface. If the soil be light, work in the 

 same manner, only cover the corms with four inches of 

 soil. It is best to use what is termed sod-ground when 

 practicable, or to plant in soil that has been heavily 

 manured for a previous crop. Fresh manure will prove 

 injurious. It is also important, in planting, not to 



