1 88 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS 



proof, just as it must be cold-proof, to satisfy us entirely. 

 What amateur florist, operating in a garden that he has 

 made himself from pasture, but mourns the liability 

 of Carnations to be attacked by wireworm ? More often 

 than not he is induced to enthrone Chrysanthemums or 

 Sweet Peas or Roses as the queen of his floral loves for, 

 at all events, the first few years of his work ; and only 

 after he has worried his underground enemy out of the 

 field can he take up Carnations with any confidence. 



Wireworm. The Gladiolus is as susceptible as the 

 Carnation to wireworm attack. The grubs fasten on the 

 corms (a Gladiolus " bulb " is really a corm, and a corm, 

 as we saw under Crocus, has no visible scales like a bulb) 

 in myriads, and soon make short work of a large collec- 

 tion. If it is planted in new land from pasture the turf 

 should be taken away, not turned in, however deeply ; 

 and in spring, before planting, Vaporite or Apterite 

 should be dug in nine or ten inches below the surface. 



Grace of form and beauty of blossom distinguish the 

 Gladiolus in a remarkable degree. The habit is some- 

 what singular. At the ground level the growth is a thick 

 purplish stem,a few inches above it becomes flattened,and 

 there the leaves emerge, the lower part cohering in a flat, 

 plate-like mass, the upper spreading out almost like -an 

 open fan. The flower stem rises from the heart of the 

 leaves in July or August, and conical, pointed buds form 

 on it. As it extends, the lower buds thicken, and fresh 

 narrow ones appear on the upper part. Future develop- 

 ment finds the same expression stem-extension and 

 bud-production going on simultaneously. While buds 

 on the lower part of the stem are bursting and colouring 

 becoming, in fact, flowers fresh ones are forming 

 higher up, and so there is a long succession. 



For Cutting. The lady flower-lover will not fail to 



