December, 1918 
125 
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MRS. AUSTIN’S TALKS 
= [ IVritten expressly for The Flower Grower. ] 
Cleaning Gladiolus Bulbs. 
I N THOSE DAYS of long 
ago when Gladiolus gar- 
dens were scarce, my 
neighbor and I dug bulbs 
with a fork and spread them 
on blankets, and sometimes 
on canvas taken surrepti- 
tiously from thegrain binder 
in the tool house. We had 
early learned that bulbs 
could be cleaned easier and quicker 
when cured, so we spread them in the 
sunniest spot and when they were well 
dried, we tied strips of stout cloth 
around our fingers to prevent them from 
getting sore, and sitting on the ground 
pulled off the roots leaving the bulbs 
smooth and clean. If one of us stopped 
working and crooked a finger in weird 
and questionable fashion, it was not 
an invocation to unseen spirits or to 
the adorable Flora ; it only meant that 
the string was too tight. We were 
seldom alone. The family cow staked 
in nearby late clover watched us in 
mild disgust— she had tasted bulbs and 
the memory of their flavor was not 
One of the Austin tables made especially for 
cleaning Gladiolus bulbs. 
pleasant. The collie, ever alert, gazing 
into the valley below, sniffed suspi- 
ciously, as if he thought there might be 
a share for him in the hidden treasure 
of the bronze-brown corn shocks, while 
our mascot, the cat, curled up on a 
corner of the canvas, blinking sleepily 
at her half grown kittens as they 
danced and flirted with the falling 
leaves. Over head were the birds. 
Some gathering in restless flocks flut- 
tering and twittering as if anxious to 
be off on the long trip to their winter 
home ; others huddled together on 
branches of trees at companionable 
distances from us called softly in lisp- 
ing sibilant tones, as if whispering 
about us and our curious work, and 
apparently giving no thought to the 
morrow. Always interested in the 
weather, we watched the signs in the 
sky and sometimes when we had fully 
decided that a storm was inevitable 
and had gone to much work to protect 
the bulbs, the real weather prophet of 
the neighborhood would appear and 
remark : "I cal’clate we’ll hev right 
fine weather now, the way the signs is.” 
I think if we were working there now 
that we would spend a part of our time 
watchingthe balloons which 
are so very plentiful in this 
section. The large dirig- 
ible which is a frequent 
visitor is of special interest. 
An old friend is the driver 
and a halloo from the sky 
in a familiar voice is not 
uncommon. 
Each year there were 
more bulbs to dig and more 
bulbs to clean and it became 
later each fall before they were finished, 
so when those cold days, the foretaste 
of winter’s chill, came, we moved them 
to more sheltered places. We spread 
them in granary, in corners of the tool 
house, and very choice, washed bulblets 
in the big store room on the floor, 
while in the wood-house, where we 
could watch and stir them more easily, 
we tumbled them in heaps. Our mas- 
cot and her family also moved to the 
wood-house and the one who ventured 
there in evening without a light risked 
losing his equilibrium or the wrecking 
of his nervous system when he chanced 
to step on rolling bulb or velvet paw. 
This caused the man-o-the-house to re- 
mark that he didn’t believe that there 
were so many bulbs in the whole 
country, and "What are you going to do 
with them, anyway ?” “ All sold, dear, 
excepting the planting stock, and they 
pay better than potatoes. I wish we 
had some tables to clean the bulbs on.” 
Then man power entered and the 
business was placed on a better work- 
ing basis in the provision of good, 
frost-proof, airy storage room. Suitable 
curing trays and convenient cleaning 
tables. The illustration shows one of 
the tables. It measures 6 ft. long, 4 ft. 
2 in. wide, 21\ inches high, and is so 
constructed that it can be folded when 
not in use. A narrow strip on the 
sides which comes § inch above the table 
prevents the bulblets from rolling off. 
