earthen jars. Leave several hours or over night. 
This treatment is also good to use against scab and 
disease. 
For spraying plants, use two tablespoons of paris 
green, two pounds of brown sugar and three gallons 
of water. Spray on both sides with plenty of force. 
Thrips do not survive out of doors in cold climates 
so if your ground freezes several inches deep the only 
danger is from bulbs or roots in storage. Always 
keep bulbs in cool places as little above freezing as 
possible. 
CULTURAL DIRECTIONS 
One reason why our land keeps on producing for 
so many years is that it is constantly receiving aid 
from the air, sun, and water. A great many of the 
chemicals needed in plant growth come from these 
sources. 
Still, soil may have been robbed of some chemical 
especially needed for growth and, as with any pro¬ 
cess, the lack of one ingredient shortens the crop. 
For this reason we recommend commercial plant 
food to overcome shortages. A few cents worth of 
the needed food will make dollars in returns. Out¬ 
side of supplying humus to the soil, we think this 
the cheapest way to fertilize. If your soil is packed 
and sour, growing legumes, or plowing or spading 
under leaves, straw, or other refuse may be resorted 
to. Rye planted in the fall or early winter provides 
a large amount of humus if it is plowed under in the 
spring. 
2-12-6 Gladiolus Special Plant Food 
We use a commercial fertilizer mixed for our 
needs. We can supply this in any quantity. We call 
it the “2-12-6 GLADIOLUS SPECIAL.’’ Price: 5 
to 10 pounds*—3c per pound, over ten pounds—2c 
per pound; F. 0. B., Waterloo. Seven or eight pounds 
will furnish two applications for a 100-foot row. For 
the small cost and little extra trouble it takes, won¬ 
derful returns may be expected. Your soil may not 
need it but if some element is lacking, your plants 
cannot give the best results. 
Always use well rotted manure or compost mate¬ 
rial in your garden or work it into the ground in the 
fall. It has been found that in using unrotted straw 
and compost that many of the chemicals needed for 
plant growth are used in process of decomposing 
straw and material, and plants may suffer or even 
die while this process is going on. In decomposed 
manure, this process is finished and all chemicals are 
ready to assist in plant growth. 
Plant glads in well prepared garden soil in 
trenches five or six inches in depth. If you are us- 
