GLADIOLUS 



In the first method all that is necessary is to separate 

 the conns growing from the original, either when clean- 

 ing in the fall or before planting iu the spring. 



When seeds are sown, the seedlings should all pro- 

 duce eorms of flowering size in 3 years. Seed should be 

 planted very early in the open ground on rich, sandy 

 soil and not allowed to suffer in the least for lack of 



GLADIOLUS 



647 



moisture. At tin- rn.l .,f tlir lirt s.msuh's growth the 

 corms of the sei-dlin,-, >\ill l.i- ili. i/,- •■( peas, and can 

 be stored under Uf -.uin.' ri.nhi i..ii- :is large corms. 

 The second season |i|aiit the .-..iiii, a, if tlicy were gar- 

 den peas. Some wjU bloum Ihu .sueund year, and all 

 should bloom the next. 



Increasing stock by the small corms or bulblets is the 

 most common method, and the one by which a variety 

 is perpetuated. The small corni is but a cutting or eye, 

 and can be stored in bags. I.uxi's nr other suitable re- 

 ceptacles and kept from fm^t. It, i , a li.-lp to sprouting 

 if the corms are not allow. ,1 to ,lrv •■ut during the pe- 

 riod of rest. They should he piaiiir.l like 1-year seed- 

 lings, making blooming bulbs the tirst and second year. 



E. H. CUSHMAK. 



AAA. From the American hybridizer's point of view. 

 The garden evolution of Gladioli in general is ex- 

 plained at length below. The writer has been asked to 

 present the American share in this interesting history. 

 Some ten years ago, when the writer began, under the 

 inspiration of Luther Burbauk, his own work in hy- 

 bridization, the best American-grown stock available 

 was the Hallock collection of some 400 named varieties 

 of Gandavensis and about 100 of the earlier Lemoine 

 hybrids, all of European origin. After trial, the writer 

 placed them all in mixtures. 



About this time Luther Burbank began to offer a few 

 named varieties, but shortly afterwards sold his whole 

 stock, the collection being now in the writer's hands. 



This collection, in i lijuo,, of il,,. Miirr, is the best 



strain of Gaielm i I ii -mtg largely of 



variegated tyin-, i , ,■ markings and 



peculiar form. I'.iri .^r i - : . i' i.oilar attention 



to varieties caleul.iie.i io i . iioi, dry winds 



of California, ami had ofi n i i .J with s|.oc'ially 



stiff petals, quite distin<-i r i'. ;.'ry typos. 'Die 



peculiarity of the flowor ;.: , , , v\ tin- ^pil^e 



like the hyacinth was al- ' ;■ .:iiin. All oMiis 



varieties are now grown i ■ i ! ihe writer with 



the exception of a whit. i i i. promises to be 



distinct and valuable f. it- im-. However, 



the vitality of Burbank's -iiion i r. markable, and in 

 the opinion of the writer it is greater than that of all 

 the other strains of so-called American hybrids which 

 constitute the principal stocks of commerce on this 

 continent. 



The latter strains have probably b. en larg.ly pro- 

 duced from self-fertilized seed of EurojieaTi anil Ameri- 

 can varieties, themselves the product of natural selec- 

 tion, thus carrying to their progeny the objection of a 

 weak and degenerate parentage. 



The work of Dr. Van Fleet, of New Jersey, was car- 

 ried on more for scientific than commercial results, and 

 reaped a deserved success. However, the writer has 

 found that the offspring of a pure species is less stable 

 than that of well-balanced cross-bred varieties, the 

 former system handing down few varieties of perma- 

 nent commercial value, though they are in themselves 

 valuable as parents for the foundation of new strains. 



The best work of a serai-professional character, in the 

 opinion of the writer, has been done by T. S. Moore, of 

 Indiana, who has spared no tn.ul.lo or . xp.nse in pro- 

 curing choice material upon whi.li t.. I. nil.!, an. I with 

 satisfactory results. As to '.'. •■rtt,Hiiis la strain of 



reds),the writer thinks tliat liiil.- i. i f;ain.-.l l.y its 



use, as we have te.o 7nan\ i. .i , alt. adv. Us roots tend 



The writer believ.--. iliai ih. I., anty of the individual 

 flower is the highest il. al. ile...L;li vigor of plant and 

 vitality of variety are iil.^o ne. . .ssary. He regards the 

 Gladiolus as a cut-flower rather than a garden plant, and 

 believes higher satisfaction is gotten from cutting the 

 spike when the first bud opens than from leaving the 

 flowers to open outdoors. 



A new strain of great interest is composed of the hy- 

 brids of the 6. Papilio, var. major, a most interesting 

 species in which the under color, a unique shade of blue, 

 is overlaid with dull terra-cotta. In seedlings raised by 

 the writer these colors have separated, producing the 

 most beautiful heliotrope and clematis blues and rich 

 velvety purples, colors quite unknown in the older sec- 



Another strain lil;. l.t '•.• i.r.' aTited soon is the prod- 

 uct of the old s].e.i. (, ' •hiitus. The flowers 



of the hvbrids an ' ..tnite dots similar to 



those of the sppei.-, ;. ;■ i and its hybrids have 



(.1, h ,11. ■ nei : .:i;.ia'l)le to all soils, providing 



r. il .1, , . I i .. . I ^.'iven. Clean, sandy loam is 

 pi. . , .1 . ,ist every other autumn with 



w.'M r..i'. .1 niiinar.s ^^ i.mIi IS carefully covered below the 

 depth of planting. P.i-foro spading or plowing the 

 ground it is well to dress freely with fresh, hardwood 

 ashes. On heavy clay use leached ashes freely, and 

 cover deeply all the green vegetable refuse and leaves 

 that have been partially rotted under the manure pile 

 since the previous autumn. Also fill in the trenches 

 with sand or loam. In swamp muck and vegetable de- 

 posit, a mixture of sand added yearly is all that is 

 needed, the trenches being filled with sand at planting. 

 Cold, springy swamp lands with the water half filling 

 the trenches at planting, have given perfect satisfaction 

 with blooming bulbs, that have been developed on the 

 other soils. Water should be freely used during the 

 season of active growth ; moderately with blooming 

 stock before budding in order to ripen the plant; then 

 again freely before the buds show color and until after 

 blooming. Pull exposure to the sun and air is necessary 

 for the best results. jj_ jj q^^ff. 



II, THE KINDS OP GLADIOLI, 

 alatus, 2. dracocephalus, 10. purpureo - auratus 



angustus, 5. floribundus, 23, 26. 21. 



atroviolaeeus, 7. Froebeli, 31. Quartlnianus , 9. 



Ganda 

 Leichtli'ni'. 16. 



Other Latin names are in the trade, but they are 

 mostly or wholly garden forms. 



I. Species. — Few of the original species of Gladioli 

 are in cultivation in their pure form. When grown at 



