56 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



soms. It is the same that is found on golden-rod, and that is 

 BO destructive to asters. It prefers the light flowers ; and is a 

 nuisance for a little vrhile, but is soon gone. 



Slightly altering the words of an old writer, I may say — "All 

 your labor, past and to come, about a collection of gladioli is 

 lost unless you label well." It is imi)ossibIe to keep up a collec- 

 tion without labels. I have sometimes given my neighbors col- 

 lections of gladioli with labels and been told — " I don't care for 

 the names if the flowers are good." From year to year they have 

 saved the largest bulbs for the next year's planting, and, as the 

 largest bulbs are always those of one or two sorts, I have been 

 frequently' told that the bulbs had degenerated, and that most of 

 the kinds had changed, so that they were now of only one or two 

 kinds. 



The best way of labelling that I have found is to have strips 

 of zinc five inches long by an inch wide. On these the names 

 are written, and by means of a wire the labels are fastened to 

 cedar sticks fourteen inches long and two thick. The reason for 

 having labels and sticks so large is that there is danger that a 

 careless man might displace a smaller one, with hoe or cultiva- 

 tor. The boxes in which I keep my bulbs are long enough to 

 hold the label, stick and all, so that, with two hundred and thirty 

 named sorts, the trouble of keeping them true to name is very 

 trifling. Another safeguard against confusion is to make a list 

 of the kinds, in the order in which they were planted. This ought 

 to be done as soon as planting is over. 



Some 3'ears ago when G. lourpureo-auratus was exhibited here, 

 Mr. Spooner, for the Flower Committee, remarked that although 

 it was not very striking in itself, it might be of great use in hy- 

 bridizing. The event has remarkably fulfilled his prediction, for 

 by using this species a new strain has been produced of a bril- 

 liancy and beauty equal to those of the Gandavensis tribe, while 

 yet very different in aspect. Lemoiue was the first to introduce 

 these hybrids to the public, and they are frequently called after 

 him the " Lemoiuci strain." As yet, few of these make a line 

 spike, their beauty lyifig chiefly in the individual flowers. 



I am sometimes asked whether these hybrids are really hardy as 

 stated. The question cannot be answered in one word. One 

 parent, imrimreo-axindua^ is perfectly hardy, and I have seen it 

 naturalized in niowing-llclds ; the other parent, Gandavensis, is not 



