502 



The Journal of Heredity 



slcncU r, graceful, inclined to be curwd, 

 but the spikes have the ability to open 

 only a few blooms at one time. Many 

 of the varieties have too strong a 

 tendency toward being bell-shai)ed, 

 to the extent that the interior of the 

 flower is not readily seen. The flowers 

 arc rather smaller than (/. gandavensis. 

 The colors are exceedingly rich and the 

 lower petals of the blooms are usually 

 blotched, a feature gained from G. 

 purpureo-auratus. The blotches are 

 deep, velvety and very striking. 

 Enthusiasts have ventured to say that 

 some of the richest colorings in the 

 plant kingdom are found in the lemoinci. 

 G. purpureo-auratus is about the hardiest 

 of the African species and has con- 

 tributed this quality to the hybrids. 

 Many of them are hardy, e\X'n in the 

 region of New York City. A moment's 

 consideration will- show that the rich 

 petal coloring has been derived from 

 the species G. psittacinus; the blotch, 

 hardiness and graceful stem from G. 

 purpureo-auratus ; and the vigor, erect- 

 ness, and perhaps the great nimibcr of 

 flowers, from G. oppositifiorus . 



Lemoine's next work was to influence 

 the form and colorations of the (j. 

 /^mom^i by using the sijccics G. saundersi 

 which is truly a beautifully colored 

 s])ecies, even in its unim]jroved form. 

 The flowers are brilliant scarlet with a 

 pure white center, finely dotted scarlet. 

 They are very open, being faulty in 

 this respect. The plants are dwarf 

 and weak-stemmed; six to eight large 

 hooded flowers arc borne upon a stem 

 usually less than 2 feet tall. The 

 leaves are short and glaucous. 



Using G. saundersi with llic best 

 varieties of G\ Icmoinei, a new grcju]) was 

 introduced in 1886 named G. nanccianus 

 from Lemoine's home, Nancy, France. 

 G. lemoinei was used as the pr)]len 

 jmrent. Rccij^rocal crosses did not 

 api^ear to be identical. The G. nanccia- 

 nus varieties are char£icterized by l)eing 

 very large (larger than (j. gandavensis 

 or G. lemoinei), very well open as con- 

 trasted with lemoinei. The open flower 

 looks one in the face, as the side seg- 

 ments are spreading. The throat is 

 marked with peculiar mottlings of fine, 

 short strokes of contrasting color. The 



varieties vary much in vigor, some being 

 exceptionally strong, others very weak. 

 They are quite hardy. The colors are 

 excellent, brilliant or subdued according 

 to the variety. 



Max Leichtlin, of Baden Baden, 

 Germany, admiring the species G. 

 saundersi. but realizing its faults, made 

 a series of crosses with the G. gandavensis 

 varieties and obtained a few rather 

 pretty seedlings which he sold in 1882 

 to V. H. Hallock who, after ten years of 

 hybridization and improvement, sold 

 his stock to John Lewis Childs. In 1892, 

 Childs placed these seedlings upon the 

 market under the name of G. childsi. 

 The (j. childsi constitute a grouj) of 

 large, showy -flowered varieties which 

 possess gigantic growth, rich colors, 

 and pretty mottled throats. At first 

 these were somewhat lacking in sub- 

 stance. Many of the varieties resemble 

 G. gandavensis except that they are 

 more open; others are quite like G. 

 nanceianus except for the fact that the 

 throats of the latter are richer and more 

 often thicldy marked. 



G. turicensis has the same jjarentage 

 as childsi, and was originated by 

 M. Froebel of Zurich, Switzerland; 

 but because it has not been widely 

 developed nor advertized, it is not of 

 great importance. 



Dr. W. Van Fleet jjroduced a form 

 which is much like an amaryllis in its 

 clear, deep red. It is a cross between a 

 childsi variety, Mrs. H. Beecher, and 

 G. cruentus, and is called variety 

 Princeps. 



THE MAID OF THE MIST 



Rccentl)' there has come to the atten- 

 tion of the gladiolus breeder a species 

 from the Rain Forest near Mctoria 

 Falls on the Zambesi River, which is 

 pale golden-yellow, primula-scented, and 

 known as the Maid of the Mist or 

 (J. primulinus. This species is rather 

 straggling in form, often three to four 

 feet tall, and bears four to five narrow, 

 hooded, rather small flowers. With 

 this s])ecies many of the finest varieties 

 of the other groups are being h\-bridized. 

 Several seedlings of unusual merit 

 have resulted from a cross between this 

 species and the ruffled gladiolus, the 



