24 
THE FOSS HEATON GLAD GARDENS, CRESTON, IOWA 
of the plant by swimming around while the ground is wet after rains. Badly af¬ 
fected plants die in the field with what is called neck rot. The bacteria live in the 
soil for two or three years, but do not spread in storage. Since "the lesions are shal¬ 
low, this disease is easily treated. Use corrosive sublimate, one ounce to about five 
gallons of water. Dissolve in a little hot water first. Place in bags in wooden con¬ 
tainers, and leave several hours, preferably over night. Use for only one batch, un¬ 
less you bring the solution up to strength by adding a little more corrosive sublimate. 
This chemical readily combines with organic matter, and quickly loses strength. It 
corrodes metals, and is deadly poisonous. But it is completely effective for the 
treatment of scab. 
The only completely effective treatment for the various rots is to destroy all 
bulbs that have lesions of disease, no matter how small they may be. The fungus 
threads extend from the lesions into the heart of the bulb. Then treat the remainder 
of the bulbs as recommended for scab. 
Some growers report that certain varieties are disease-resistant. However, if 
all affected bulbs are promptly destroyed, gardeners need not be unduly alarmed 
about Glad diseases- A little care will probably save a lot of grief later. Plant dis¬ 
ease-free bulbs on fresh ground whenever possible. All careful growers treat all 
their plantings as a precautionary measure, whether they need it or not. 
THRIPS 
Call these varmints anything else you please, but the word itself has an “s” 
on the end of it, whether for one thrips or many thrips. According to reports, this 
insect has arrived in some places in Iowa, but luckily not at my place, so that I can¬ 
not report anything from personal experience in regard to its habits and the control 
methods that ape effective. 
It seems that the injury to the plant is first noticeable as grayish-white spots, 
or flecks, on the foliage, often covering most of the surface. On severely injured 
plants the leaf tissues dry out, and turn brown, and the blooms become discolored 
and shriveled up. 
Thrips is an insect about one-sixteenth of an inch long, rather narrow bodied, 
and very active in the adult stage. Most of them are able to fly. They are black 
in color, with a light band across the middle of their backs. They are too small to 
see well without a hand-glass. Except on cloudy days, they are found only inside 
the sheath, where they lay their eggs. They feed by rasping the tender leaf surface 
and sucking up the juices. They multiply very rapidly. 
In those localities where the ground freezes to a depth of several inches they 
do not live over the winter out of doors. They live over the winter on the bulbs in 
storage, and even multiply there if the temperature is moderate. If the storage 
temperature is kept at forty degrees, or lower, they are destroyed, according to some 
reports. If the bulbs are placed in containers, such as paper bags, thrips may also 
be destroyed completely by the use of naphthalene flakes, which are cheap, and ob¬ 
tainable at any drug store- They form a gas that kills both bugs and eggs. Use 
about an ounce to a hundred large bulbs and shake the bag so that the flakes are 
scattered throughout the bulbs. They may be left in the bags for several weeks with¬ 
out danger, but be sure the containers are not kept tight too long, so that the bulbs 
sweat and mold. It is best not to do this too soon afljer being dug, or when the roots 
are beginning to burst in the spring, as the tender bulb tissue might be damaged. At 
planting time, as an additional precaution, the same corrosive sublimate treatment 
as recommended for diseases is effective. Destroy all trash and refuse from clean¬ 
ing and be sure that treated bulbs do not again become infested from such sources 
before planting. Since thrips fly, get your neighbors to use these precautions also. 
For larger quantities of bulbs in storage, fumigation with calcium cyanide is effec¬ 
tive, but this is one of the most deadly poisons known, and must be used with ex¬ 
treme caution. 
Thrips is a dry weather insect. Cool, rainy weather holds them in check. Fre¬ 
quent sprinklings of cool water is the best control method in the growing season. 
But this must be started in plenty of time, because thrips live inside the sheath of 
the plant leaf, and may be present before you know it. If they have a good start, it 
is very hard to control them by any methods so far known. A contact spray is al¬ 
most useless. Some growers have had some success by spraying with a solution of 
brown sugar and paris green, using considerable force on both sides of the plant. 
The formula for this is two tablespoons of par is. green, two pounds of brown sugar, 
and three gallons of water. ^ 
