ON florists' FLOWERS. 8 1 



Byblamens. — Alice Gray, Ashmole's 112, David Jackson, Glory 

 of Stakehill, Martin's 117, Miss Hardy, and Talisman. 



Roses. — Annie McGregor, Lady Grosvenor, Lady May, Mabel, 

 Mrs. Barlow, and Nanny Gibson. 



The Gladiolus (Gladiolus gandavensis). 



There are very numerous species of this fine genus of Cape 

 plants in cultivation ; but, treating it as a florists' flower, we can 

 deal only with the garden varieties, which have been obtained 

 by careful cross-fertilisation during the last fifty years by 

 amateurs and others. The Hon. and Rev. Dean Herbert 

 began the work of hybridising .more than sixty years ago ; 

 but he was more of a botanist than a florist, and crossed numer- 

 ous species 'which had been recently introduced from the 

 Cape, but he did not follow up the work so as to obtain good 

 forms, and thus bring the plant into the family of garden 

 favourites. A French gardener of note, Mons. Souchet, gar- 

 dener to the Emperor Napoleon at Fontainebleau, near Paris, 

 was the first to make a decided florists' flower of the Gladiolus. 

 He introduced many new varieties yearly through one or two 

 of the Paris seedsmen, the flowers being of admirable form 

 and substance. Messrs. Kelway, of Langport, still further 

 improved it, and now there are hundreds of beautiful varieties 

 in cultivation (Fig. 42). 



Cultivation. — The Gladiolus is very easily propagated from 

 seed, and the flowers can be cross-fertilised so readily that any 

 amateur can do it. This is done when the plants are in flower 

 in August, and the seed ripens about the end of September. 

 As soon as the pods open they should be gathered, and laid 

 out to dry in an airy room. The seed should be sown in pots 

 or pans from the middle to the end of March. It will 

 germinate freely in a slightly heated hot-bed. If the seeds are 

 sown thinly the plants may be left in the receptacles in which 

 they were sown. Bulbs, or corms, from the size of a pea to 

 that of a hazel-nut, will be formed during the growing season. 

 These small bulbs, if planted out in the open garden in rich, 

 light soil in March, will give strong flowering-plants the same 

 season, so that flower-spikes are obtained within two years of 

 cross-fertilising the flowers. The Gladiolus is also propagated from 

 the small bulblets produced at the base of the corms. A dozen 

 or more of these may be produced from one bulb, and they 

 soon grow into a flowering size. 



G 



