THE GLADIOLUS 



5G5 



all of whose varieties look you so boldly in the face as you pass, 

 conspicuous objects as they are in every border by reason of their 

 size of flower and delicacy of tint. They are descendants of the 

 Parrot Gladiolus — G. psittacinus — a species imported from South 

 Africa in 1830. There can be no doubt that G. gandavensis was a 

 variety raised by Dean Herbert from G. psittacinus.* He grew 

 this production of his, but failed to bloom it. Herbert sent it 

 to Van Houtte, who tried to flower it at Ghent, but failed also, 

 and sent it to the Cape, where it first flowered. It was sent 

 back to Van Houtte, who named it, after Ghent, G. gandavensis, 

 propagated it, and put it into commerce. We are indebted to 

 the late M. Soucliet, who was gardener to the French Court, for 

 the first hybrids of this section. I visited him at Fontainebleau 

 in the year 1874, when he told me that he commenced crossing 

 ( r. cardinalis, G. blandus, and others in 1884. With pollen from 

 the hybrids he thus obtained he impregnated G. gandavensis and 

 produced numerous seedlings, some of which flowered in 1845. 

 The first of these hybrids which he put into commerce he named 

 M. Blouet. 



It was in the year 1857 that I first obtained through M. 

 Souchet's agent in Paris all the best varieties of his raising 

 which were then in commerce, and in the following year I 

 obtained from these a tolerable quantity of seed. In order to 

 accomplish this I found it necessary with many of the choicer 

 kinds to use artificial means in impregnating the flowers, as 

 many will not produce seed without it, and we have no insect in 

 this country so formed as to be able to take this task upon itself. 

 It may be done in two ways : either by cutting out the stamens 

 when the pollen is ripe, and applying them to the pistils of the 

 flow r er from which one w T ishes to obtain seed, or by means of an 

 ordinary paint brush of small size. 



To illustrate the necessity for using artificial means I shall 

 select a strong spike, say of Lassia, one of the best of the scarlets, 

 and as soon as the first flowers are expanded take the pollen from 

 another good variety, as, for instance, the pure white Mrs. Dobree, 

 and commence operating upon the expanded blooms upon the 

 right-hand side of the spike. I shall proceed daily as the flowers 

 open until the whole of those upon the right have been done, 

 labelling every bloom with the date and the state of the weather 

 * On the origin of G. gandavensis, see note, p. 574. 



