THE GLADIOLUS 



is often difficult to decide this matter before 

 sprouting begins, but a little careful examination 

 of the corm will soon enable you to tell where 

 the sprouts will start from, and this will prevent 

 you from getting it wrong-side up. As soon 

 as the plants send up a stalk, some provision 

 should be made for future support. If you pre- 

 fer to stake the beds, set the stakes in rows about 

 two feet apart. Wire or cord need not be 

 stretched on them until the stalks are half grown. 

 The reason for setting the stakes early in the 

 season is — you know just where the corm is then, 

 but later on you will not be able to tell where the 

 new corms are, and in setting the stakes at ran- 

 dom you are quite likely to injure them. When 

 you apply the cord or wire to the stakes, run it 

 lengthwise of the bed, and then across it in order 

 to furnish a sufficient support without obliging 

 the stalks to lean from the perpendicular to get 

 the benefit of it. 



For several seasons past, I have made use of a 

 coarse-meshed wire netting, placed over the bed, 

 and fastened to stakes about eighteen inches 

 high. The stalks find no difficulty in making 

 their way through the large meshes of the net- 

 ting, and with a support of this kind they dispose 

 themselves in a natural manner that is far more 



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