i6o Cornell Extension Bulletin 9 



only mixed gladioli until 1895, when he again offered the varieties named. 

 Unnamed seedlings one and two years old, raised from English-, French-, 

 German-, and American-grown seed, were offered in 1891, and no doubt 

 many of the later introductions of other growers came from this or 

 similar sources. Isabel, Jessie, Margaret, and New America are some 

 of Crawford's more recent varieties. 



Then came the introduction of the Childsii varieties, remarkable for 

 their vigor of growth and large flowers. These have had an important 

 part in the development of American gladioli and in the increase of the 

 flower in popular favor. 



Any account of the development of American gladioli would be incom- 

 plete without mention of the work of H. H. Groff, of Simcoe, Ontario. 

 His work was begun prior to 1890, and for years he has been breeding 

 to eliminate the weakness of existing types. Using the strongest parents, 

 and particularly those of individual merit (and he is unexcelled in his 

 knowledge of varieties), he has practiced a rigid selection among his 

 seedlings. The resiilt is that the name Groff's Hybrids, as applied to 

 his own named varieties, has become a synonym of merit. Through 

 cooperation with Arthur Cowee, whose ability as a grower and exhibitor 

 equals that of Mr. Groff as a breeder, these hybrids have become widely 

 and thoroughly known. 



The popularity of gladioli as garden flowers is due to Mr. Cowee in 

 larger degree than to any other person. He has labored for many years 

 to bring the merits of the flower to the attention of the people. The 

 splendid exhibits he has made at expositions and fairs, his attractive 

 advertising in magazines and in his catalogs, and more than all his personal 

 enthusiasm, have served to place gladioli in the foremost rank among 

 the garden flowers of the United States. Without the interest of the 

 people many of the present growers would not find a market for their 

 bulbs. All the growers, and garden lovers generally, owe much to the 

 pioneer efforts of the gardeners of Boston, and to Childs, Crawford, 

 Cowee, and Groff. 



The ruffled gladioli produced by A. E. Kunderd, of Goshen, Indiana, are 

 a distinctly new and original American type. The flowers are distinguished 

 by the peculiar ruffling or fluting of the petals, producing an artistic effect 

 approaching that seen in waved sweet peas. The first variety introduced 

 was Kunderdi Glory. The ruffled gladioli are the result of experiments, 

 begun about 1896, in crossing and selection of plants showing the ruffled 

 tendency. 



American growers do not depend on the novelties sent out by foreign 

 firms, for they have produced niimerous varieties better suited to this 

 soil and climate. A studv of these varieties often reveals the fact that 



