a goodly number of
bulblets the first year, and the second year the increase will be still
greater.

Soaking the bulblets, as mentioned elsewhere, is next best to peeling,
and is available for large quantities, while the latter is profitable
only in special cases.

I will add, by way of suggestion, that I have lately tried peeling
bulblets in advance of planting, and mixing them with potting soil to
keep. My work along this line has not been extensive enough to warrant
pronouncing it a success, but the few bulblets that I have experimented
with have kept perfectly.

[Illustration: Black Bulblets (Hard Shell)]

[Illustration: MARGARET]

CHAPTER XII.

Growing for Specific Purposes.

Gladiolus growers have different objects in view in carrying on their
work, and it is managed according to the results desired. He who raises
bulbs for sale uses every effort to increase his stock and to cause the
bulbs to make the greatest possible growth during the season. He
prepares the ground thoroughly, plants deep to support the tops, gives
plenty of nourishment and the best of culture, cuts the spikes as soon
as they are high enough, and as a result he harvests a crop of large,
well formed bulbs that are pleasing to buyers and satisfactory in every
way.

He who grows for flowers, takes the same pains in preparing, enriching,
and tilling the soil, and supporting the tops, but when the spikes
appear, instead of cutting them at once, he allows them to go on growing
until the flowers begin to open. Then he cuts them judiciously; if for
sale, with long stems and plenty of foliage; if for home use, with less
of both. This is his harvest, and the bulbs, which are taken up later,
may be considered a by-product. When the flowers are cut with much
foliage the bulbs are dwarfed, but this does not matter when the flower
market pays more for the spikes than the bulbs would bring if grown to
perfection. The object in growing is naturally decided by the
prospective gains. If a crop of bulbs will yield greater profit than a
crop of flowers, the flowers are sacrificed and the bulbs are given
every advantage; if the flowers will bring better returns the bulbs take
second place, and the attention is centered upon developing the blooms.

He who grows for seed gives the same preparation and care as the others.
Then, instead of cutting the spikes at the earliest opportunity, as in
growing for bulbs, or when they begin to bloom, as in gr