GLADIOLUS. 



109 



soon as they expand. The bulb is oblong, firm and 

 white, and is roasted and eaten like chestnuts by the 

 natives of the Cape of Good Hope. 



G. fasciatus. — A very pretty dwarf species, grow- 

 ing from six to twelve inches high. The flowers are- 

 delicate pink, with a dark crimson streak on the lower 

 division. A winter flowering species. 



G. f^cribuncue (Abundant-flowering). — One of the 

 few species worthy cf general cultivation, as it compares 

 favorably with many of the hybrids of recent introduc- 

 tion, and because cf its dwarf and free-flowering habit. 

 Its flowers are produced abundantly on each side of the 

 stem, which rarely exceeds a foot in height ; they are 

 very large, standing erect, and opening widely like small 

 Lilies ; color white, with a bright pink stripe down the 

 center of each petal. They succeed admirably in the 

 herbaceous border, with but slight protection in winter. 



G. gandavensis. — Noticed under Hybrid Gladiolus. 



G. gracilis (Slender). — A hardy form with fewer 

 points of interest than almost any of the species. It is 

 a delicate grower, producing from one to three pale lilac 

 flowers, the lower petals spotted with black. 



G. hirsutus (Hairy). — In habit this is a variable 

 species, growing from one to three feet high, as the soil 

 and situation suit it. The flowers are large, rose colored, 

 and all produced on one side of the stem, a habit not at 

 all pleasing. The fragrance is not unlike that of the 

 Hawthorne. 



G. psittacinus (Parrot). (Syn. G. natalensis). — 

 Possessing remarkable interest from the fact of its being 

 the parent, on the one side, of the well known G. gan- 

 davensis kinds, which are now so extensively cultivated. 

 It is a native of the southeast coast of Africa, near Natal. 

 In common with the other species from that section, it 

 is more hardy than the Cape species. Its flowers are of 

 the most intense scarlet and yellow, borne on stems from 



