HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 325 



A few years ago, at Long Island, as the guest of Jolin Thorpe, 

 the former president of the American Horticultural Society, — 

 the man who probably has hybridized and produced more new 

 colorings of gladioli than any man in this country, who was the 

 first in this country to thoroughly cultivate that queen of autumn 

 flowers, the chrysanthemum, and who has spent many years of his 

 life in endeavoring to produce a yellow geranium, which, with 

 his "gilded gold geranium," he has almost accomplished, — while 

 with him, I saw thousands of gladioli being picked for the New 

 York market. As soon as the two lowest blossoms were about 

 two- thirds opened the spikes were cut with a sharp knife, bound 

 in bundles like bunches of asparagus, and shipped. 



So far as can be ascertained the first gladioli was taken as a 

 wild bulb from the Cape of Good Hope, less than a century ago. 

 Other varieties were found wild in other parts of the world, and 

 now about sixty species are found. But the beautiful products 

 of our garden with their varieties of coloring ranging through 

 all shades except blue, are the products of hybridization. 'New 

 shades are being produced each year, — some of the novelties sel- 

 ling for over five dollars for a single bulb. 



How shall a person procure them! They are easily bought — 

 catalogue prices for named varieties averaging from a dime to a 

 dollar each — or what is better still buying assorted shades of 

 the named varieties from a dollar to two dollars a dozen. But 

 they are raised easily from seed, the seed the first season pro- 

 ducing little bulblets, very many of which will blossom the sec- 

 ond year afterwards. And when a person has a few bulbs to 

 start with they will multiply rapidly. Each year a full grown 

 bulb will form around itself from one to a dozen or more little 

 bulblets, which, if taken up each fall and planted the following 

 spring, will produce bulbs, most of which will flower the second 

 season. Five years ago I commenced my study of the gladioli, 

 commencing with about a hundred bulbs and two packets of 

 seeds. I procured only the named varieties. The spring I 

 planted them I could put all I had in the pockets of my over- 

 coat, but by carefully saving all the bulblets each fall and plant- 

 ing them the next season, I have now in my cellar for next sea- 

 son's planting fully four bushels of the named varieties, and I 

 have supplied several of my friends last season. I presume I 

 have now three quarts of bulblets about the size of peas, 

 which I shall plant next season. The parent bulb dies each 

 year, but it forms a new bulb of equal size each season, and often 

 two, in addition to the little bulblets of which I have spoken. 



