| FOR BOTH AMATEUR AND PROFESSIONAL j 
| GROWERS OF THE GLADIOLUS, DAHLIA, IRIS, ETC. I 
| PUBLISHED MONTHLY ON THE FIRST OF THE j 
I MONTH BY MADISON COOPER, CALCIUM, N. Y. j 
Age and Gladiolus Corms. 
[ Written expressly for The Flower Grower. J 
T HE EFFECT of age on the bloom- 
ing qualities of Gladiolus corms has 
come up for discussion at intervals 
for a long time, but thus 
far the observations have 
been of a highly theoreti- 
cal nature. Such specula- 
tions are of interest but 
they are not calculated to 
settle the question. What 
is needed is a little practi- 
cal experimentation such 
as any Gladiolus grower 
can carry out. This would 
be of great value, since it 
would decide, once for all, 
whether it is worth while 
for the gardener to save 
his old corms, or whether 
it is better to buy new 
ones each year. 
The whole subject is 
confused with the running 
out of species and varie- 
ties and needs a careful 
re-statement. It is well 
known that some forms of 
plant life change ; other- 
wise there would be no 
possibility of making im- 
provements in plants. The 
most variable parts of 
plants are the seeds, since 
the young plant, which 
each seed contains, is the 
result of the union of a 
sperm and an egg and 
these two elements may 
come from different plants. 
Seedlings, therefore, may 
have the qualities of two 
parents and vary accord- 
ingly. A line reproduced 
by seeds annually may 
easily run out, either by 
splitting up into new forms 
more or less unlike the 
original, or in taking on new charac- 
ters. 
But with plants propagated by vege- 
tative parts the case is quite different. 
There is no such opportunity for varia- 
By Willard N. Clute. 
tion as there is with seeds, for each 
division is essentially like the plant 
from which it came. There may, of 
course, be sudden " sports ” or " muta- 
tions” quite different in character from 
the original, such as that which pro- 
duced the naval orange, but an entire 
form never makes such changes. Or- 
dinarily it is a single bud or twig which 
has the new features. A form propa- 
gated by tubers, bulbs, corms, runners, 
or divisions of the root- 
stock ought, therefore, to 
remain the same for all 
time. As a matter of fact, 
there are various forms in 
cultivation that have been 
continued by vegetative 
means for hundreds of 
years without any sign of 
running out. 
Mere continuity of a 
given form, however, does 
not touch the heart of the 
Gladiolus matter which, as 
I understand it is: Are the 
older parts of a Gladi- 
olus plant as floriferous as 
new divisions ? If we were 
to make an inference from 
other forms of the plant 
world we risk making an 
error because plants vary 
greatly in this respect. 
We are familiar with a 
vast number of trees, 
shrubs and herbs whose 
flower buds are formed in 
autumn and in the case of 
the trees and shrubs, on 
wood made the previous 
summer. There are many 
others, however, that form 
their flower buds in spring 
after growth has com- 
menced ; on the new wood, 
as it is commonly called, 
while not a few, the cur- 
rant for example, produce 
flowers on both the old 
and new wood. In our 
part of the world plants 
which form their flowers 
on wood more than a year 
old, are rare, yet the red- 
bud (cercis) does it and in the tropics 
this phenomenon, called cauliflory, is 
very common. The cocoa plant is a 
good illustration. Our gardens, also, 
[ Concluded on page 23. ] 
