THE IRIS FAMILY. 



351 



vensis citrinus, a yellowish form obtained by M. Lemonnier of 

 Lille. A race of dwarf varieties (Gldieuls nain) was originated 

 in the nursery of M. Van Houtte at Gand nearly twenty years 

 ago, and these were obtained by crossing G. cardinalis with 

 G. vennstus, G. trimaculatus, a Cape plant, introduced in 1794, 

 and G. tristis, a brownish-red-flowered species, also from the 

 Cape, introduced in 1745. These forms are remarkable for 

 their dwarf habit, and are in many cases richly spotted on the 

 lower segments of the perianth, the shapes and colours of the 



Hybrid Gladiolus. 



flowers indeed being infinitely varied. The improvement of the 

 Gladiolus seems to have been begun by Continental hybrid- 

 isers between 1820 and 1830, and for some time it appears 

 that the Continental and Dutch raisers had the improvement 

 of this brilliant flower pretty much in their own hands. At 

 the present time, however, Messrs Kelway & Son of Langport ; 

 Messrs Robertson & Galloway of Glasgow ; Mr J. Douglas of 

 Loxford Hall, Ilford; and the Rev. H. H. Dombrain, have 



