Meeve bE DEFORD, MASS. 3 

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 straightsided 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 the sheath until they bloom. 
Stirring of the soil is a great factor. Hoeing, scratching, cultivating, brooming, or whatever you 
want to call it, should be done often. We use lawn brooms in the planted rows on our light soil 
and cultivators between the rows. We plan to get over the piece every fourth or fifth day (buts itrit 
has been dry once a week is enough. If it rains, or we irrigate, we try to cultivate the following 
day as soon as it dries out. 
Bulbs we ship to you we will guarantee to be absolutely free of thrips. Nevertheless, we 
always dip our bulbs before planting and suggest it to our customers because this really should 
be absolute protection. The two most popular dips are the Bichloride of Mercury (Corrosive Subli- 
mate) and the Lysol dip. Using the Bichloride of Mercury dip we soak them from 8 to 10 hours in 
a solution of one ounce to seven gallons of warm water, (preferable to keep the solution in a fairly 
warm place early in the season.) This recommendation is for bulbs with their husks on,—six to 
eight hours is sufficient for bulbs which have keen peeled. Use only wooden, glass or crockery 
containers as a chemical action, weakening the solution, will take place in a metal vessel. You 
can do no harm to the bulbs with this treatment except to delay blooming about ten days. The 
Lysol dip is widely used also: 1 tablespoon of Lvsol to 1 gallon of water, soaking the bulbs four 
to eight hours. This is supposed to be a highly recommended control for any diseases on bulbs. 
With both treatments we always feel it advisable to dip just preceding planting. 
We also used the New Improved Ceresan (manufactured by the duPont Semesan Co., Wilming- 
ton, Delaware) this past season and found it as effective as the Bichloride of Mercury: 1 oz. N. I. 
Ceresan and 3 teaspoons Grasselli Spreader Sticker or other spreader to 3 gallons of water, or 1/2 Ib. 
N. I. Ceresan and 5 teaspoonsful Grasselli Spreader Sticker to 25 gallons water. Soak 15-30 minutes 
keeping bulbs well stirred. As it becomes more universally stocked we believe it will be more 
generally used. The amount of time necessary for soaking with Ceresan is so much shorter it is 
bound to appeal to the growers. But,—you must plant the dipped bulbs the same day! 
You are now giving your bulbs a good start and when they are about six inches high, we 
consider it a wise move to play safe and spray them. Thrips are so hard to distinguish that a 
very few at this stage in your growth would multiply enough to make serious damage later. The 
old formula still seems to be popular: two tablespoons Arsenate of Lead, two pounds sugar (the 
cheapest kind you can buy) and three gallons of water. In the sections where the weather is often 
hot and the humidity high during the growing season, growers have some trouble with burning 
of the foliage with the Arsenate of Lead spray although it does not burn nearly as easily as Paris 
Green. The Tartar Emetic spray has been used very successfully and we use it in place of the 
Arsenate spray. The formula is: 4 pounds Tartar Emetic, 16 pounds brown sugar, to 100 gallons 
of water. For home gardens use: 1 gallon of water, 1/2 teaspoonsful of Tartar Emetic, and 9 
tablespoonstful (2 cup plus | tablespoon) of brown sugar or molasses. 
Tartar Emetic is a standard drug also known as Antimony and Postassium Tartrate U.S.P. 
Brown sugar is usually cheaper but any sugar is equally effective or you can use corn syrup and 
molasses (three and three-quarters pints per 100 gallons). If Tartar Emetic is not obtainable a 
suggested substitute is Salp (sodium antimony lacto phenolate) used in combination with the corn 
syrup or molasses solution at the rate of six pints per 100 gallons of spray. We think if one keeps 
all open spikes cut close there will be little damage. The thrips go to blooming spikes so if these 
are cut and removed from the field, any thrips present on the spikes, where most of them will be, 
would go out on these spikes. Any tops broken off, or worthless spikes, should also be kept 
cleaned up and removed from the field and destroyed as you then remove any thrips that may be 
present on these spikes. 
Dusting with DDT powder, while the leaves were still moist, was a successful experiment too 
this past season. Any type of dust application—with favorable conditions—is more easily applied. 
For decorative or show purposes, cut your spikes as soon as the first blossom or two opens— 
preferably in the morning before it gets too warm,—and be sure that you leave at least five leaves 
on the plant to mature the bulb. By cutting a bit off the stem each day, and freshening the water 
of course, they will last many days. If desired for showing, and the show is nearby, cut the spikes 
as above and hold in as cool a place as available until the day of the show. If you must ship or 
carry the blooms some distance, we suggest you pack them flat in boxes. 
