SIMMER BLOOMING BULBS. 55 



flowering bulbs" is certainly remarkable; where a few years ago 

 a few small flowered varieties were now and then seen, occupying 

 only a small part of the seedsman's catalogue, they are now grown 

 by nearly every flower lover, and the dealer is giving them more 

 and more attention every year, and I believe the time will come 

 when they will be as widely known as the rose, dahlia, sweet pea, 

 etc., for they are indeed the "Orchid of the common people." 

 Their low cost combined with their ease of culture puts them within 

 reach of all. While they will yield good returns with ordinary 

 treatment, they will surprise us if given a little special treatment 

 in the way of good rich soil. I would advise planting the bulbs 

 about four inches deep in garden culture, as they then will be better 

 able to withstand any drought they may have to contend with, 

 and will not be disturbed so easily by the wind, as is the case w T hen 

 planted shallow. It has been said that the matter of naming the 

 varieties has been overdone, and I certainly agree in this, as I do 

 not believe any other class of plants has been blessed with so many 

 descendants. Perhaps you will be surprised when I say that I have 

 in my possession an indexed book containing the names and de- 

 scriptions of nearly 3000 varieties; of course most of these are 

 from foreign catalogues. However, as the raising of new varieties 

 from seed is so very easy, and so intensely interesting, we shall 

 probably never see the end and of course we do not want to, if the 

 future will bring forth varieties of real merit; but the danger lies 

 in the fact that many are raised and named by people who have 

 no way of knowing, or do not take the trouble to find out just 

 how good or poor their pets are when compared with varieties 

 already in commerce. The recently formed American Gladiolus 

 Society hopes to do some good work along these lines. 



Just a word in regard to the habits, etc. of the various varieties. 

 We are very often asked why the light and more beautiful colored 

 sorts are more expensive than the dark; my answer is, that in 

 nearly nine cases out of ten, the light colored sort will produce 

 only a small percentage of bulblets where a dark or inferior sort 

 will produce an abundance; for example, the bulb I have here 

 is a very ordinary variety and one that is very persistent in its 

 growth and habits. Observe the large number of bulblets. This 

 other sample is a much finer variety and note the absence of bulb- 



