55G 



URXAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



same cross and bore a great resemblance to G. Marie Lemoine. 

 It would not appear that M. Froebel continued his experiments in 

 this direction, and with the exception of one or two other sorts 

 which are found in his later catalogues, he seems to have relin- 

 quished his attempts to improve the purpwreo-auratus hybrids. 

 I shall only mention the florists who have raised seedlings from 

 Lemoine's Gladioli by crossing them with some sorts of Ganda- 

 vensis, and have obtained good varieties. Such are MM. 

 Deleuil, of Marseilles ; Trefoux, of Auxerre ; Torcy-Vannier, of 

 Melun ; Souillard et Brunelet, of Fontainebleau ; Haage & 

 Schmidt, of Erfurt ; and Krelage, of Haarlem. As the varieties 

 which they sent out, and are now still sending out, were 

 originated long after ours, I only name them injustice to their 

 endeavours. 



In reality we had taken a long stride in the way of obtaining 

 a new race of hardy Gladioli, and we had to go on. "We were in 

 possession of but two varieties a little different from each other, 

 with elegant shades and blotches, but far behind the striking 

 colours peculiar to Gandavensis. Our object was plain and 

 evident : to impart to the new race the variety and brightness of 

 colour that were wanted ; to give them strong and upright spikes ; 

 to increase the number and the size of the blooms ; in short, to 

 infuse into them as many as possible of the good qualities of 

 Gandavensis which they did not yet possess, without depriving 

 them of their own vigour and hardiness, which they had just 

 acquired, and which, in our opinion, was so great a merit. 



There was nothing else to do than to fertilise the new hybrids 

 with the finest Gandavensis sorts, and to discard mercilessly, 

 and in spite of their beauty, all the offspring that did not seem to 

 stand sufficiently against the winter frosts ; and our experience 

 soon proved that the more the seedlings resembled G. Lemoinei 

 in shape, colour, and strong markings, and even in the smallness 

 of their bulbs, the more they retained their hardiness ; while 

 those in which the characteristics of Gandavensis predominated 

 would not thrive well in our stiff soil, and gave no satis- 

 faction. 



In the beginning of 1882 a set of five varieties (among which 

 was that named Lafayette), all raised and obtained by the above 

 means, was offered for sale, and met with favour at the hands of 

 amaieurs. In the course of the same year these varieties, along 



