NEW BEDFORD, MASS. 3 

vating machinery is used. Allow about five inches between large bulbs and less as the size 
of the bulbs planted decreases. 
FERTILIZER: This item plays a very important part in successful growing, yet the cost 
in relation to the whole is not a large factor. Therefore it pays to use a plant food that sup- 
plies not only the so-called major elements, but the just-as-important minor elements as well. 
Research has shown that deficiences in minor elements will cause a very definite retardation 
if not a complete failure of a crop. 
Here at Flying Cloud, we have found that Vigoro supplies the needed elements and has 
given us excellent satisfaction. A check on bulb growth has revealed superior development 
to former years, and color has been outstanding. 
General recommendations for the use of Vigoro are as follows: After the soil is put in 
good tillable condition, the planting rows should be made an inch or so deeper than you want 
to plant. Vigoro should then be put in the bottom of the row at the rate of about four 
pounds per 100 feet of row. Cover the plant food with one-and-one-half inches of 
soil, and then plant the corms. Or, if preferred, Vigoro may be worked thoroughly into the 
soil in the bottom of the row instead of just being covered with soil. Wait one or two days: 
before planting. After the glads are eight to ten inches high, a surface feeding should be 
made at the rate of four pounds to 100 feet of row. The Vigoro should be spread on both 
sides of the row and worked lightly into the soil. Another similar feeding should be made just 
as the buds appear. Now, be sure the soil is well loosened and the fertilizer is well mixed in 
the bottom of the trench before setting the bulbs. After the bulbs are set, cover in the trench 
and hill it up a bit. When the first weeds appear, rake it down level again and that first 
crop of weeds is easily killed. Many years ago, a very successful farmer said, ‘‘Remember, a 
crop well planted, is a crop half grown,’’ and we believe he was 100 percent right. 
Watering will depend entirely upon the rainfall, heat, and type of soil you are using but 
when you do water, use enough to do a good job. Three quarters of an inch of water at least 
for big bulbs (just set a low straight sided tin can among them before you start watering and 
then you can tell how much you are getting on). Three quarters of an inch you will find is 
a lot but it pays, especially from the time the spikes come out of sheath until they bloom.’ 
Stirring of the soil is a great factor. Hoeing, scratching, cultivating, brooming, or what- 
ever you want to call it, should be done often. We use lawn brooms in the planted rows on our 
light soil and cultivators in the rows. We plan to get over the piece every fourth or fifth day 
but if it has been very dry, once a week is enough. If it rains, or we irrigate, we try to culti- 
vate the following day as soon as it dries out. 
We believe if you treat all your bulbs before planting, by soaking eight to twelve hours in 
a solution of Bichloride of Mercury (Corrosive Sublimate) one ounce to seven gallons of warm 
water (preferable to keep the solution in a fairly warm place early in the season) any thrip 
trouble you may be threatened with is on the way out, (this recommendation is for bulbs with 
their husks on; six to eight hours is sufficient for the bulbs which have been peeled). Use only 
wooden, glass or crockery containers as the chemical action, weakening the solution, will take 
place in a metal vessel. We do it to any bulbs we plant no matter where they come from 
or whether they have been treated with napthalene flakes, gas, or low temperatures,—all of 
which kill all thrips. The soaking is too cheap a form of insurance to run the risk. You 
can do no harm to the bulbs with this treatment except to delay blooming about ten 
days. If you are in a climate where the winter temperatures go low enough for the ground 
to stay frozen a few days, we are convinced that when this soaking procedure is followed, 
your only chance of infestation is from some other planting that has not been properly. 
treated and the thrips may come a half mile or more with a strong prevailing wind in a short 
time. It would seem a wise move to play safe and spray them when about six inches high even 
if one does not see any signs of thrips for they are hard to see at this stage. Just a few present 
at this time will make enough later on to do serious damage. The old formula still seems to be 
popular; it is two tablespoons of Arsenate of Lead, two pounds sugar (the cheapest kind 
