Growing the Glads 
The gladiolus is of the easiest culture, the flower for 
everybody. The most satisfactory place for the glad patch 
is in the vegetable garden, away from the competition of 
the heavy growth of shrubs and perennials. Any good gar¬ 
den soil is suitable, but a gravelly or light soil is better 
than a heavy clay. A sunny situation is essential; gladio¬ 
lus do not do well in the shade. Heavy fertilization is not 
necessary and in many cases may do positive harm. Bone 
meal is a good safe fertilizer to use, one-half pound per 
square yard of ground. Barnyard manure, if used, should 
be well rotted. The best time to apply it would be in the 
fall or at least several weeks before the bulbs are planted. 
The best depth for planting is 4 to 5 inches. We plant a 
double row in each furrow, the bulbs are staggered and 
spaced two or three inches apart. Small bulbs (1 inch dia¬ 
meter or less) can be planted shallower and closer together. 
When the glads come up out of the ground, start weeding 
and cultivating, water in dry weather. The better you at¬ 
tend to this, the better the results. The thrip sometimes 
gives trouble. This is a small insect much like a chicken 
wing louse; the adults_are black and the young are yellow¬ 
ish. This pest causes the leaves to become silvery in appear¬ 
ance. The flower buds dry up and never blossom. The 
following spray is effective :- 
2 lbs. brown sugar 
1 V 2 pints dark molasses 
2 tablespoons Paris Green 
- or Arsenate of Lead 
3 gallons of water 
Put this spray on in a fine mist. 
Another new spray said to be very effective is Rototox 
obtained from the Rototox Company, 813 Yale Street, 
East Williston, New York. 
When the glads are ready to bloom, they may be hilled 
up much like beans or potatoes. This is an aid in keeping 
