POT CULTURE OF THE GENUS GLADIOLUS. 259 



into cultivation in England. The appointment of Mr. Gardner 

 to tlie charge of the Botanical Garden in Ceylon having ap- 

 peared to ofier a favourable opportunity, the good offices of that 

 gentleman were sought and secured. Some delay however 

 arose from unavoidable circumstances ; but at length, on the 

 13th of April, Mr. Gardner announced the despatch of some 

 nuts, with the following remarks : — 



" In the other box there are eight nuts of the dwarf Jaffna 

 cocoa-nut. There are two varieties: those on which a cross is 

 cut are of a green colour when ripe, m hile the others are bright 

 orange. They produce fruit at Jaffna when they are about three 

 years old, and while the stem is only from two lo three feet 

 high, and I have no doubt you will be able to fruit them at the 

 Horticultural Society's Gardens. Should you like to have more 

 of them, let me know, as I have an excellent friend at Jaffna who 

 will send me more. AYhen planted they should only be half- 

 buried flatways, and the best soil for them is two-thirds sand to 

 one of vegetable mould, into which a few handfuls of wood 

 ashes and salt sliould be throAvn. The pots should be roomy 

 and well drained." 



Tiiese nuts have been received safely and in good order ; and it 

 is hoped that they may lead to the acquisition of a plant which 

 would certainly be an important addition to the Palm Trees 

 cultivated in this country. 



XXVIII. — On the Pot Culture of the Genus Gladiolus. By 

 James Duncan, C.M.H.S., Gardener to Joseph Martineau, 

 Esq., F.H.S., Basing Park, Alton. 



(Received May 14, 1848.) 



Few plants are more beautiful or better adapted for ornamenting 

 the drawing-room and conservatory for a lengthened period 

 than some of the varieties of the genus Gladiolus. I have for 

 several years cultivated many of the .'jorts, but more especially 

 the G. insignis, byzantinus, and cardinalis ; and, certainly, the 

 brilliant display of flowers they produce will amply compensate 

 for any trouble that may be taken in their cultivation. 



The last week in September is the time I usually repot them, 

 using pots of various sizes from five inches to a foot in diameter, 

 in order the more readily to adapt them to ornamental pots, 

 vases, or stands, as future circumstances may require. The soil 

 I have found well suited to their growth is composed of yellow 

 fibrous loam and turfy peat of equal quantities, with the addition 

 of a little silver sand and leaf mould, using it in a tolerably 

 rough condition over a thorough drainage. The number of 

 bulbs placed in each pot is regulated by their size, the largest 



