1871. 



I^W ENGLAND FARMER. 



357 



inches long. Growing in an umbel, they are 

 of the brightest red and are very showy and 

 beautiful. They are as Lardy as the Lilium 

 aiirafum. 



Lilium tliunhergianum is very beautiful. 

 Its llovvor stalk is about a foot and a half in 

 height and bears from one to three flowers of 

 a deep orange red hue, with small purplish 

 papilhe or spots. There are numerous varie- 

 ties of this lily, which vary from pure canary 

 color to nankeen, orange to fiery red, with 

 orange, black and brownish spots. 



Gladiolus. 



These bulbous plants derive their name from 

 their sword-shaped leaves. There are as many 

 as sixty different species, which have been di- 

 vided by hybridization into an immense num- 

 ber of varieties, comprising some thousands of 

 named flowers. The English florists have 

 paid great attention to the cultivation of them, 

 and have found them a source of nmch profit. 

 In nearly all the species the shape of the flower 

 is the same, but they differ in colorings and 

 markings. Very few of them are natives of 

 Europe, but have been brought to us from the 

 Cape of Good Hope, Southern Africa and 

 Madagascar. They blossom during the wet 

 season, teaching us that Ave should give them 

 a copious supply of water when the flower 

 stalks appear. 



Until Cape Colony was ceded to England in 

 1795. little was known of these flowers, but 

 the English botanists found them growing 

 there, and soon they were the pride of Eng- 

 lish gardens. Since that they have become 

 "florists', flowers," and under their successful 

 manipulations have greatly increased in beauty 

 and variety. To hybridize the seed, the 

 flower must be covered with a piece of the 

 sheerest muslin, to prevent the intrusion of 

 insects, and its antlers must be cut away with 

 a small pair of scissors, before the pollen 

 shows itself. Another very fine flower of dif- 

 ferent species nmst be selected as the male 

 parent of the hybrid, and as soon as its ant- 

 lers have burst and are covered with the 

 flowery -looking substance called pollen, they 

 must be cut otF and placed on a small saucer 

 and carefully covered up for use. The stig- 

 mas of the seed-bearing plant which were cut 

 off, must be closely watched, and when they 

 appear a little swelled and have become viscid 

 at the point, the pollen must be applied with 

 a fine camel's hair brush. After this process 

 the gauze must be again tied over the flower and 

 kept there until it has faded away. Then take 

 it off, but tie it about the stalk so as to mark 

 it from other plants. The pollen once gath- 

 ered, will retain its fertilizing properties for 

 months, but the moisture on the stigma of the 

 flower continues but two or three days, and 

 must receive the pollen as soon as it appears. 

 It is in this way that rare seedlings are pro- 

 duced. A hybrid is the mixture of two 

 species ; a cross is a mixture of varieties. 



This process requires patient watching and 

 careful attention, but often the cultivator is 

 amply repaid for all his care. 



The gladiolus requires a light sandy and 

 yet rather strong soil. A mixture of one-half 

 light, sandy loam, one-quarter leaf mould, and 

 one-quarter peat, suits them exactly. They 

 are to be found in all shades of white, yellow, 

 orange, rose, scarlet, crimson and purple, ei- 

 ther as self-colored flowers or flamed, blotched 

 or striped with one or more shades of these 

 colors upon some one groimd color. 



The Jaulbs can be planted out singly or in 

 groups of three or five. They should be 

 planted from two to four inches deep, accord- 

 ing to their size, and as they grow up should 

 be staked and carefully tied up. They will 

 not outlive our cold winters, and after the 

 frost has cut down their leaves, must be taken 

 up ami the stems cut off" an inch or tAvo from 

 the bulb. Put them into paper bags and keep 

 in any warm, dry place. 



These bulbs vary in price from ten cents to 

 five dollars or more each ; but the high prices 

 are no surety of their exceeding beauty, as 

 they are connected with ncAv varieties, whose 

 value consists in their comparative scarcity. 

 Many of the low-priced varieties are quite as 

 beautiful. 



The following selection can be bought at 

 prices varying from ten to thirty cents a[)iece : 

 Aristote, — blush-pink, tinged with violet and 

 flaked with rosy scarlet. Agla? — salmon-pink, 

 flaked with carmine and shaded into deep 

 orange. Brenchleyensis — deepest scarlet. 

 Berenice — rose color, flaked with red and 

 feathered with deep maroon. Couranti ful- 

 gens — bright crimson, shaded to maroon. 

 Don Juan — rose, mottled with crimson and 

 shaded with yellow. Endymion — pink, flaked 

 with crimson and edged with rose. Galathea — 

 pale flesh color, flaked with crimson and tinted 

 with buff. Imperatrice — black-white, flaked 

 with rose, and feathered with crimson. Ma- 

 dame Haquin — blush, flaked with purjjle, and 

 shaded with yellow. Napoleon Third — bright- 

 est of scarlet, striped with maroon and yellow. 

 PremicesdeMontrouge — bright scarlet, shaded 

 to rose. Tigridias, or Mexican Lilies — one of 

 great beauty, and of the most brilliant colors. 

 The flowers are most singular in shape, the 

 petals very much reflexed. They are not able 

 to endure our winters, and must be treated 

 like the Gladiolus during that season. 



Tuberoses need to be started early in March 

 to bloom in August and September. Tliey re- 

 quire very much the same treatment as the 

 Gladiolus, excepting that the bulbs must be 

 kept in a warm closet during the winter. They 

 will lose their germ of life if at all chilled. 

 The bulb never blooms but once, but it sends 

 forth numerous off-sets which will bloom in 

 two or three years. These should be grown 

 in a bed by themselves, set in rows a foot 

 apart, and many of them will bloom the fol- 

 lowing summer. There is no flower that ex- 



