Boulder Glad Gardens 
Dear Friends: 
2111 12th St., 
Boulder, Colo. 
I have some news for you. We have sold 
our place in Chautauqua Heights, Boulder, 
and have moved down town where Mrs. Skiff 
has opened an art shop (not a shoppe). You 
know, I told you once that Mrs. Skiff is an 
artist. Well, I expect to have a seed store 
in the same room where we shall try to keep 
the old wolf from the door. I expect to con¬ 
tinue having “Boulder Glad Gardens,” where 
I shall grow what I can, and buy whatever 
else I need from reliable wholesale concerns. 
Some of you will remember I started busi¬ 
ness growing just Glads, and afterwards add¬ 
ed flower seeds. As most gardeners grow 
vegetables as well as flowers, this year I 
am adding vegetable seeds to my stock. I 
ought to be able to make a good selection 
of vegetables, as I have had many years’ ex¬ 
perience in growing them. Some of these 
seeds I have grown myself, but one man 
can’t do everything, so most of my vege¬ 
table seeds and many of my flower seeds I 
expect to get this year from the wholesale 
department of the company that says “Bur¬ 
pee’s seeds grow.” 
I shall have seeds also from other national¬ 
ly known houses. I have a lot of confidence 
in these seeds as well as in those of my own 
growing. Allow me to say that I have never 
had better luck with any seeds than with 
those that I grow myself. 
There is plenty of competition in this busi¬ 
ness. Auntgomery Warden sells seeds, and 
the grocers sell seeds. Then there are the 
hardware dealers, the regular seed houses, 
and the h ouse to house canvassers. Friends, 
wish me luck. 
Next summer I plan to get out a price list 
of Fall Bulbs. Shall I send you one? Thank¬ 
ing my old customers for past favors, and 
soliciting new business I remain yours faith¬ 
fully, 
D. L. SKIFF. 
Best Ten Gladioli 
The last news I received on this subject 
was in May, 1937. There may have been a 
change since that time, but probably not 
much. Here they are in the order of their 
preference, according to votes by Gladiolus 
lovers. 
1. Picardy 
2. Minuet 
3. Commander Koehl 
4. Betty Nuthall 
5. Mother Machree 
6. Marmora 
7. Maid of Orleans 
8. Mr. W. H. Phipps 
9. Bagdad 
10. Mildred Louise 
New Glads 
New ones are being originated all the time. 
Some have exceptional merit, and some are 
no better than many of the old ones. Those 
that prove to be remarkable I get in time, 
but do not try to have all the new ones. Will 
take space to discuss some of them. Blunello 
is a new Glad introduced two years ago by 
its originator, James L. Brownlee and myself. 
I sent some bulbs of Blunello to the New 
York College of Agriculture at Cornell Uni¬ 
versity for trial and was much pleased with 
their report. No doubt all of the hundreds of 
varieties on trial there were very fine, but 
only 16 were placed on the Approved List. 
Among the 16 were Blunello and Golden God¬ 
dess, yet I am offering Blunello for only 25c 
per bulb. Golden Goddess has been patented, 
so I have no control over its price. Have 
never seen Golden Goddess, but it must be 
fine to be on the Cornell Approved List. On 
the list of 20 varieties showing Exceptional 
Merit are Blue Admiral and King Arthur. An¬ 
other new one I am offering is Flamingo. 
Both Mr. Brownlee, its originator, and my¬ 
self admire Flamingo very much. If Ffitzer’s 
Triumph should become extinct, Flamingo 
would fully take its place. It appears to be 
healthier than P. Triumph, and the color is 
richer. 
How To Grow Gladioli 
Most gardeners have good luck with Glads 
without instruction, but a few directions to 
those not experienced may help. Here are my 
methods. Plant from April 1 to June 1, the 
time depending on climate. In the south they 
plant much earlier than either of those dates. 
They may be planted in clumps, the bulbs be¬ 
ing 3 or 4 inches apart and the clumps 20 
inches or more apart, or they may be planted 
in rows, the bulbs being 2 or 3 (or more) 
inches apart, and the rows 20 inches apart. 
Small bulbs may be planted as close as one 
or two inches from each other. Plant bulbs 
from two to five inches deep, the depth de¬ 
pending on size of bulb and character of soil. 
Plant deep in loose sandy soil, and shallow in 
stiff clay soils. Plant in good fertile soil but 
do not use fresh barnyard or stable manure. 
Soil that was manured the year before will bp 
all right. Avoid alkaline soil or soil where 
ashes have been dumped. Dig bulbs in the fall 
before foliage dies. The foliage will endure 
some frost without harm. I usually begin dig¬ 
ging in early October, but earlier will be bet¬ 
ter if bulbs have grown large enough to suit 
you. Do not wait for foliage to ripen or die. 
Cut off tops at once with grass shears and 
place bulbs in shallow trays or boxes to cure, 
and leave them out doors a few days, or in an 
airy shed. In from two to four weeks clean 
the bulbs but do not try this till the old bulbs 
and roots separate easily from the new bulb. 
Save bulblets for increase of stock. To sepa¬ 
rate bulblets from dirt, dump them into a pail 
of water, stir and pour off bulblets into a 
sieve. Store bulblets and bulbs for the winter 
in a cool dry place where they will not freeze. 
Bulblets have a hard shell, so will not grow 
without soaking two or three days, or crack¬ 
ing shells with thumb and finger just before 
planting, or both. 
Gladiolus Thrips 
These are tiny bugs that injure the plant 
and blossoms. You may have them and you 
may not. Thrips leave white spots on the 
flowers. If very numerous the flower may not 
open at all. They may be seen under the bud 
coverings. The larvae are sort of yellow. The 
full-grown thrip is black, and acquires wings. 
It is thought they are spread by bees and hum¬ 
ming birds. They may winter in bulbs, and be 
planted in the spring. Most commercial grow¬ 
ers have to fight them, by treatment of bulbs 
and spraying of plants. To treat the bulbs be¬ 
fore planting use y 2 ounce of corrosive sub¬ 
limate in 4 gallons of water. Use warm water 
to dissolve the chemical in a small glass. 
Never use a metal container with corrosive 
sublimate. Wood, glass or crockery ware will 
not be injured. Soak bulbs in this solution for 
seven hours. Now all this sounds like quite 
a job, but you will want to give this treat¬ 
ment, to disinfect bulbs before planting, thus 
preventing scab and hard rot. In this treat¬ 
ment, you accomplish two objects: killing 
thrips and disinfecting bulbs. You will not 
find this a great task. When large quanti¬ 
ties of bulbs are treated, the same liquid may 
be used for different lots but it must be 
strengthened from time to time. One thing 