This size accommodates six persons, 
but whether one, two or six work there, 
it is a wonderful convenience. The 
grower who has only a few bulbs will 
find it handy to spread, perhaps, his 
entire stock there, and as the topmost 
ones become dry he can clean and 
push them to one side until they are 
all finished when they may be spread 
more evenly to finish curing, thus 
eliminating the curing tray. With the 
bulbs cured and stored away, the table 
may be folded and set up edgewise 
taking very little room, or it may be 
used tor many other purposes, Dahlias, 
Cannas, or beans. In fact its uses are 
so many that it should be called a gar- 
den table, for one who has either vege- 
table or flower garden or both will 
find it a great convenience. 
We husk bulbs now, and a "husking 
bee” in these days might mean a com- 
pany of merry workers sitting at tables 
cleaning Gladiolus bulbs, using metal 
corn huskers to loosen and pull the 
roots from the bulbs, as well as to pro- 
tect the hands. 
Connecticut Fair Flower Show. 
The Connecticut Fair Association 
held its eleventh annual fair at Charter 
Oak Park, Hartford, Sept. 2-6 with all 
departments larger and better than 
ever. Especially was this true of the 
Flower Department under the able 
supervision of Mr. Gurdon R. Scrivener 
of “ The Tunnel Greenhouses,” Hart- 
ford. 
The fine groups of Palms, Ferns, 
Geraniums, Heliotropes, etc., made a 
good surrounding for the displays of 
Gladioli. 
The Floral Hall is a round building 
and the center of the hall was occu- 
pied by a rockery built by Mr. Scriv- 
ener. It was nicely decorated with 
small Palms, Ferns, Moss, etc. The 
rocks being full of Mica in quite large 
pieces and a series of colored lights 
arranged under the spray from the 
fountain made an elegant combination 
which was admired by all the visitors 
to the hall. 
A large display of Gladioli in the 
outer isle was staged by the East Hart- 
ford Gladiolus Co., one section of which 
was a large “Red Cross” made of Mrs. 
Francis King with the corners and 
border of America. 
The exhibitors from a distance were 
handicapped by the very slow express 
service. The writer, who shipped from 
a distance of about 100 miles, had the 
flowers on the road 46 hours and could 
not expect to compete with growers 
living near by who could bring the 
flowers in fresh. The show opening 
Monday, Labor Day, and the previous 
day being Sunday it is necessary to 
ship on Friday to insure the flowers 
being there on time. 
In the regular schedule the following 
awards were made with plenty of com- 
petition in each class: 
Largest and best collection — East Hartford 
Gladiolus Co , 1st ; C. W. Brown & Son, 2nd. 
Twenty-five spikes America — Coombs, The 
Florist, 1st. 
Twenty-five spikes Mrs. Francis King — East 
Hartford Gladiolus Co., 1st. 
Twenty-five spikes Mrs. Frank Pendleton — 
A. E. Doty, 1st. 
Twenty spikes any Pink except America — 
East Hartford Gladiolus Co., 1st, showing 
Summer Beauty. 
Twenty spikes any Scarlet or Crimson ex- 
cept Mrs. Francis King— F. H. Pond & Co., 
1st, showing Princeps. 
Twenty spikes White— C. W. Brown & 
Son, 1st, with Rochester White. 
Five spikes Crimson— C. L. Ailing, 1st. 
Five spikes Scarlet — C. W. Brown & Son, 
1st, with Liebesfeuer. 
Five spikes Yellow — A. E. Doty, 1st, with 
Schwaben. 
Five spikes Lilac — C. W. Brown & Son, 
1st, with Scarsdale. 
Five spikes Mauve— C. W. Brown & Son, 
1st, with a new seedling. 
Five spikes Blue— East Hartford Gladiolus 
Co., 1st, with Baron Hulot. 
Five spikes Dark Pink— East Hartford 
Gladiolus Co., 1st, with Independence. 
Five spikes Light Pink — East Hartford 
Gladiolus Co., 1st, with Gretchen Zung. 
Five spikes Striped — F. H. Pond & Co., 1st, 
with Pres. Taft. 
C. W. Brown & Son showed 20 vases of 
their new seedlings which attracted con- 
siderable attention and which were awarded 
a Certificate of Merit. 
Mrs. A. H. Austin. 
C. W. Brown. 
