October 14, 1869. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



297 



THE GLADIOLUS.— No. 3. 



[T was a great misfortune, that, just as the 

 Gladiohis was coming into more general 

 favour, and amateurs were takinji up its cul- 

 ture, the Crystal Palace Autumn Show should 

 have been discontinued, the only place now 

 where it is shown in London being at one 

 of the Tuesday Meetings of the Royal Horti- 

 cultural Society. I tried to get up a special 

 international show at the Palace. The Direc- 

 tors heliaved with their usual liberality, but 

 I did not think that the amount of support offered war- 

 ranted me in taking their money, and risking an iudiflerent 

 exliibition afterwards ; for there was no certainty as to 

 the French growers sending collections over, without which 

 it could not be international. 



The prizes offered at Kensington were very small, not 

 suCicient to pay the travelling expenses of those who 

 gained them, while the arrangements were bad, but upon 

 a, remonstrance being made, and the defects, unavoidable 

 at the time, pointed out, we were promised better accom- 

 modation in future. However, it afforded an opportunity 

 for a few of us who were interested in the flower, and 

 who had fought for it through evil report and good report, 

 to compare our experience, and suggest methods of over- 

 coming the difficulties that beset its growth, and it is of 

 these I would desire to say sometliing now. 



All growers of the Gladiolus know that it is subject to 

 a mysterious disease, under the mfluence of whicli the 

 bulbs become spotted, and then perish. What is the cause, 

 and what the remedy for this ? are then questions of great 

 importance ; and next to these arises another — Can any 

 method of culture insure its non-appearance ? I am sorry 

 to say that very little of a really satisfactory nature was 

 elicited. In my own experience it lias happened that 

 my entire collection perished : the method of culture liad 

 not been altered, the character of the ground was the 

 same, yet three years ago I had hardly a Gladiolus left. 

 All who met and talked together, had to tell more or 

 less of similar losses, although not perhaps to the same 

 extent. Thug, Mr. Kelway stated tliat last year he had 

 50,000 bulbs, and hardly one of them was affected, while 

 this year disease was very prevalent. Jlr. Sladdeii, of Ash, 

 a very large amateur grower, lias a considerable proportion 

 of diseased bulbs. Messrs. Bunyard & Son, of At;liford, 

 spoke of it as very discouraging, my own experience tend- 

 ing to the same result — that this year was mucli more 

 injurious to them than last. Nothing could be better than 

 tlie appearance of the grass as the bulbs speared above 

 the ground, and until it was !> or (i inches high, and then 

 many of the plants turned yellow. It would appear tliat, 

 no matter what was the method of cultivation and the cha- 

 racter of the soil, this occurred. I am therefore inclined 

 to think we must look for the cause in tlie bulb itself. We 

 have to recollect that the Gladioluses are originally natives 

 of South Africa, and although Natal be temperate, yet we 

 cannot expect the productions of the country to be quite 

 calculated to bear the vicissitudes of our climate ; and then 

 No. 446.— Voi. Xvn.,KEW Sebxes. 



they have been so extensively bred in-and-in that a degree 

 of delicacy of constitution has been thereby engendered. 

 Now, a year like the present, when we had a forcing 

 sun and mild weather in the early part of the season, 

 succeeded by the long-continuance of cold north-easterly 

 winds in May and .June, must seriously have told on 

 their well-being. Last year we had nothing of this kind, 

 and as a rule I believe the growth was more healthy, 

 but the great lack of rain must, I think, have told inju- 

 riously in some places — it did certainly with M. Sonchet, 

 whose bloom was the worst he had had for some years. 

 A favourable season for the Gladiolus, I consider to be a 

 moderately cool summer (not cold), with copious rains at 

 intervals. 



As to soil, I believe that M. Souchet's idea is that a good 

 kitchen-garden soil is that best suited for them. I this 

 year have adopted a plan, which I believe I have already 

 mentioned, that recommended for the Persian Kanun- 

 culus — viz., to take out the soil to the depth of a foot or 

 i more, place a layer of cow dung about 5 or ti inches thick, 

 '■ and then replace the soil. Let this be done in the antumn, 

 I and when the bulbs are planted they do not come in con- 

 tact witli any manure, but when the roots push tliey get 

 j down into tlie cool cow dung, and draw their nourishment 

 ! from it, and I think flourish accordingly. With regard to 

 taking up the bulbs, it is by no means necessary to wait 

 until the grass becomes quite yellow, but when there is 

 fear of early frost, or of the ground becoming very soddened, 

 it is desirable to take them up. If, in doing so, any of the 

 bulbs are found much spotted, my advice would be to let 

 j them dry a little, and then replant them. Selecting a 

 convenient spot in the garden, prepare the ground, put in 

 plenty of sand, and see what the result will be : for I am 

 convinced that those much .ifTeoted, when stored away, 

 gradually become worse, until the corm withers up com- 

 pletely, and becomes quite black ; it cannot be worse if 

 planted, and my idea is it would be better. 



And so ends my chat for this season on the Gladiolne, 

 both at home and abroad. I have been more than ever 

 charmed with the flower, and wish that I could awaken an. 

 interest in it in others at the same time. I have not 

 hesitated to state that there are difficulties and discourage- 

 ments connected with its growth, but tliey are not siifTicient 

 to outweigh the pleasure and delight it gives.— D., JJeal. 



PREVENTING GRUBS DESTROYING CABBAGE 

 PLANTS. 



TnERK appears to be an exceptionally severe havoc 

 made by grubs on the Cabbage plants this season, and the 

 chances are that you kill the plant rather than the enemy 

 by appliances, <as noticed in your Journal of last week 

 hut one. The plants in the seed bed are comparatively 

 unmolested, and the reason is that the grubs feed near 

 the level of the soil's surface on anything that suits 

 their taste. Evidently the woody substance of the plant 

 level with the ground in the seed bed does not suit them ; 

 I but as soon as you put the Cabbage-plant stems down 



No. 1098. -Vol. XT.TL, Old Skmhs. 



