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The Garden Magazine, April, 1922 



winner. Then we are told by Madison Cooper, an excellent 

 judge, that on the contrary Marshall Foch was the finest; while 

 two amateurs, both producers of fine sorts, awarded that dis- 

 tinction to Fern Kyle. This last named variety is certainly a 

 beauty, wearing a robe of a rich creamy tint on a form of rare 

 grace. It is still in the seedling class — a debutante, as it were — 

 and has not yet appeared in the catalogues. Marshall Foch is of 

 more brilliant style, being clothed in "a melting shade of pink, 

 with a hint of heliotrope." It has drawn marked attention 

 wherever shown. That variety must not be confused with the Le 

 Marechal Foch, a Holland-bred plant, described by its producer 

 "as the earliest, largest, and purest rose Gladiolus." Others 

 have described its color as a lighter shade of pink than America, 

 which it resembles. 



FOR some time past our producers have been giving most 

 attention to the improvement of the yellows and the 

 whites. For several years Golden Measure, an English variety, 

 has been the leading yellow with Schwahen a close second and 

 Sulphur King the choice of those who prefer a rich hue to the 

 paler nankeen tints. Golden Measure has been used quite 

 freely as a parent by the producers, but Dr. Hoag alone has 

 secured a rival, named Gold. It received the highest praise at 

 Boston and St. Thomas, and more than one expert placed it 

 ahead of Golden Measure. 



Other yellows of note at last season's shows were Flora and 

 Mary Starns Burke, of the new sorts, with Niagara still in an 

 honored place. 



OF WHITES there were several that were new to many of 

 the visitors, White Wonder commanding most praise, but 

 sharing honors with Mary Pickford. The latter is not strictly 

 in the white class, its creamy tint is too strong for admission 

 there, but it is such a beauty that we pardon it for being a bit 

 off color, and the claim has been made that the Mary Pickford 

 is better as a cut flower than Lily White. Other white varieties 

 that won high praise were Carmen Sylva, Mrs. Prestgard, Al- 

 baine, Snowflake, and White Glory. Europa was there and still 

 stands apart as the best white yet produced. 

 I 



NUMEROUS other prize winners there were — a long list of 

 them indeed, but some received more general praise than 

 fell to the lot of others. Jenny hind, a delicate soft pink, was 

 much admired, and one experienced grower, a man of reliable 

 judgment, pronounced it the best Gladiolus at the Boston 

 Show. Alice Tiplady was again at the front, hailed as the 

 queen of Kunderd's Primulinus Hybrids. Among the throng 

 were Neoga, dark crimson; Anna Eberius, purple; Exquisite, deep 

 rose; Martha Fernekes, "almost gray-blue"; Jap Lady, purple; 

 Nymph, pink lavender, "a ruffled Mary Fennell"; Peach Rose, 

 deep rose pink; Crinkles, peach pink, intensely ruffled; Sheila, 

 salmon pink; and such well known beauties as Mrs. Doctor Nor- 

 ton, Mrs. Moulton, Mrs. Watt, Panama, and Orange Glory. Mrs. 

 Austin was well represented by her Gretchen Zang, Evelyn Kirt- 

 land, and Herada. That old stand-by, America, was in evidence, 

 for it can still command attention among the best of them, and 

 is probably the most popular of them all. The dainty and 

 delicate Mary Fennell was there, and the brilliant Mrs. Frank 

 Pendleton, still a queen among queens. 



BACK of the prize winners — those patricians — stood the 

 large concourse of plebeians, a throng that, like "the 

 masses," held many a good sort, but a vast lot of pretty poor 

 stuff. That may be thought somewhat too sweeping, but is it 

 not time to call a halt to the naming of inferior varieties? At 

 all the shows last year there were heaps of flowers staged for 

 display and competition that were only fit for "mixtures." 

 Also there were many entered for competition that were too 



nearly similar to others with a reputation already established to 

 warrant their being admitted. 



Mention should be made of the Trial Grounds at St. Thomas, 

 which were much more extensive than any previous effort in 

 that direction. They contained over thirty thousand plants in 

 fine condition, due largely, no doubt, to an efficient system of 

 irrigation with which the grounds were equipped. 



ONE feature, found in all the exhibitions, called forth mur- 

 murs of regret. It was the evidence that the effort to 

 produce large blossoms has resulted in the sacrifice of graceful 

 form, most noticeable in the displays of Primulinus Hybrids — 

 many of those shown being Primulinus in name only. All the 

 charm of those first hybrids — the first cross breeding of the 

 Primulinus with the large flowered sorts, which produced those 

 dainty blossoms of lovely colors and delightful forms — was 

 gone. Some of the large blossomed varieties were admired, 

 their size and beautiful coloring brought them a degree of 

 admiration, but the charm of the Primulinus was not theirs — all 

 that had been bred out of them. In my opinion those plants 

 should not have been admitted to the Primulinus class, for the 

 strain of Primulinus in their composition is too slight to warrant 

 their being given that recognition. 



It is encouraging to learn that at recent gatherings of growers 

 the opinion was freely expressed that the craze for large sized 

 blossoms had reached its limit, and that a trend toward a saner 

 policy has already developed. It is time, for everyone — the 

 woman who buys the blossoms for home decoration and the man 

 who plants for garden effect — has rebelled against this sacrifice of 

 beauty for mere size. 



An added pleasure, last season, to the people interested in 

 Gladiolus culture, was the increased number of amateurs among 

 the exhibitors. The American Gladiolus Society has not always 

 favored the amateurs — the real amateurs. It has often failed 

 to make the schedule of classes attractive to the man who had 

 only a little garden patch and only a little time for garden work. 

 Such folk have been carefully fostered by the English societies 

 to whom they have given a generous support, placing the 

 societies in a position of strength and influence that the Ameri- 

 cans have not approached. 



One cannot but sympathize with the small gardener who, 

 growing only a few bulbs, says, " How can I compete with the 

 man who has thousands?" — the game seems to be all against 

 him; but I do not agree that his plight is as hopeless as it appears, 

 for he has better chances than he imagines. The "law of 

 diminishing returns" seems to apply. The man who has 

 thousands to look after cannot give them the attention that is 

 required to secure the best possible blossoms any given plant is 

 capable of producing. The large grower has to rely upon the 

 chance that out of his fields may come some spikes fit for ex- 

 hibition. The man with only a small patch to cover need take 

 no such chance. He can be sure of his results, for he can control 

 them. 



FEW plants in our gardens will yield so much with so little 

 attention; also, there are few that respond so generously 

 to loving care. Just feed them well, though wisely; give them 

 sufficient water to keep the soil moist around their feeding roots; 

 place them so that the sun will shine upon them every hour of the 

 day, and keep the weeds from the beds — that's all. Let the 

 man with the limited numbers attend carefully to these few 

 things and he need not fear competing against the man with the 

 thousands. 



Another feature of last season's exhibitions which it is a 

 pleasure to record is the increased number of small clubs that had 

 their own Gladiolus shows. A fine example was the display of 

 the Mansfield (Mass.) Gladiolus Society, which staged a show 

 that would have done credit to a much larger body. 



