5G6 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



eacli clay. The result will be that the flowers which were operated 

 upon on hot, bright days form seed. Whereas those on the left 

 side, which were not fertilised, as well as those on the right side, 

 which were impregnated upon dull or wet days, form no perfect 

 seed. Care should be taken that all spikes operated upon be 

 tied securely to stakes and marked with labels. When I first 

 commenced saving seed I naturally concluded that the colours 

 of the flowers of seedlings would be similar to the colours 

 belonging to the parents ; but by experience I found that seed 

 saved from Norma, a pure white variety, produced all the other 

 colours found in the Gandavensis tribe except white. I there- 

 fore gave up recording the parents of seedlings as useless. The 

 best time to select for crossing one Gladiolus with another I 

 find to be about ten o'clock in the morning upon a dry day. It is 

 important to select for the purpose varieties of high quality, such 

 as Shakespeare, Lassia, Marcianus, and Duchess of Edinburgh, 

 which possess strong constitutions, with the individual blooms 

 of large size, good shape and substance, with colours bright 

 and well defined. The spike should be strong and boldly 

 erect, carrying not less than eight to ten blooms out 

 at one time, and bearing these blooms naturally, well to the 

 front and regularly placed. The seed should be gathered as 

 soon as the pods begin to burst — spread in an airy loft, and, when 

 dry, threshed and stored in a dry place until the first week in 

 April, which is the best time to commence sowing, which 

 should be carried out as follows : Select an open situation and 

 have the ground well dug over in the autumn, that it may have 

 the benefit of the frost. Early in the month of March it must 

 be raked over and made as fine as possible. 



The most convenient way in which to mark out the ground 

 previous to sowing is in 4-feet beds with 2-feet paths between. 

 Drills should be made about 6 inches apart, and half an inch in 

 depth. After these drills are made I press the soil with a piece 

 of wood 4 feet long and 2 inches thick, and of a triangular 

 shape, with a handle attached at either end : this ensures an equal 

 depth of soil throughout. When the seed is sown it should be 

 covered with a mixture of fine sifted soil and sand in equal parts 

 No other care is required but in keeping the beds free from weeds 

 and in seeing that in dry weather they obtain an occasional 

 watering. 



