GWIDEBOOK FOR 1945 
Page 31 

Particularly in hot weather, spikes which 
are cut when but one or two florets are open, 
fill out with more open at a time when bloom- 
ed indoors in the light but not sunlight, away 
from any breeze, making better exhibition 
spikes and preventing any fading of colors such 
as is sometimes found in some of the finest 
orange scarlets, as well as preventing wilting 
of varieties without strong substance. Cut 
stem slantwise to provide larger drinking area 
and place in water at once to avoid air pockets 
in stem. Allow three or four leaves to remain 
on the plant to mature the new bulb which is 
hardly half grown when spike is cut. At least 
six more weeks are needed to mature the bulb, 
except where blooms are from large bulbs of 
very late sorts, or where blooms arrive at 
late season from young planting stock. 
However, bulbs should be dug while the 
plants are still green and do not delay too 
long after average killing frost date in your 
area. 
DONT’S ON DIGGING 
Do not leave part of stem on bulb, cut 
close and burn the tops. 
Do not leave bulbs to dry where frosts can 
reach. 
Do not pile deeply. Quick drying (not in 
hot sunlight) is extremely important to pre- 
vent spread of diseases in storage. 
Do not remove roots and old bulb for some 
weeks unless old bulb is soft or shows decay. 
Wait until they separate with ease and 
without tearing the new root base. This 
waiting period is the most desirable time for 
sprinkling your bulbs lightly with napthalene 
flakes. See paragraph on that subject. 
BULBLETS 
The little hard shelled bulblets will not 
germinate until moisture reaches them. There- 
fore, it pays to keep them on the moist, 
almost continuously wet side to rot the shell 
until they begin to appear. Bulblets in quan- 
tity may be bagged, kept moist by occasional 
immersion in warm water and in a warm 
place, for a week or so, to hasten the shell 
rotting process. If some start rooting, plant 
all. If expensive bulblets in small lots, you 
may chip off a fragment of the shell with 
point of a small pocket knife, using care not 
to injure eye or root base. Plant early, as 
soon as ground warms in spring. 
BULB SURGERY 
A few specks of disease spots, wire worm 
injury or scab may be gouged out without the 
slightest harm to the plant provided the 
bulb retains a good eye and root base. 
Cutting out these segments only cuts away 
that much food to start off the new plant. 
Best dust the cut surface with powdered 
charcoal. Next best common sulphur or at 
least dry until bleeding stops betore planting. 
Or wipe the cut surface dry with some pa- 
per towelling and then paint well with melted 
paraffin. 
You may do these things any time during 
the storage period, too, or just rely on corros- 
ive sublimate treatment to clear them up.’ : 
A plump bulb of 114 inches diameter has 
plenty food to start production of a show 
specimen spike. If the bulb is 2 inches or 
more in diameter it may have two or more 
prominent eyes or sprouts, indicating that 
it will make as many stalks and spikes. Now 
this one bulb cannot be expected to make two 
or more spikes of the same show specimen 
quality it would produce if held to a single 
eye and spike. If you want to bring renewed 
youth and vigor to your old jumbo bulbs and 
beat the other fellow, just disbud the bulb, 
i.e., gouge out all eyes except the most prom- 
inent one, just as you gouged out the little 
specks of scab or disease, dusting as before. 
We are of opinion that bulbs may be lost by 
this process only by failure to heal the cut 
surface sufficiently before planting. 
NAPTHALENE FLAKES 
We highly recommend this simple and 
economical treatment. If you allow thrips 
to feed upon your bulbs they will suck the 
juices. injure the eyes and rootlets and 
growth will be retarded and inferior flowers 
produced, even if you eventually kill them 
off at planting time by some treatment. 
Avoid crude napthalene or camphor or para- 
dichlorobenzene as they may contain creo- 
sote or other injurious chemicals. The best 
time to use it as soon as the roots are con- 
sidered too dry to suck any napthalene into 
the bulb. Maybe a matter of hours or a few 
days. depending on drying methods. Do 
not apply to bulbs from which the old bulb 
has just been removed, as the severed area 
is moist for a while and the napthalene might 
soak into the bulb. It is safe both to the 
user and to the bulbs, during their dormant 
period of storage, even when an overdosage 
is used, provided the bulbs are fairly wel! dried. 
One ounce (4 level tablespoons) sprinkled 
on each 100 large bulbs or equivalent in bulk 
of smaller sizes, is sufficient if bulbs are stored 
in closed bottom container. If screen bottom 
or in onion sacks, double the amount. Will 
kil: insects promptly and gases will continue 
for several weeks. killing the larvae as soon 
as hatched. Allow to remain at least 3 
weeks. But note they will not hatch under 
50 degrees. Do not completely cover the 
bulbs as evaporation takes place constantly 
and to prevent it will make the bulbs first 
damp, then mouldy, then susceptible to rot 
