114 
July, 1920 
Obe Slower (Grower 
Queries and Answers Department. 
I “ All questions asked in good faith and which are of general interest will have careful attention. i 
| The full name and address of the writer must be given, but not for publication.” | 
Various Gladiolus Questions. 
To the Editor 
I am an enthusiastic amateur Gladiolus grower. 
For two years I've suffered from an incurable attack 
of “ Gladiolitis.” I grow them for my own pleasure 
only, and not as a commercial enterprise. Like all 
amateurs, I am an “ interrogation point ” when I get 
a chance to talk with an experienced grower, and I 
ask him all sorts of questions. I find, however, that 
I imbibe freely of information more or less contradic- 
tory, and have followed some advice that gave any- 
thing but satisfactory results. 
If I undertake to winter over cormels in moist 
sand, they get moldy and spoil. The operation of 
peeling before planting is a tedious process, but I find 
that most of the cormels treated in this way will 
grow. How can any person who plants thousands of 
these tiny cormels find the time, or stand the expense 
of peeling? Will dry sand keep the bulblets over 
winter without the shells becoming too hard for 
planting with any hope of success? 
How deep should seed be planted, and what are the 
general conditions to be met, if seeds are to germi- 
nate and develop properly? I plant my bulbs in 
double rows six inches apart, the bulbs four inches 
apart in the row, each double row thus planted two 
feet apart, and the bulbs six inches below the surface. 
Is this a good method for planting for bulbs of bloom- 
ing size? Results from this method were fairly satis- 
factory the past season, but I want to get the best 
blooms possible, also good planting stock for next 
season. 
My soil is a sandy loam, planted to corn last year, 
spaded eight inches deep in the Spring, and broad- 
casted with a good grade of commercial fertilizer at 
the rate of one ton per acre. I water frbely, if not 
sufficient rainfall, after leaves are 12 to 18 inches 
high, also apply liquid fertilizer when flower spikes 
begin to show. Now if you think this worth a reply 
or a place in the columns of the Flower Grower will 
you freely criticise my methods. 1 am seeking after 
information, the intelligent use of which will insure 
the best results possible. 
I read enthusiastically each and every issue of yoin 
valuable paper, and I sometimes wish it were a daily 
instead of a monthly publication. I also wish some 
of your contributors could give, such as myself, more 
information upon proper methods of culture for this 
wonderful flower. 1 do not ask for “ trade secrets,” 
but general ideas from those whose skill, patience, 
and experience, have made it possible for this flower 
to attain such wide popularity and appreciation. 
A. F. R. 
A nswer Cormels stored in moist sand 
do best, but probably the reason why your 
cormels mold and spoil is that they are put 
into sand which possibly is too wet or perhaps 
the cormels are rather green when mixed 
with the sand. We have found that if cor- 
mels are separated from the corms at dig- 
ging time, that it is best to use dry sand at 
first. This will allow the cormels to cure 
out moderately without molding, and after 
they are somewhat cured they can be stored 
in sand which is a little damp, but not 
wet. 
Of course, it is not practicable for anyone 
to peel bulblets on any considerable scale. 
This is only resorted to in small quantities 
to increase rare or valuable varieties. Fairly 
good results may be had with most varieties, 
by keeping them moist for a month or two 
before planting, and better results may be 
had by soaking in warm water for twelve to 
twenty-four hours before planting. 
Gladiolus seed should be planted to a 
depth of not more than one inch, and pref- 
erably about three quarters of an inch deep. 
They may be planted even as shallow as a 
half inch. They may be planted in drills or 
broadcast, but preferably in drills as it 
is much easier to cultivate. I hey should 
be covered with pieces of old carpet, bag- 
ging or boards until they germinate. Bag- 
ging is preferable as it gives some ven- 
tilation and you can easily tell when the 
seed germinates. When the weather is hot 
and dry it is absolutely necessary to keep 
the surface of the ground moist to insure 
germination. After the seedlings are up an 
inch or two the covering should be removed. 
It is advisable to sow rather thickly as the 
sprouts together push their way through the 
soil more readily. 
Your mel hod of planting bulbs is essen- 
tially correct, but we do not recommend that 
the small sizes of corms should be planted 
as deep as six inches. It is only the larger 
ones that should be planted as deep as this. 
Three to four inches is plenty deep enough 
for the smaller sizes. First size corms may 
be planted five to six inches deep. In a 
sandy soil we would plant an inch deeper 
than in a rather hard soil. 
In planting to a depth of six inches we 
would recommend that the ground be spaded 
to a depth of ten inches as this gives a bed of 
pulverized soil below the roots, and the fer- 
tility of the soil is worked down to the 
proper depth. 
