138 



THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 



consequence ; and some go so far as to liken the so-called disease to that which 

 affects the Potato. Unlike the Potato disease, however, the root of the Gla- 

 diolus fortunately does not appear to suffer from the premature decay of the 

 foliage and stalk ; and I am much inclined to think it is no disease at all, but 

 is to be attributed to some other cause connected with their culture. I have 

 four beds of Gladioli, two of which consist of fine sorts, nearly the whole of 

 which are imported roots from France, and amongst which are a very large 

 proportion of failures. I mean by failures that in some cases they made 

 growth early as usual, but it soon died away; whilst many others matured 

 their growth until July, and then turned brown ; and at last the foliage and 

 stalk had a very decayed appearance and produced no flower. Close by is a 

 large bed of Brenchleyensis, the foliage of which is partially decayed, but they 

 are blooming. The fourth bed consists of a quantity of seedlings and offsets of 

 my own growth, which look well. 



" What is the reason why my Gladioli have failed so ? " is now an every- 

 day question, and really we ought to try and settle it. Some say it is because 

 the summer has been too dry for them, and I think to some extent this argu- 

 ment will hold good, but does not wholly account for this premature decay. 

 That the Gladiolus loves good living I have not the shadow of a doubt. I 

 have always used very rotten manure, and find they like it ; < tl arid they like a 

 deep soil, too, in which the manure can be well incorporated, and I shall pre- 

 sently speak of other little. matters I know they like. Let us first, however, 

 try to make out the cause of this early decay and great disappointment. 



With the very hot summer days we have experienced, we have also en- 

 countered unusually cold nights, and now and then frost. Have these sudden 

 changes of temperature from extreme heat to decided cold in any way affected 

 the Gladiolus ? If so, why are not my seedlings and offsets affected, like the 

 two best beds ? I am very much inclined to think there is a greater mortality 

 amongst the imported roots brought from the warmer soil of France than 

 amongst those of English growth. Mind, I do not wish, or even expect this 

 to be accepted as fact, but that is my impression, and has been so for two 

 years. Now is the time to decide whether I am correct or not in this view, 

 as cultivators will easily be able to tell whether newly-purchased roots have 

 suffered more than roots they grew the previous year. 



They are capital growers of the Gladiolus about Dublin, and I recently had 

 occasion to be in Ireland, and saw the display of Gladiolus at the Autumn 

 Show of the Royal Horticultural Society. The silver cup was carried off by 

 J. F. Lombard, Esq., who has probably the finest collection in Ireland ; and 

 as his flowers were very fine, highly coloured, large, and firm, I was anxious 

 to see his growth ; so got invited to see his garden, and found my time profit- 

 ably employed. Mr. Lombard decidedly adopts feeding, and not only applies 

 rotten manure to the soil, but freely applies liquid manure also. He also 

 applies the syringe very freely until the blooms expand, and I never saw stronger 

 and healthier growth. True, he had some failures, here and there premature 

 decay, and, like all other growers, some rpots which failed to push at all ; but 

 his beds were singularly healthy compared with many I have seen this side the 

 Channel. It will also be well to remark here that Mr. Lombard does not 

 shade, but has the spikes firmly secured to strips of list stretched between tall 

 stakes, so that the flowers are uninjured, and still have the benefit of full 

 exposure to light, which necessarily intensifies colour. I attach much import- 

 ance to the repeated syringings, and believe they lose moisture when 'accom- 

 panied by good drainage. I also saw the collection grown by J. W. Lane, 

 Esq., who took the second prize at the Dublin Exhibition, and there were 

 several instances of premature decay in his beds, although remarkably good 



