, of course, thoroughly dried out when tied in the bags). The
natural moisture of the bulbs seems, by some kind of paper protection as
mentioned above, to be conserved, while full and continued exposure to
dry air seems to provoke scab as well as hardening of the outer skin of
the bulbs.

It requires a good sized bulb of America to throw a first class spike
and second size bulbs produce, when forced, a considerably smaller spike
than the first size bulbs. The America requires a longer growing
season than most other gladioli and continues its growth well up to
severe frosts. Growers who wish to harvest the largest possible number
of first size bulbs allow these to grow as late as possible, and then
leave the plants on their sides for 36 or 48 hours, during which time
the sap from the stalks seems to go into the bulbs, making them more
firm and putting them into better keeping condition for the winter. This
latter suggestion probably applies to all gladioli and not alone to
America, as it is practiced by a good many of the best growers.

Growers differ a good deal as to the depth of the planting and width of
rows. One very successful Ohio grower plants his bulblets and small
bulbs fully six inches deep and in rows only two feet apart, pressing
the dirt down very firmly over the bulbs. Such deep planting, he claims,
secures cooler soil for the working roots and insures a better crop in
case of dry weather. The same grower in planting hard shelled bulblets
sows one pint to about three feet of row, making them very thick in the
row, as he believes that the hard shelled bulblets, in germinating so
close together, cause the hard shells of most of them to rot. There is
convenience also in digging the crop which may be lifted in a mass. They
also grow up so closely together in the row that they seem to choke out
the weeds, thus saving hand labor.

***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GLADIOLUS***

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