vided the bulb retains a good eye and root 
base. Cutting out these segments only cuts 
away that much food to start off the new 
plant. Best dust the cut surface with pow¬ 
dered charcoal. Next best common sulphur 
or at least dry until bleeding stops before 
planting. You may do these things any time 
during the storage period, too, or just rely on 
corrosive sublimate treatment to clear them 
up. 
A plump bulb of 134 inches diameter has 
plenty food to start production of a show 
specimen spike. If the bulb is 2 inches or 
more in diameter it may have two or more 
prominent eyes or sprouts, indicating that 
it will make as many stalks and spikes. Now 
this one bulb cannot be expected to make two 
or more spikes of the same show specimen 
quality it would produce if held to a single 
eye and spike. If you want to bring renewed 
youth and vigor to your bulbs and beat the 
other fellow, just disbud the bulb, i.e., gouge 
out all eyes except the most prominent one, 
just as you gouged out the little specks of 
scab or disease, dusting as before. 
THRIPS 
There are many kinds of thrips. We have 
always had thrips of one sort or another on 
corn husks, grapes, oats, onions, lilies, 
peonies, iris, field daisies and the like. Some 
of them do occasional consequential damage 
to the plant giving them their common name 
(“oat thrips,” etc.) Others may feed upon 
pollen only and never do noticeable damage. 
A few thrips other than the so called “glad 
thrips” may migrate upon your gladiolus 
with little or no damage. 
The male “glad thrips” is about 1-16th 
inch long, female both larger and longer. 
Main body color of both a black brown. To 
the naked eye the fore wings of both male 
and female are brown but the basal third is a 
lighter shade, readily seen when the wings are 
folded over the back. With a microscope it 
will be seen that the male has five cream col¬ 
ored bands around its body, the female a 
broader band above but none below. End of 
body of male is rounded, that of female a 
rather pointed, saw-like appendage. Four 
stages, adult, egg, larva, pupa. The young 
are without wings, considerably smaller and 
lemon yellow. A generation develops in 14 to 
34 days at 68 degrees and in but 7-16 days at 
86 degrees. Since they secrete themselves in 
the leaf sheath, one has to examine his plants 
very carefully or a severe infestation may 
come upon them before he is aware. 
The U. S. Dept. Ent. states “The gladiolus 
thrips does not overwinter out of doors in the 
Northern States, but overwinters on the 
stored bulbs only. Gladiolus can be planted 
back in the same field the next season after 
effective bulb treatment has been applied and 
will not be troubled with thrips the second 
year unless reinfested from untreated bulbs 
growing nearby. The importance of planting 
only thrips-free bulbs is self-evident.” 
Every precaution you can take to keep the 
thrips from falling, blowing, fiying or crawl¬ 
ing upon the dug bulb should be taken. We 
can think of nothing worse than bringing 
the bulbs with their tops still on into a warm 
place of storage, if the plants were even but 
lightly infested. 
Once introduced into storage, they proceed 
to feed on the bulbs, leaving russett brown 
spots wherever they were able to penetrate 
and laying eggs right in the tissue of the bulbs. 
There the eggs hatch and start further life 
cycles. At 50 degrees some of the thrips will 
remain alive 5 months, though sluggish, with 
little feeding and no hatching of eggs occurs 
at 50 or below. At a constant 40 degrees for 3 
months or 36 degrees for 2 months, all the 
thrips present, including the eggs, are killed. 
Unfortunately, the first light infestation 
from without usually comes late in the season, 
perhaps not even injuring the latest blooms 
and escapes notice. By getting a few intro¬ 
duced into your storage and then not using 
any control methods, you face a possible 
total loss of the next year’s bloom, which you 
may be inclined to blame upon bulbs newly 
purchased. 
Cyanogas kills the insects but not the 
eggs. If you can maintain a given incu¬ 
bating temperature and use repeated gassings 
so often during the period of incubation that 
further egg laying is prevented, you might 
make a 100% kill of the eggs as they hatch. 
Also, this is a very deadly gas to humans. 
Napthalene Flakes. We highly recom¬ 
mend this simple and economical treat¬ 
ment. If you allow thrips to feed upon your 
bulbs they will suck the juices, injure the eyes 
and rootlets and growth will be retarded and 
inferior flowers produced, even if you even¬ 
tually kill them off at planting time by some 
treatment. Avoid crude napthalene or cam¬ 
phor or paradichlorobenzene as they may 
contain creosote or other injurious chem¬ 
icals. The best time to use it as soon as 
the roots are considered too dry to suck 
any napthalene into the bulb. Maybe a 
matter of hours or a few days, depending on 
drying methods. Do not apply to bulbs from 
which the old bulb has just been removed, as 
the severed area is moist for a while and the 
napthalene might soak into the bulb. It is 
safe both to the user and to the bulbs, during 
their dormant period of storage, even when 
an overdoasage is used, provided the bulbs are 
fairly well dried. One ounce (4 level table¬ 
spoons) sprinkled on each 100 large bulbs 
or equivalent in bulk of smaller sizes, is suffi¬ 
cient if bulbs are stored in closed bottom con¬ 
tainer. If screen bottom or in onion sacks, 
double the amount. Will kill insects promptly 
and gases will continue for several weeks, 
killing the larvae as soon as hatched. Allow 
to remain at least 3 weeks. But note they 
will not hatch under 50 degrees. Do not com¬ 
pletely cover the bulbs as evaporation takes 
place constantly and to prevent it will make 
the bulbs first damp, then mouldy, then sus¬ 
ceptible to rot and diseases. Applying the 
flakes in a closed paper bag is safe for a few 
weeks if bulbs be dry, since some moisture 
can escape. If roots and old bulbs are removed 
several weeks after application, any naptha- 
