152 Cornell Extension Bulletin 9 



of the leaves. It is usually short-lived under cultivation, thriving best in well-drained 

 peaty soils. 



Mrs. Beecher, the pollen parent of G. Princeps, I understand, is one of the original 

 Childsi varieties grown by the late Herr Max Leichtlin, of Baden Baden, Germany — ■ 

 from seed of G. Saundersi pollinated with a superior Gandavensis variety. Plants 

 of Mrs. Beecher grow over four feet high with long, straight spikes of widely-opened 

 blooms often five inches across. The color, though disposed very much in the manner 

 of G. Cruentus, is rather dull crimson with speckled white throat. 



Owing to the similarity of color pattern of the two varieties I made many pollinations 

 in 1895 of Cruentus with Mrs. Beecher and seventy-two seedlings resulted, blooming 

 in 1896-7. Princeps was the most vigorous and in some respects the most attractive 

 and was so named by Herr Leichtlin, who introduced it to the Botanic Gardens of 

 Europe in succeeding years, on account of its great international value and wide general 

 recognition. I have since made many hundreds of crosses of Cruentus, which is a very 

 shy seeder, with the best procurable species and varieties, resulting in some exceedingly 

 handsome hybrids, but have found few worthy to send out as companions of Princeps. 



The stock of Princeps was sold in 1902 to Vaughan's Seed Store for $1000 — a record 

 price at the time, but since greatly exceeded for the stocks of successful novelties — 

 and introduced by them the succeeding year. 



Princeps has probably the most extensive list of high awards from representative 

 horticultural societies ever achieved by a Gladiolus variety and is still frequently 

 exhibited and commented on in home and foreign gardening periodicals. 



G. propinquus is a hybrid between G. florihimdus and G. blandus, 

 resembling the latter. It wsls raised by Dean Herbert. 



G. pudibundus (Blush-flowered Corn Flag) was figured by Sweet (1832- 

 35), and described by him as follows: 



This is a hybrid, we believe, between Gladiolus cardinalis and blandus and was raised 

 by the Honorable and Reverend William Herbert to whom we are obliged for the 

 specimen figured in the plate. 



Stem from two to three feet high, straight, cylindrical, smooth. Leaves broadly 

 ensiform, acuminate, ribbed, of a pale green. Flowers large, ofa brillant rose color, 

 about ten in number, distantly alternate and disposed in a distichous spike. The 

 three lower segments marked with a pale whitish lanceolate spot having a deep red 

 edge. Anthers purple. Filaments and style declinate, white. Stigmas linear-cuneate, 

 notched, concave, copiously papillose. 



G. ramosissimus is probably a hybrid. It is mentioned in Gardeners' 

 Chronicle, 1842, page 171, as ranking next to G. cardinalis and 6^. psittacinus 

 in beauty. The plant is tall, and bears a profusion of pale rosy pink 

 flowers. 



G. ramosus (Branching Gladiolus) is a hybrid which originated at 

 Haarlem from seed of G. blandus or G. floribundus, according to a writer 

 in Revue Horticole in 1838. Some persons regarded it as a distinct species 

 from the Cape of Good Hope. These doubtless confused it with the G. 

 ramosus of Linnaeus, which has since been referred to the genus Melas- 

 phaerula Ker. Baker thinks this form is a hybrid between G. oppositi- 

 florus and G. cardinalis. 



The plant is tall, with heavy, broad leaves. The flowers are openly 

 funnel-shaped, bright red, with dark blotches at the base of the three 

 lower segments. The flower has a general resemblance to that of G: 

 blandus. This type blossomed later than the varieties of the blandus 

 and cardinalis groups, and was for a long time an important one in the 



