varieties ordered were already in the ground. We are sorry, but 
we are forced to make this rule and hope it is okey with every- 
body. We have with separate plantings of bulblets around 800 
or 900 separate lots to plant with separate stakes. We also 
have to try to complete all plantings by May 25th as otherwise 
we do not get blooms before early frost - if the frosts are 
early and they usually are. So this keeps us humping and re- 
quires intense personal handling of all planting to be sure 
each lot is kept separate without mixups. So please send all 
orders before April 14th. 

DE-EYING 
Last year brought home to me that glads in large sizes es- 
pecially must have all the strength thrown into one single spike 
and not be permitted to be distributed between two or three 
spikes from the one bulb. [I have de-eyed religiously - at 
least 6 to 12 bulbs of each variety but this year did not have 
time to as it was touch and go all spring to get the bulbs 
planted at all. True I had sold too many large and medium 
bubls and had too few for growing for shows. I had an unusual 
amount of splitting into two or more spikes from one bulb and 
while I won my share of blues and section champs, yet had no 
grand champs and had the feeling that many of my best ones 
could have been larger and one or two more open if I had de-eyed. 
In de-eying be sure you cut out other buds deep - a quarter inch 
is okey - 1/8 inch gouging out of other buds not enough - they 
will come along anyway if only 1/8 inch. While 80 and maybe 90% 
of your glads will come single spike if you don't de-eye - yet 
this last year the percentage that came double or more was nearer 
to 10% and it just always happens that the new one you wanted to 
grow big will split up if you don't de-eye. De-eying involves 
removing the husk and that is good as it enables you to detect 
diseased bulbs. 
Testing the Soil 


Dp) c) 
Easy to grow but must be sprayed weekly. 

If soil taken from 6 inches be- 
reeth surface crumbles under pres- 
sure of hand, plot is ready for 
spading. If not, it should be al- 
lowed more time to dry. 
Thrip Glads are easy to grow and anyone can grow the fin- 
Control est type of show flowers if they follow a very few 
Easy simple instructions. Glads like full sun and do not 
attain maximum growth or flower size in partial shade. 
The best place for them is in rows in the vegetable 
garden - as they are entirely a cut flower - and are 
not ornamental flowers for the perennial or annual 
flower garden. 
BUT glads are like roses in that THEY MUST BE SPRAY- 
ED WEEKLY. There is a little black insect - the glad- 
iolus thrip - that ruins buds and blossoms and they can 
be guarded against easily if you spray once a week, 
The spray formula is one ounce of Tartar Emetic and 
four ounces of brown sugar to each three gallons of 
water. Spraying must begin from the time the gladiolus 
is 5 inches high - and done once a week regularly and 
religiously until the buds start to show color when 
all spraying can be discontinued. 
If you do this you will have no thrip and no thrip 
trouble. However IF you ever find thrip on your plants 
spray every day for three days and you can kill them - 
or, better still, spray every other day three times. 
Thrip can be seen as little black insects 1/16 inch 
long after 4 P.M. in the afternoon near the leaf 
sheafs. They hide during the day and come out to feed 
after 4:00 P.M. They have tiny white suspenders on - 
so you can't mistake them. 
Soil Soil good enough to grow tomatoes or cabbages is 
good soil for glads. Glads are big flowers and natural- 
ly big feeders so we advise having your soil tested by 
your state agricultural department and adding the fer- 
tilizer they say your soil needs. Glads like a pH (de- 
gree of acidity) of between 5.0 and 6.5 ~ as the glad 
does best in slightly acid soil. If your soil is not 
that acid have your agricultural department tell you 
what to add to change it. Be sure to plant glads in 
full sun and away from the roots of all shrubbery and 
trees. 
Fertil- 
izer 
My own method is to have 2 to 3 inches of very old 
cow manure - one, two or more years old - spread on in 
the fall after your bulbs are dug - and then plowed in. 
In spring on frozen ground spread your fertilizer - 
whatever it is your soil needs. When the weather soft- 
ens up and your soil is dry enough, so it will crumple 
up when you squeeze a fist full, disc well and then as 
soon as the soil is dry you can start to plant. Plant 
as early as the soil dryness and weather will permit so 
as not to be caught by a wet spring. 
If you can't get old cow manure - and who could dur- 
ing the war? - then plow in the fall and disc in the 
spring but add some good fertilizer like 6-12-10 or in 
that vicinity, at rate of 700 pounds per acre - smaller 
lots proportional - scattering broadcast just before 
you dise and always plan on discing at least 30 days 
before planting. 
Plant 
only 
Clean 
Bulbs. 
Before planting tear off outer husk only which will 
bare about a lj of the bulb flesh around the root base. 
If any disease is present it will usually show up 
there. If you see any specks of brown, or black - or 
larger - on the bulb, do not plant it - for it may have 
contracted some sickness - disease - during the curing 
and storing period. This is my personal rule and I 
think it a good one. 
Never plant bulbs without dipping in corrosive sub- 
limate - formula one ounce to 6 gallons of water.- 
using earthen jar as this poison will corrode metal. 
Put bulbs in sacks and dip for 12 to 14 hours - over 
night. First put bulbs in sacks and into earthen jar, 
then add water - finally put your corrosive sublimate 
into quart mason jar and add hot water - as will not 
dissolve in cold water - then pour into your other 
water. This not only cleans of disease - much of it 
anyway - but protects bulb from fungus diseases in soil. 
Depth Glads can be planted in single or double rows. 
to Plant each bulb 6 to 8 inches apart for exhibition 
Plant blooms - 1 - 2 inches apart for commercial cut-flowers. 
and I have seen fine glads grown 4 inches apart but feel 
Dis- that is not far enough to permit tiny side roots to 
tance spread out. Dig your rows 5 inches to 6 inches deep 
Apart if you have sandy loam and 4 to 5 inches if you have 
fairly stiff clay. In bottom of trench I put in 1/4 
inch of Canadian peat moss. On top of this I put a 
sprinkling of dried weedless sheep manure - 2/1/1 3/4 
or cow manure 1-1-14. Then I mix the manure and peat 
moss with dirt in bottom of trench with hoe and set 
the bulb firmly down into this loose mixture. Cover 
with dirt 2 inches over top of bulb - leaving rest of 
trench unfilled. Walk on the rows to firm down good. 
When glads are up 6 inches pull rest of dirt into 
trench to level off. Water when you first plant but do 
not water thereafter until glads are up 5 inches unless 
you have been without rain for a whole week. Glads 
like to start growing on the "dry side" but after they 
start to show their third leaf they like lots of water. 
Soak the water to them if you have good drainage and 
don't be afraid of giving too much. Be sure to give 
them a good soaking when the third leaf first appears 
and see that they get 1 inch of rain or water per week 
after that. 
Culti- Note that my system gives the glads all the food 
vation needed for a plant that is a big eater before you 
plant. It is not necessary to side dress later on or 
to add any more fertilizer. Keep the bloom spikes 
picked off and do not allow old withered flowers in 
the field. I clean my field of bloomed spikes every 
Monday - regularly - and you should do the same. 
From planting time until glads are 2 feet high 