In watering would recommend a very 
heavy application of water at long intervals 
rather than frequent watering at shorter in- 
tervals. 
The files of The Flower Grower and 
The Modern Gladiolus Grower contain 
some very valuable information on the grow- 
ing of Gladioli, from seedlings to cut flow- 
ers ; and this information covers also the 
handling and cultural methods for various 
soils. It must be understood that any in- 
structions of this kind are difficult to apply 
exactly to any particular garden, as it de- 
pends on the previous condition of the 
ground just what should be done with it. 
Many amateur gardeners expect to gain in- 
formation about cultural methods from read- 
ing which can only be gained by experience. 
Reading is largely to give correct theories 
and compare experiences, and one must have 
the experience in order to get the most out 
of the reading, and this we believe applies to 
most any line of work as well as to flower 
growing. 
There are, we believe, very few “trade 
secrets,” so called. Occasionally a man may 
be found who thinks he has some secret 
method. Why he thinks so is because he is 
not well posted nor does he know what others 
are doing in the same line. Usually when the 
facts are known his “ trade secret ” is no secret 
at all, but perhaps a theory or method which 
has been tried and been found wanting and 
superseded by better methods. 
Madison Cooper. 
Fragrance in Gladioli. 
To the Editor : — 
Will you please answer the question as to whether 
any of the Gladioli in common cultivation are fragrant, 
and if so, which ones ? H. L. C. 
Answer:- So far as known none of the 
Gladiolus hybrids in cultivation are fragrant, 
and also so far as known none of the Gladi- 
olus species which have been used for hy- 
bridizing show fragrance. While fragrance 
is looked for in flowers by many, and this may 
by some be considered one of the weak fea- 
tures of the Gladiolus, yet fragrance in flow- 
ers is objected to by many, and possibly we 
should say that lack of fragrance in the Gladi- 
olus does not in any way detract from it as 
a flower. 
A subscriber wants information about 
Tulips, which come “blind.” His trouble is 
with Darwins one to ten years set, and he 
states that the difficulty is as much with 
those recently set as with the old ones. Will 
be glad to hear from any of our readers who 
can offer helpful suggestions. 
The Glad Philosopher’s 
Musings. 
Fads and hobbies cannot be over- 
valued, and for the intense worker are 
indispensable. Walter L. Pyle, au- 
thority on hygiene, says : “ Fads consti- 
tute a mental antitoxin to the poison 
generated by cerebral overactivity.” 
The young and the old, the active and 
the inactive, all need the balancing effect 
of a well-chosen hobby. What a sad 
prospect is the oncoming of old age to 
the person who has nothing to interest 
the mind, or keep the body active or 
the fingers nimble. 
Some years ago, the celebrated Jewish 
rabbi, J. Leonard Levy, a distinguished 
orator, noted for his broadness of mind 
and knowledge of human nature, said : 
“In the happy days of a well-occupied 
youth or early manhood, every one of 
us should develop a hobby of some 
character which will help and never 
harm. Let it be the care of flowers, 
the collection of winged insects, the 
gathering of stones and rocks, the 
raising of domestic pets ; let it be what 
you will, so long as it is innocent and 
clean, but the habit of having some 
hobby should be developed at all costs.” 
The ideal hobby is antithetical in its 
nature to one’s everyday work, so as 
to be thoroughly restful. Persons of 
sedentary habit, and especially those 
who suffer from “nerves” would do 
well to adopt for a hobby some whole- 
some, recreative out-of-doors occupa- 
tion, than which none excels gardening 
for those whose inclinations turn that 
way. And so, as an experienced hob- 
byist-one who has a hobby of having 
hobbies — who through a good, long 
term of years has tackled about every 
known fad and hobby, the Glad Phil- 
osopher vouches for Dr. Levy’s wisdom 
in placing the care of garden flowers 
first in his list of desirable hobbies 
worthy of adoption. 
Those of us who have hobbies like 
to have others show an interest in 
them. Many a lasting friendship has 
resulted from a casual acquaintance 
beginning through common interest in 
some fad or hobby. 
A friend of mine, a gifted violinist, 
was a salesman of railway supplies. 
He had called repeatedly to see a cer- 
tain official who always received him 
but refused to give him a chance to 
demonstrate the quality of the goods 
he was selling. One day he called, 
and happening to spy a violin case 
on the top of the desk, asked the offi- 
cial if he played the “fiddle.” Here- 
plied, “A little, do you ?” My friend 
confessed that he did, and asked if he 
might examine the instrument. Tak- 
ing it up, he began playing, when the 
railroad official’s expression betrayed 
immediate interest and amazement. 
The result was that my friend was 
kept busy playing for over an hour, 
and a friendship sprang up that re- 
