16 



The Florists' Review 



Fbbeuary 15, 1917. 



SECOND- YEAB GLADIOLI FAIL. 



Are the forcing gladioli, Blushing 

 Bride and Peach Blossom, good for a 

 second season? G. H. H. — 111. 



GLADIOLUS PINK PERFECTION. 



Many theologians have believed, and 

 many still believe, in the doctrine of 

 "perfectionism," or "Christian per- 

 fection," or "perfection of the saints." 

 When told that perfection of charac- 

 ter, in Christians or others, is an impos- 

 sibility in this world of imperfections, 

 these theologians have replied that there 

 may be relative perfection, or degrees 

 of perfection, or perfection of certain 

 attributes, etc. By the way, if the pres- 

 ent writer shows an imperfect knowl- 

 edge of this doctrine, it is hoped that 

 any theologically wise readers will be 

 perfectly kind and considerate in their 

 judgment. At any rate, it will be ad- 

 mitted that in common parlance and in 

 horticultural speech, as well as in theo- 

 logical creeds, there are many sorts of 

 perfection. 



And perfection is surely not limited 

 to any one color. In this case the per- 

 fection referred to is Fink Perfection, 

 or the gladiolus which bears that name. 

 Possibly the originator, when naming 

 the flower, smilingly repeated to himself 

 the familiar phrase, "It is the pink of 

 perfection — the highest type of excel- 

 lence." B. Hammond Tracy, of Cedar 

 Acres fame, who furnished the photo- 

 graph from which the illustration was 

 made, says that Pink Perfection is "a 

 truly wonderful gladiolus in color and 

 texture, one of the choicest of the newer 

 varieties. The color is a soft, clear pink 

 of the La France shade. It bears large, 

 open flowers, on a strong spike. ' ' An- 

 other grower describes the color as "a 

 delicate apple-blossom pink, with a beau- 

 tiful veining of salmon pink." 



shallow drills, covering them to a depth 

 of an eighth of an inch or a little more. 

 The tiny conns thus secured are housed 

 for the winter and then planted in 

 drills about an inch and a half deep, for 

 a second season 's growth. Few, if any, 

 of them bear flowers the second sum- 

 mer; they must be lifted, stored and 

 planted again before flowering satis- 

 factorily. Thus the process is a slow 

 one and the resultant flowers are a 

 promiscuous and uncertain lot. A simi- 

 lar statement may be made about the 

 bulbs raised from seed; they require 

 three or four years to attain marketable 

 size and then rank only as mixtures. 



GLADIOLI I'ROM SEED. 



T have collected a considerable (luan- 

 tity of gladiolus seeds this season. Will 

 you kindly tell me when is the best time 

 to sow them? Please state, also, 

 whether clear sand or a mixture ol soil 

 and sand should be used, and give any 

 other particulars about the treatment 

 required. M. B. — N. J. 



As the inquirer, probably, is fully 

 aware, growing gladioli from seed is a 

 tedious performance, but it is the only 

 way to produce new varieties, if tliat 

 is the intention. 



After the gladiolus seeds have been 

 collected, they should be carried over 

 until the following spring. They may 

 be sown in large pans of good, light soil, 

 early in March, and placed in a warm 

 greenhouse, and the seedlings may bo 

 thinned and allowed to remain in these 

 receptacles during the first season. 

 After the germination of the seeds, the 

 flats should be removed to a lighter and 

 airier position, so tliat the little plants 

 may be gradually hardened and pre- 

 pared to spend the summer outdoors. 

 After the summer in the flats, the little 

 corms should be ripened in the fall and 

 stored like larger ones. Some of them 

 may produce blooms the second year. 



Perhaps a more common method, how- 

 ever, is to plant the seeds outdoors in 



While Gladiolus Peach Blossom and 

 others of the nanus type will have splen- 

 did bulbs when forced, much larger than 

 those imported, I have found them to be 

 almost worthless for forcing a second 

 season, a small proportion of them only 

 flowering. C. W. 



CABRIED-OVER GLADIOLI. 



In the winter of 1915-16 I bought some 

 gladioli and benched them in a carna- 

 tion house, hoping for good results. The 

 varieties were America, Mrs. Francis 

 King, Augusta and Chicago White, I 

 benched over 200 and cut only about 

 twenty-five spikes. I left them in the 

 soil until July; then I lifted them and 

 dried them off. They were a fine lot of 

 large, sound bulbs, I wish to know 

 whether I can force these bulbs this 

 winter. The weather was so wet in 

 1915 that I think perhaps the bulbs did 

 not ripen well. S. M. — Kan. 



I see no reason why these gladioli 

 should not be perfectly good for forcing 

 again, I have tried such bulbs myself 

 and had good results. Where the spikes 

 have been cut down close to the ground, 

 the bulbs, even if of good size, do poor- 

 ly, but as the bulk of yours did not 

 flower at all they should prove quite 

 satisfactory. C. W, 



CHEMICALS IN THE WATER, 



In purifying our water, the water com- 

 pany uses four pounds of chloride of 

 lime and ten pounds of alum to 400,000 

 gallons of water. Would this be harm- 

 ful to greenhouse plants? If so, would 

 it be equally harmful to outdoor plants 

 and vegetables? L. C. B. — Kan. 



I would not consider that the chem- 

 itals used would be likely to have an 

 injurious effect upon greenhouse plants, 

 especially as a large proportion of the 

 chemicals would most likely be precipi- 

 tated before the water would enter the 

 mains. It is possible that in time a suffi- 

 cient amount might accumulate in the 

 bench soil to interfere with the growth 

 of the plants, and it would then be nec- 

 essary to remove the surface soil, but I 

 do not think it likely that such a course 

 would be necessary. 



There would be less danger in the 

 open ground, where the rains would 

 wash anything that is soluble into the 

 subsoil. T. 



Gladiolus Pink Perfection. 



Brooklyn, N, Y. — E. R. Storey has 

 been appointed sales manager of the 

 Metropolitan Material Co., this to take 

 effect March 1, 1917, on which date the 

 company will remove to its new 10-acre 

 plant at Flushing and W^oodward ave- 

 nues, Brooklyn. A special announce- 

 ment to the trade from the Metropol- 

 itan Material Co. will be made later. 



Jackson, Mich. — A fire which started 

 from an oil stove did considerable dam- 

 age to the A. W. Furnival & Son estab- 

 lishment February 0. The greenhouse 

 to which tlic fire was confined was badly 

 gutted and much of the stock in this 

 house was a total loss. The store inte- 

 rior was damaged by the smoke, but 

 not enough to interfere with business, 

 " says A. W. Furnival. Insurance was 

 carried on the buildings. 



