DIGGING, CURING AND STORING 
After the Glads have bloomed shallow 
cultivation should be continued in order to 
produce good bulbs for next season. Less 
watering is required at this time. Bulbs 
should be left in the ground at least a month 
or six weeks after blooming to mature the 
bulbs and produce bulblets. As soon as the 
loliage begins to turn yellowish-green or 
brown they are ready for digging. If a 
plant should turn brown and aie along in 
the middle of the season the chances are it 
is diseased. Dig it up and take all the soil 
suriounding it and dispose of it some place 
where it will not contaminate the soil. When 
digging in the fall loosen the bulbs on both 
sides with a common garden fork. Grasp 
the top of the plant and pull the loosened 
bulb out. Cut the top off TIGHT to the 
bulb. Dry the bulbs in the sun and air by 
spreading two to four inches deep in shal¬ 
low trays or boxes. After three or four 
weeks the old bulb and roots can be taken ^ 
off and the bulblets removed and saved. Do 
not peel the husks from the bulbs at this 
time as they need this protection during 
storage. After cleaning allow the bulbs to 
dry out two to three weeks more before 
placing them in storage for the winter. 
Your storage location should be cool and 
dry, a temperature of 40 degrees is ideal. 
Do not allow them to freeze. If stored in a 
warm place the bulbs lose vitality and dis¬ 
ease may develop. The bulbs should be 
stirred up and aired occasionally during the 
winter. 
THRIP 
The Gladiolus Thrip is a very small black 
insect about one-sixteenth of an inch long. 
The injury they do causes bleaching of the 
foliage and drying up of the buds so that 
they do not open. Preventive measures:— 
Keep your garden clean, burn all rubbish, 
especially in the fall. During the blooming 
season cut and burn all spikes that appear 
infected and burn all blooms that have gone 
by. They are breeding places for Thrip. 
Disinfect every bulb before planting no 
matter where it was bought, or even if it is 
your own. This is the only sure way. I use 
Bichloride of Mercury (Corrosive Subli¬ 
mate) and find it most satisfactory. Many 
people use Semesan, which can be obtained 
from any large seed house. Use according 
to directions. Rototox is very good. It is 
non-poisonous, and will kill Thrip in all 
stages. Write the Rototox Co., 813 East St., 
East Williston, N. Y. 
HOW TO DISINFECT BULBS 
Bichloride of Mercury (Corrosive Subli¬ 
mate) can be procured at any drug store. 
Use one ounce to seven gallons of water. 
Four level teaspoonfuls make one ounce. 
First dissolve Bichloride of Mercury in a 
little hot water then mix with the proper 
amount of water. 
Place the bulbs in cloth sacks. As B of 
M will take names off labels tie one end of 
a long string to the sack and the other to 
the label so as to let the label hang outside 
the container. Use wooden, earthen or glass 
containers as the B of M attacks metal. Be 
sure the bulbs are all covered by the solu¬ 
tion. 
Soak them long enough so the solution 
gets under all the husks. Soak large bulbs 
14 to 16 hours, small bulbs with thin husks 
do not have to remain in the solution as 
long. The bulbs may be planted while wet. 
In any event it is a good plan to plant right 
away toi prevent the chance of a new infec¬ 
tion. Make a new solution for each lot of 
bulbs you soak as the solution loses 
strength. CORROSIVE SUBLIMATE IS A 
DEADLY POISON AND SHOULD BE 
HANDLED WITH EXTREME CARE. Rub¬ 
ber gloves and goggles are recommended. 
Soaking in B of M will delay blooming 
two weeks or so. Rototox will not delay 
blooming. If you only have a few hundred 
bulbs I recommend Rototox, which is simple 
and easy to use and non-poisonous. It is 
slightly more expensive. 
SPRAYING 
Spray your Glads early and often and 
lick the Thrips. Start spraying when the 
plants are six inches high and spray every 
week or ten days. The Government experts 
of the U. S. and Canada recommend—One 
heaped teaspoonful of Paris Green, two 
pounds of brown sugar, three gallons of 
water. Keep this concoction well stirred 
while using as a spray. A high-pressure 
sprayer that will make a fine misty spray 
is necessary to spray effectively for Thrip. 
Rototox is one of the very best sprays 
for Glads and for other plants in your gar¬ 
den. Use according to directions furnished 
by the distributors. 
Thrips migrate; get your neighbors to co¬ 
operate in controlling Thrip. If you are 
thorough in disinfecting and spraying you 
will have no trouble. 
In spite of these detailed instructions for 
growing Glads their culture is really very 
simple. You can just stick them in the 
ground and run a good chance of having 
nice flowers but if you do everything just 
right you should have much better results. 
