are great drinkers, however, and respond quickly 
to water. Always water after sundown. 
The above illustration shows the bulb as it 
looks when you dig it. The bulb you planted 
in the spring dies away and the new one forms on 
top, so that it is nearer the surface than the 
original planting. After the bulbs have dried, 
you should break off all of the old corm, keeping 
only the good solid bulb. It is for this reason 
that you should plant deep, so as to give the bulb 
plenty of support and by so doing, you will not 
have to stake. 
There is no finer garden flower, but the finest 
specimens are shown if the spike is cut when the 
first bud opens and allowed to develop in the 
house; every bud on stalk will open and the 
richest colorings result: this is also a benefit to 
the bulb. The flower-loving public must be 
educated to a willingness to cut the spikes when 
they have bloomed a little while in the garden, 
then to finish their development in the house. 
Nothing is more unsightly than a mass of ragged, 
betasseled Gladioli bending in the wind, when it is 
so easy to pick off the withered blooms, if one 
does not wish them for house decoration. 
In cutting the flower spikes, it is ruinous to 
cut the stalk where the flowers end. There must 
be some foliage to lend grace. Cut the spikes so 
as to leave two or three leaves on your bulb root 
