CULTURE OF GLADIOIiUS IN THE OPEN BORDER. I7l 



round holes, of about from half an inch to three-quarters of an inch 

 in diameter, are made at the top of the glasses ; a cork is put into it, 

 and taken out or closed as is required, and these will prove very ser- 

 viceable, if the pans stand on a warm platform in the houses or beds 

 prepared for the purpose. 



The cuttings themselves should not be stuck too close together, and 

 all the leaves should be left on, which are above the surface of the 

 sand, soil, &c., which are essential for elaborating the absorbed and 

 deposited nourishment ; removing the lower leaves above the part not 

 inserted has an injurious effect upon the cuttings of many kinds of 



plants. 



( To be conti?iued.) 



CULTURE OF GLADIOLUS IN THE OPEN BORDER. 



BY META. 



It is somewhat surprising that the flower garden should be so seldom 

 ornamented by the introduction of Gladiolus and other genera of Cape 

 bulbs. They are certainly very splendid in such situations, and their 

 culture is not attended by any difficulties which are not easily sur- 

 mounted. The Gladiolus is a valuable ornament to the parterre during 

 the summer and autumnal months. Like most other plants used for a 

 similar purpose, it admits of cultivation in a variety of ways ; thus, if 

 the bulbs are planted in pots during Februarj- or March, and kept in a 

 green-house until they have vegetated, and then removed to a cool 

 frame until the beginning of May, the plants may be had in flower 

 early in the summer. Some of the tender kinds require this treatment, 

 in order to secure their growth sufficiently early in their season, to 

 produce flowers. With more hardy kinds, as G. natalensis, and various 

 mules allied to it, this treatment may be adopted merely with a view to 

 the production of a few early flowers. These latter, if planted out in 

 beds of prepared soil about the middle of April, produce a succession 

 of beautiful flowers, from the end of July to the middle of September. 

 The preparation of the soil is an important consideration in cultivating 

 these plants successfully ; this should be done early in the winter 

 months, so as to secure the beneficial action of frost. If the soil is 

 very light, a portion of turfy loam should be incorporated with it ; 

 but if stiff" and cold, a portion should be removed and replaced with a 

 mixture of gritty road sand and peat earth, which should be well 

 blended with the remaining portion of the natural soil. In either case 

 it should be trenched up one foot and a-half in depth, and left as 

 roughly exposed to the weather as possible. A similar preparation 

 should be made, whether it is intended to raise the plants in pots, and 

 afterwards transplant them, or whether the roots are placed at once 

 into the beds. Supposing the latter case, about the middle, or if mild 

 weather, the beginning of April, let tiie beds be forked over, and 

 marked out into rows one foot apart, and about four or five inches 

 deep ; in the bottom of tliis furrow place a little clear sand, and then 

 place the bulbs at one foot distant from eacii other ; around each bulb 

 a little sand should be placed, and the soil levelled. When the flower 



