Evening star., 1937-07-24
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

Something Is always taking the 10y
out Of life in the garden. and in gladiolus
growing 1t is the thrips, q small insect
with a cream-colored band crossing the
black or brown body
This pest was unknown until about
eight years ago. Before that there was
no more insect-free flower than the
gladious is any of it's scores of beautiful
shades
Here was one plant. every gardener
told himself, which was not bothered
much by insects. He could plant it
any place where reasonable amount of
sunshine could be secured
This immunity from the pests which
bothered SO many other flowers was un-
doubtedly one Of the great charms of
the gladiolus which made it planted by
amateurs as well as professionals.
In the old days, an average gardener
could have gorgeous gladioli, specimens
to feet tall, with immense flowers
OF perfect substance and color.
X
With the coming of the thrips. all this
changed. almost overnight; at least,
what might be termed overseaSon.
Blighted leaves, ruined blossoms, bulbs
all torn and speckled-these were some
of the results of the infestation
Professional growers and sellers were
hit hardest. The swordlike leaves were
the perfect complement to the fine flow
ers. and nothing more was needed in
a bouquet.
These long, fine leaves were the first
part Of the plant to show injury. being
Drowned and made unfit for use. Leaves
nf fn ho
sending out spikes of gladioli To the
lover of these flowers, this procedure
was enough to make angels weep But
what could the grower do? He was
fortunate If he got good spikes.
Amateur growers were not so hard hit
since nothing but beauty and personal
satisfaction depended upon the growth
Of thripsfree plants. oThrips, by the
way. is both the singular and plural
form)
Nothing but beauty and satisfaction!
Other plants, in other words, might be
grown One could give up gladiolus
growing-and thousands of home gar
denerS did just that.
No plant. however beautiful. was
worth all the treatment of corms (bulbs)
and spraying with deadly poisons later,
if the plants were found infected anyway,
despite the preliminary treatment.
1t was much easier to give up their
culture completely, than to fool around
with them, having the sorrow of blighted
flower spikes. Few flowers are more
beautiful than these, and few seem so
much ruined when they are spoiled.
Professional growers had to do some
thing, and did it.
Experts of the Department of Agri-
culture were called in. The Division of
Horticultural Crops and Diseases of the
Bureau Of Plant Industry and the Divi-
sion of Truck Crops and Garden Insects
OF the Bureau of Entomology and Plant
Quarantine co-operated.
Ways and means of beating the thrips
were worked out, with the aid of profess
sional growers, until today the controls
are perfect, provided the utmost care is
taken by all growers and planters all
along the line.
For the average person, the thing to
do is to see to it that only thrips-free
bulbs or corms, are purchased.
Even then, however, if infected bulbs
have been planted in neighborhood,
the agile thrips may find their way to
good plants and ruin them.
Thus it may be realized that absolute
sanitation is not always easy, and that