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GLADIOLUS OR CORN FLAG 559 
G. BYZANTINUS (Byzantine). Leaves slender, deep green. Flowers 
red, nodding, i in many-flowered spikes, 2 feet high; June. 
G. CARDINALIS (cardinal colour). Leaves many-nerved. Flowers 
somewhat bell-shaped, fine scarlet, with large white spots; flower stems 
3 to 4 feet high; July and August. 
G. COLVILLE! (Colville’s). Leaves slender, strongly nerved down 
centre of each side. Flowers bright red, with pale purple markings; 
July. Stem somewhat zigzag and angular, leafy, 14 foot high. Garden 
hybrid, 1824. The var. alba has white flowers, and is known as The 
Bride. 
G. GANDAVENSIS (Ghent). Flowers of many shades of scarlet and 
crimson, from the deepest tones to pure white, marked and streaked with 
lilac, pink, yellowish, and other tints; July. Flower stem 4 feet high. 
Hybrid. Plate 258 
G. PSITTACINUS (parrot-like). Flowers rich scarlet, streaked and 
spotted with yellow; August to October. Flower stem 3 feet high. 
G. PURPUREA-AURATUS (purple and gold). Flowers golden yellow, 
with a large purple blotch on the two lower segments; August. Height, 
2 or 5 feet 
G. SAUNDERSII (Saunders’). Flowers crimson, spotted with white; 
autumn. Height, 2 or 3 feet. 
These are now so numerous—hundreds of them being 
catalogued by nurserymen—and so generally excellent, that 
it would serve no useful purpose to give a list of them. So good has 
the general quality of these become, that many amateurs prefer to buy 
unnamed seedlings from reliable houses, and probably secure better 
results than purchasing named varieties from very brief descriptions. 
Gladioli like a deep, light, loamy soil, made rich by the 
addition of manure four or five months before the corms 
are planted. Planting commences in March, and batches may be put in 
at intervals until May, to secure a succession of flowers. The corms 
should be put at least 3 inches below the surface and a foot apart. In 
so doing, care should be taken that no fresh manure comes in contact 
with the corm, or decay will probably result. It is a good plan to place 
the corms on a layer of mixed sand and wood ashes. | During hot, dry 
weather in summer, a mulching of well-rotted manure will be of great 
assistance. After flowering, if there is no desire to save seed, the stem 
should be cut off just below the lowest flower, and before the approach 
of frosts the entire plants of the South Africans and the tender hybrids 
should be taken up and laid in a dry, airy place until the stems and 
leaves die off. Then these should be cut off about an inch above the 
Garden Varieties. 
Cultivation, 
