542 
Till', GLADIOLUS. 
very large quantity of fruit, when the conve- 
niences of peat earth and waterare at hand. All 
that is required is, on the face of a sloping 
bank, to Formbeds about tour fe'etwide^ along 
the back of which the water is to be made to 
flow in a channel, about three feet wide, — the 
beds being bordered with about a foot wide of 
grass. Two or three beds may be formed on the 
.-in lace of the bank, the water being made to 
Bow past the cud of the highest bed, to the 
channel behind the next lower one, and the 
depth of water being regulated by a sluice 
across the gutter, at the end of each bed, so as 
to cause a greater or less amount to be retained 
to soak through the beds. In the channels or 
water-courses, water-cresses may be grown to 
perfection. The only attention required by 
the plants is to keep them clear of weeds, and 
to keep up the supply of water in the grow- 
)■>!_;• season. 
Qladiolus blandns. 
THE GLADIOLUS. 
ITS CULTURE AND VARIETIES. 
The name Gladiolus is derived from gladiust, 
a sword, in allusion to the sword-like figure 
borne by the leaves. The greater number of 
the species are inhabitants at the Cape of Good 
Hope, the barren and sandy wastes of which 
they assist annually to clothe with beauty : 
others are found in Russia, in Turkey, in the 
South of Europe, and the southern parts of 
Africa. 
Many of the Gladioli are extremely hand- 
some, and some are deliciously fragrant. The 
original, or wild kinds of this genus, cs of 
many others, have yielded to the dominion of 
art, and have alike tended to manifest the 
skill and perseverance of the cultivator. 
The species and varieties of Gladiolus may 
be divided into two sections, one of which 
may be termed half-hardy, and the other 
hard}' ; the former includes the Cape species, 
and those of slender habit and small stature, not, 
perhaps, much less hardy than the Others, but 
still not adapted, from these characteristics, to 
be cultivated in the flower garden ; the latter 
section comprehends the more robust kinds 
and the greater part of the florist's hybrids. 
It will be most convenient to devote some 
space, first, to tin; consideration of the treatment 
of these two divisions ; and subsequently, to 
notice, somewhat in detail, some of the leading- 
kinds in each division. 
TREATMENT OF THE HALF-HARDY GLADIOLI. 
The cultivation of the half-hardy Gladioli 
differs somewhat from that of the more hardy 
kinds ; the latter are adapted for display, and 
to occupy an important and conspicuous po- 
sition in the flower garden, whilst the former 
occupy a less prominent, though not less 
interesting, position, on the shelves or stages 
of the green-house, or in the secluded frame. 
It seems hardly necessary to state, at the 
outset, that these Gladioli are bulbous plants, 
a thing so very generally known, and yet we 
cannot, divest ourselves of the idea that some 
of those who may profit by these remarks are 
not aware that such is the case. They are, 
however, strictly bulbous, and in their treat- 
ment assimilate with that required by other 
bulbs ; the characteristics of the climate 
they naturally inhabit confirm in them the 
seasonal manner of growth, which is found 
to characterise bulbous plants generally; these 
are a season of perfect rest, antecedent to one 
of vigorous growth, and rapid development, 
during which the plants spring up, the flowers 
expand, the leaves become matured, and 
elaborate a store of nourishment from which 
the following year's growth is developed, 
and then the whole gradually declines, all 
these parts pass away, and life becomes con- 
fined within the circumscribed tenement of 
the bulb. Such is a sketch of the manner of 
growth in bulbous plants generally ; and in 
these Gladioli all, this is impressed strongly 
on the plants, by the alternate hot, dry 
weather of the Cape of Good Hope, and its 
subsequent periodical rains. 
We will commence with the season of rest, 
and the safe preservation of the bulbs when in 
a dormant state. This safety is best secured 
by allowing the bulbs to remain in the soil in 
which they have been grown ; and the only 
precaution necessary to ensure this, is to keep 
the soil in which they are embedded from 
becoming damp during the dormant period. 
There is no doubt but that this method is the 
most natural; and in all cases in which it can 
