GLADIOLUS. 109 
soon as they expand. The bulb is oblong, firm and 
white, and is roasted and eaten like chestnuts by the 
natives of the Cape of Good Hope. 
_ G. fasciatus.—A very pretty dwarf species, grow- 
ing from six to twelve inches high. The flowers are 
delicate pink, with a dark crimson streak on the lower 
division. A winter flowering species. 
G. floribundus(Abundant-flowering).—One of the 
few species worthy of general cultivation, as it compares 
favorably with many of the hybrids of recent introduc- 
tion, and because of its dwarf and free-flowering habit. 
Its flowers are produced abundantly on each side of the 
stem, which rarely exceeds a foot in height; they are 
very large, standing erect, and opening widely like small 
Lilies; color white, with a bright pink stripe down the 
center of each petal. They succeed admirably in the 
herbaceous border, with but slight protection in winter. 
G.gandavensis.—Noticed under Hybrid Gladiolus. 
G. gracilis (Slender).—A hardy form with fewer 
points of interest than almost any of the species. It is 
a delicate grower, producing from one to three pale lilac 
flowers, the lower petals spotted with black. 
G. hirsutus (Hairy).—In habit this is a variable 
species, growing from one to three feet high, as the soil 
and situation suit it. The flowers are large, rose colored, 
and all produced on one side of the stem, a habit not at 
all pleasing. The fragrance is not unlike that of the 
Hawthorn. 
G. psittacinus (Parrot). (Syn. G. natalensis) — 
Possessing remarkable interest from the fact of its being 
the parent, on the one side, of the well known G. gan- 
davensis kinds, which sre now so extensively cultivated. 
It is a native of the southeast coast of Africa, near Natal. 
In common with the other species from that section, it 
is more hardy than the Cape species. Its flowers are of 
the most intense scarlet and yellow, borne on stems trom 
