310 GARDEN MANAGEMENT, 



they must be at once destroyed, as nothing should be allowed to tarnish the 

 beauty of their exquisite foliage, which constitutes one of the chief charms of 

 this delightful family of roses. 



844. Gladioli. — These plants are great favourites here, and they are treated 

 as follows : the grand floral display is in June and July, and, if seed is no object, 

 and the flower- stems are cut down at once, many of the bulbs will throw up a 

 second flower-stem. The stems should only be cut down as far as the first leaf, 

 as the leaves continue fresh and beautiful, and the second flower-stem often 

 proceeds as a lateral from this point. They are easily increased by seed ; but, 

 as they are already so numerous, I would advise your readers to leave this mode 

 to the French, who are great cultivators of the GladioH. In fact, this flower 

 is the chief feature in Parisian gardens, and there is no reason in the world 

 that it should not become a very striking one in our own. The only drawback 

 is, that in the most favourable circumstances a spike of Gladioli will not 

 remain in bloom for longer than two months. I mean to try and vanquish 

 this difiiculty this season, by keeping part of the bulbs in a very cool place 

 until May, and placing one letween each of those planted in March. When 

 taken up in November, they should be put away with their old fibres and some 

 soil adhering to them in a dry room, the temperature not being allowed to 

 sink under 40°. Prepare for planting by carefully rubbing off the old roots 

 and soil adhering at the bottom of the bulb, and carefully save all this debris; 

 you will then perceive that each bulb asks you to divide it into two, — sometimes 

 three or four ; that is, they will almost split themselves, and will have so many 

 embryo shoots. After dividing and planting your bulbs, examine your debris, 

 and you will find hundreds of thousands of little scaly-looking rubbish — no, 

 not rubbish, but young Gladioli. Pick out the old roots and large particles 

 of soil, draw a drill two inches deep on a bit of rich soil in the reserve gai-den, 

 sow the scales thinly, and there will be such a crop of bulbs as will astonish 

 every reader. Some of these will flower late in the autumn, many of them 

 the second, and all the third year. These young bulbs require exactly the 

 same treatment as the old ones. They also begin forming scales at once, and 

 after the second year they divide their bulbs in the same manner. Let 

 your readers then purchase single bulbs of any or all of the following 

 varieties, and cultivate and propagate them as I have here made known, and 

 Gladioli will soon be as thickly scattered over the country as pins on a baby's 

 pincushion. Their price varies from 55, to 2.d. each ; excellent ^assortments 

 may be had of most nm^erymen from 12s. to I85. a dozen. 



845. The following varieties, suitable for planting in masses among shrubs, 

 &c., range in price from Is. Qd. to 6s. a dozen. Some of the Dean of Man- 

 chester's interesting experiments on hybridization were made on the Gladioli, 

 a subject which will bring us back to this charming family of flowering bulbs. 



Gandavensis, — orange-scarlet. 



Eosa Mundi, — carmine-scarlet. 

 Queen Victoria, — scarlet and white. 

 Insignia, — fine crimson. 

 Psittacinus, — crimson and yellow. 

 Floribundua maximus, — fine blush, large 

 and fine. 



Colvilii, — rosy purple. 

 Cardinalis, — scarlet and white. 

 Brenchhyensis, — vermilion-scarlet. 

 Autumnalis, — crimson and jellow. 



