May, 1917 
27 
formed. Where only one or two bulbs have 
been planted in a place, this usually will 
not be necessary. 
The first of the positive commandments 
is to plant deep; 5" or 6", unless your soil 
is heavy and wet. In any case, cover the 
tubers 2" or 3" until they start growth; then 
gradually fill in. This will make the plants 
much more self-supporting than if they 
were planted near the surface. Feed liber¬ 
ally after the plant has reached the stage 
where the buds are beginning to develop, 
but not before that period. 
Do not set the plants too close to each 
other; 2' should be the very minimum, and 
3' is better—in heavy soil, for large vari¬ 
eties, 4' will not be too much. To get the 
largest and most perfect flowers, only one 
or two should be allowed to develop on a 
stalk; more than that means less size. 
Gladioli—Eight Incites Wide and 
Sixteen Weeks Long 
The gladiolus has won to the forefront 
of favor among summer flowers by leaps 
and bounds. The characteristics which have 
most marked it for distinction are its great 
beauty and wonderful variety, the ease and 
certainty with which it can be grown, and 
last but not least its moderate cost. First- 
class bulbs of many of the best varieties can 
be bought for 5 to 10 cents apiece, or 30 to 
50 cents a dozen. And as each bulb makes 
a new bulb and many little bulblets for the 
succeeding year, it is no wonder that it has 
been called the flower “for the million.” 
There has been just one point in which 
gladioli have brought disappointment—the 
short period of bloom. For this reason, I 
want to emphasize the simple means by 
which the gorgeous flowers may be had 
from June and July until frost. 
Let the gardener realize in the first place 
that the gladiolus, unlike the majority of 
summer flowering bulbs, can be planted out 
with safety early in the spring. An early 
planting is therefore the first step toward a 
long period of bloom. The second is to 
make at least part of this first planting of 
an early flowering variety, such as the 
primulinns hybrids. The Le Moine type is 
also early flowering, as are the new Prsecox, 
or Fordhook hybrids. In the late flowering 
group come the Childsi and Groff hybrids, 
and most of the new hard-flowered main 
sorts of the present day, although some 
varieties, such as Pink Beauty and Halley, 
flower earlier than others. 
If you will use varieties of different 
flowering periods, making plantings a month 
or so apart in April, May and June, you 
can be assured of a succession of gladioli 
until freezing weather. 
While gladioli like plenty of sun, they 
are not otherwise over-particular as to soil. 
They will thrive well in any good garden 
soil, but if old manure or bone has been 
worked into it, results will be still better. 
The bulbs should be planted about 4" deep. 
They may be set in groups or in single rows, 
the bulbs being put from 4" to 6" apart. If 
you want to get a succession of bloom in 
the same place, make the first planting from 
8" to 12" between bulbs and place the next 
planting between these. While they are 
not as dependent upon water as some flow¬ 
ers, irrigation or thorough watering should 
be given occasionally during any periods of 
prolonged dry weather. 
One great advantage of the gladiolus is 
that as a cut flower it will keep for a very 
long time—up to ten days or two weeks. 
Buds which did not show any indication of 
unfolding when the spike was cut will open 
up perfectly in water. In cutting the stalks, 
get them well down, but leave three or four 
leaves with the bulb as this helps its further 
growth and maturity. Of course, the water 
should be changed daily, and it is well to 
cut off Yz" or so at the bottom of the spike 
when changing the water. 
Consider the Lily—Ganna ! 
The new varieties and developments 
among cannas are not as well known to the 
general gardening public as the progress 
which has been made with gladioli, but they 
are no less important. Cannas are, if any¬ 
thing, more vigorous and sturdy growers 
than the gladioli. They are to be had in 
practically all shades but blue with blooms 
{Continued on page 84) 
It can he heard 
half a mile away, 
this garage or 
farm hell. Brack¬ 
et is hand-forged 
iron. Brass hell 5" 
high and 5" wide. 
$30 complete 
It is not all of belling to ring—the appear¬ 
ance is important as well as the sound. 
Here are bells which meet both require¬ 
ments. You can purchase them through 
the Shopping Service, 445 Fourth Avenue, 
New York, or learn the names of the shops 
where they can be obtained by ivriting to 
the same address 
A garage hell, 
suitable for call¬ 
ing the chauffeur, 
has a bracket 
made of hand- 
forged iron and a 
brass bell 5" loide 
and 5" high. $30 
complete 
Tony Weller, hav¬ 
ing delighted the 
world in hooks, 
now takes to a 
hell. In antiqued 
bronze, 4" high, 
$1.75. In silver, 
$2.50 
At last the Emir 
Pasha Bull-Bull 
has been immor¬ 
talized. He comes 
4" high and in sil¬ 
ver costs %3.50. In 
bronze, the price 
is $2.75 
Cicsar Augustus in 
a characteristic 
pose surmounts 
this Roman bell, 
5%" high. In an¬ 
tiqued bronze, 
$2.50; in silver, 
$3.00 
The glass bell is suit¬ 
able where crystal ser¬ 
vice is used. 5%" high. 
$2.50. The smaller bell 
has panels of pink or 
blue enamel on the sil¬ 
ver handle. 4", $1 
For the porch, a 
parrot bell 5" 
high. Raised de¬ 
sign in flowers 
painted red, green 
and yellow. Polly 
in natural colors. 
$ 2.00 
