26 
THE FOSS HEATON GLAD GARDENS, CRESTON, IOWA 
DISEASES 
There are four or five diseases affecting Glads, including the common scab dis¬ 
ease and several kinds of rots. Scab does not work on the bulbs in storage, while the 
rots do. The latter will reduce the bulb to a mummy by spring. 
Scab causes circular, shallow, shiny brown depressions on the surface of the 
bulb, which are easily removed and come clean. The bacteria of this disease spread 
during the growth of the plant by swimming around while the ground is wet after 
rains. Badly affected plants die in the field with what is called neck rot. These 
bacteria, or spores, live in the soil for two or three years, but do not spread in stor¬ 
age. Since the lesions are shallow, this disease is easily treated. Use corrosive sub¬ 
limate, one ounce to about five gallons of water. Dissolve in a little hot water first. 
Place in bags in wooden containers, and leave for several hours. Use for only one 
batch, unless 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 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 these may be, because the 
fungus threads extend from the lesion into the heart of the bulb. Then treat the re¬ 
mainder of the bulbs as recommended for scab. 
THRIPS 
Luckily these bugs have kept away from my farm through another season. Call 
them thrips, with an “s” on the end of the word, for both one thrips and many thrips. 
There is no such word as “thrip”. 
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. 
The thrips is an insect about one-sixteenth of an inch long, rather narrow bodied, 
and very active in the adult stage, most of them being able to fly. They are black 
in color, with a lighter band across the middle of their backs. They are too small to 
see well without the aid of 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 unex¬ 
posed 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 stor¬ 
age, and even multiply there if the temperature is moderate. If the temperature is 
kept at forty degrees, or lower, they are destroyed, according to some reports. If 
the bulbs are placed in tight containers, such as paper bags, thrips may also be de¬ 
stroyed completely by the use of naphthalene flakes, which are cheap and obtainable 
at any drug store. They form a gas that kills both bugs and their eggs. Use at the 
rate of about one 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 without danger to the bulbs, but be sure that the containers are not kept tight 
too long, so that the bulbs sweat and mold. It is best not to do this too soon after 
being dug, or when the roots are beginning to swell 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 disease is effective. Destroy ail 
trash and refuse from cleaning, and be sure that treated bulbs do not again come in 
contact with such infested sources before planting. Since thrips fly considerable 
distances, get your neighbors to use these precautions also. 
The thrips is a dry weather insect. Cool, rainy weather holds them in check. 
Frequent sprinklings of cool water is the best control method in the growing season. 
But this must be started in 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 not effective. 
Some growers have had some success by spraying with a solution of brown sugar and 
