B0UVA.RDIA A.TJBA.NTIACA. 



151 



which is generally true to its kind, unless artificially hybridized ; and a considerable 

 number of plants of any given variety may thus be readily obtained within two or 

 three years of sowing the seed. Offsets are also freely produced by nearly all the 

 species and hybrids, but it is not absolutely essential that they should be separated 

 each season ; on the contrary, the corms may be left undisturbed for two or three 

 years after planting. In very severe weather, it will be desirable to give the 

 earlv flowering varieties some protection ; for which purpose, there is nothing 

 better than a layer of fern leaves, or a few short furze bushes, which will be found 

 very useful in the garden for this and similar purposes. 



Most of the Gladioli succeed well in pots, in the same description of soil as that 

 already recommended for their growth in the open air. Those potted in autumn 

 are best kept in a cold frame, or in a very cool airy room ; those planted in spring 

 should have the pots plunged in the ground until the shoots are visible, wheu they 

 may be removed to a cool window. Should the foliage betray the presence of the 

 red spider, which is sometimes troublesome in dry seasons, it should be frequently 

 sponged with soap-suds, or sulphur and water, and subsequently with clean water, 

 to remove the stains. 



The structure of the flowers of the Gladiolus presents no very marked features, 

 beyond those peculiar to the other plants of the natural order Iridacece ; the 

 peculiar irregular form of the perianth being the chief distinction between it and 

 other allied genera. The Watsonias are the only plants at all likely to be mistaken 

 for them ; but in that genus, the three stigmas are each of them bifid or cleft, 

 so that there appear, at first sight, to be six. The seeds of the Gladioli are also 

 winged. The crested stigmas present a beautiful appearance under a lens of 

 moderate power. 



The sword-like form of the leaves gave rise to the generic designation of the 

 plants, from gladius, a sword. 



BOUVARDIA AURAXTIAOA. 



Orange- Flo wen \d Bo u vardia . 

 Linneatt Class — Tbt&anbbia.. Order — Monogynia. Natural Order — Cikcuunace^. 



I'm KitE is a class of plants, comprising many interesting genera, which, although 

 they may have been in this country twenty or thirty years, and possess very high 

 claims to general cultivation, arc yet, somehow or other, rarely met with as 



