26 
HO USE & GARDEN 
beetle rarely troubles the plants unless 
they are near fields of asters or golden 
rod. 
Quality Bulbs 
Bulbs, or conns, as some prefer to 
call them, should be bought as early in 
the season as possible, for then there is 
more certainty of getting what one 
wants, particularly if one wants the 
newer and scarcer kinds. Catalogues 
are out in February, as a rule, and many 
growers have them out in January. It 
is best to buy of a specialist, even if one 
gets but a few bulbs, for then one is 
sure of securing bulbs of quality at 
prices that are right. It is utterly use¬ 
less to put money into wornout bulbs 
or inferior stock and expect to get good 
results, nor is it advisable to get mixed 
sorts unless the very best quality is pro¬ 
cured. If one is to put in valuable time 
caring for them it is best to get what is 
worth caring for, and something that 
will pay for growing on from the in¬ 
crease. Named sorts give the most sat¬ 
isfaction in the end, for once you start 
out on the road you get the “glad” 
fever. 
We get fine flowers only from fine 
bulbs, and those two years old are generally considered to be 
the best. American stock is the stock to buy for results, and 
there are a number of reliable growers here in the East. Hol¬ 
land stock is frequently “homesick” and fails to flower the 
first year. If one buys from a reliable grower he may be sure 
he is getting good stock, but if cheap bulbs are purchased from 
dealers who buy their supplies the stock is quite likely to be 
Holland grown. Widespread dissemination of this sort of 
stock is partly responsible for lack of appreciation of the bet¬ 
ter sorts. 
There are many, many people to-day who think the gladiolus 
is the same uninteresting red thing it was in their grand¬ 
mothers’ day. Say dahlia to them and they at once are alert, 
but mention gladiolus and their faces are a blank. A librarian 
to whom I took an armful remarked, “These are like the ones 
we read about, and never see.” The varieties were such as 
Attraction, Princeps, Blanche, and Peace, none of them very 
costly, but all of them sorts that will be worth growing as 
long as the gladiolus is grown. 
best them and furnish fine flowers. The 
gladiolus is mightily obliging on that 
score. 
When planting it is well to mark with 
variety names on field labels, and it is 
also desirable to have them properly 
listed in a note-book in the manner of 
planting, if one wishes to keep the sorts 
separate. It is best to keep them sepa¬ 
rate, because some kinds are more pro¬ 
lific than others, and if there is a pre¬ 
ponderance of any one variety it will be 
readily known. 
In cutting the flowers do not remove 
any more leaves than necessary. The 
bulb needs them to assist in its ripening. 
If the spikes are cut when the first buds 
open, their stems cut off a bit every day 
and the water changed, every bud will 
open. Treated in this way a vase of 
gladioli will last ten days or two weeks. 
There could be no better argument in 
their favor as a cut flower. 
Care of the Bulbs 
The bulbs can be left in the ground 
until after hard frosts. Dig them out 
on a sunny day, using a spading fork 
and turning the chunk of earth bottom- 
side-up. Then, if you want to save the 
bulblets, take the bulb out carefully and cut off the top (prun¬ 
ing shears are fine for this job) within 1" or 2" of the bulb and 
leave it to dry a while in the sun before removing to whatever 
place you cure them in. Mine are placed on tables in a cellar 
with the windows out. After they are well dried off pack them 
in boxes or anything convenient to use and keep in a frost¬ 
proof place. 
The bulblets used to give me heaps of trouble with their 
tardy germination until I thought out a method of getting the 
better of their hard shells. I mixed them with dirt, put them 
in boxes and soaked the dirt with hot water in March. Bv 
planting time in April the little black fellows had sprouted, and 
burst through their jackets. I planted them in trenches 3" deep 
and 6" wide, and they were up in a week, by the hundred. I'll 
never again go back to the old method of soaking them. From 
the good-sized bulblets of Peace I had stalks with six and 
eight blooms on them, and they kept coming on until cut by 
frost I have never had such results from the old plan. 
The Best Varieties 
Flame-colored is perhaps the best 
adjective to describe the large ef¬ 
fective blooms of Mrs. Francis King 
How to Plant 
If one feels obliged to limit one¬ 
self to the best ten or twenty, the 
matter of varieties is a moot ques¬ 
tion. It can best be decided by study¬ 
ing diligently the various catalogues 
and then selecting the sorts person¬ 
ally preferred. In the list given be¬ 
low there are some especially good 
sorts named, and they are not so ex¬ 
pensive that the flower-lover need 
hesitate at starting out with them. 
Most of them are good producers of 
bulblets. 
Among the large-flowered sorts are 
—America, Attraction, Glory of Hol¬ 
land, Cardinal, Cracker Jack, George 
Paul, F. L. Oakley, Glory, I. S. 
Hendrickson, Intensity, Lizzie, Mrs. 
Francis King, Peace, Rosella. 
Of the smaller flowered sorts the 
good old Brenchleyensis is one of the 
finest for massing where a blaze of 
color is wanted. Then we have other 
very desirable sorts in Independence, 
De Lamarck, Emma Thrusby, May, 
Madame Monneret, Mephistopheles, 
Hollandia, Baron Hulot, Klondyke 
and Canary Bird. All of these are 
low priced at hundred rates, and 
splendid of their kind. 
(Continued on page 58) 
Bulbs may be planted as early in 
spring as the ground can be worked. 
I have planted from the second week 
in April, here in Connecticut. Plant 
at least 5" deep, 6" is better, unless 
in the case of very small bulbs. They 
may be planted as close as 4" or 5" 
apart in the row, and the rows run 
6" or more apart. Where they are so 
closely planted the soil should be fre¬ 
quently stirred. Ground where they 
are to be planted should be spaded or 
plowed to a depth of 12" or more. 
If fertilizer from hen house or stable 
is to be used it should be spread on 
in the fall. Fresh manure must not 
come near the bulb. Chicken manure 
will heighten the coloring of a flower 
considerably ; I have had Peace come 
almost pink after this treatment. 
Wood ashes are a good fertilizer, and 
I use them broadcast on the land, but 
for direct use by the bulb I give com¬ 
mercial fertilizer for potatoes, a 
handful scattered around the plant 
just before a rain and hoed in later, 
two or three times in the growing 
season. Weeds should be kept down 
if it is possible, but if the plants get 
a start before the weeds do they will 
America is superb with its handsome 
flowers of light pink glossed over with a 
lavender sheen , unexcelled for cutting 
