GLADIOLUS THAT WON THE PRIZES 
A Tri-Society Fete in Association with the Annual Meet- 
ing of the American Gladiolus Society, Boston, Mass. 
| ANY a repetition of such remarks as “With three so- 
cieties showing Gladiolus together, it was some show!’’ 
conveyed the general impression of the Gladiolus ex- 
hibit held in Boston, August 14-15, when the American 
Gladiolus Society, the Massachusetts Gladiolus Society, and 
the Massachusetts Horticultural Society held a joint display. 
It was the biggest show of the kind ever staged, and brought 
together what was probably the largest gathering of Gladiolus 
growers ever seen in America, although a few well known faces, 
like those of B. Hammond Tracy and J. K. Alexander, were 
missing. Moreover the show was early, considering the season; 
several of the best among the late Gladiolus were not shown at 
all, not having opened in time. 
Naturally there was a multiplicity of awards, but taking those 
of the national society as a basis it was interesting to note that 
many of them were won by popular favorites. In the white 
class, for example, Europa stood out unsurpassed by any other 
variety, new or old. The three spikes for which Mr. A. L. 
Stephen, of Waban, Mass., received first prize were magnificent. 
In the yellow class Mr. Charles F. Fairbanks won a first with 
Yellow Hammer, a splendid flower with tall slender spikes. In 
the pink class leading awards went to Panama, Myrtle and 
Evelyn Kirtland. Winning reds were Crimson Cross, Red 
Emperor and Liebesfeuer. 
As all Gladiolus growers know, good blues are hard to obtain. 
Among the blues and purples one which seemed to make a great 
impression at this show was Anna Eberrus, originated by Richard 
Diener of California. This is a purple flower, which holds its color 
more persistently than any other variety. Heliotrope, however, 
as shown by Mr. Madison Cooper, was perhaps the most beau- 
tiful dark purple to be found in the hall. The shade of this 
flower is very dark, and few of those displayed attracted more 
attention. Mr. Theodore Havemeyer had an extremely beautiful 
lavender-blue in Muriel, a variety which seems destined to be- 
come very popular. Lilac Royal, shown by Mr. H. H. Meader, 
also made a good impression. 
As was sure to be the case, 
many new varieties were shown, 
some of them never having been 
exhibited before. The American 
Gladiolus Society’s silver medal 
for the best new seedling went 
to Mr. Thomas Coggar. The 
flower shown was white, with a 
dainty pink edge, and few people 
who saw it questioned the fair- 
ness of the award. It has been 
named Mrs. Thomas Coggar. 
Undoubtedly Circe, shown by 
Dr. S. Irving Moody, of Brock- 
ton, Mass., is the darkest red of 
any Gladiolus ever shown. It is 
almost dark enough indeed to be 
called black. 
The Garden Magazine 
Achievement Medal was won bv 
Mr. A. L. Stephen, prominent 
in whose collection were Gold, 
a remarkably fine new yellow, 
Mary Fenell, Loveliness, Mrs. 
Dr. Norton, Mrs. Frank Pendle- 
ton, Europa, Jenny Lind, and 
Snowboy. 
A BASKETFUL OF SUMMER GAIETY 
Its wide range of color, the decorative and enduring char- 
acter of its flower-stalks, keep the Gladiolus in high favor 
75 
Obviously there was no diminution in the popularity of the 
Primulinus hybrids. Obviously, too, remarkable improvement 
is being affected in this class. Many named varieites of Primu- 
linus hybrids were exhibited, the collection of Mr. Fairbanks 
being especially noteworthy. Among the most conspicuous of 
the varieties shown were Alice Tiplady, Argo (a wonderful deep 
orange), Capella (reddish orange), Salmon Beauty and Sirius. 
And Mr. C. W. Brown showed a remarkable novelty in a pure 
white Primulinus hybrid, something never seen before. He also 
had a pure yellow flower in this class. 
Another novelty was a cross between Primulinus and America, 
in which the general habit of the former was retained, but was 
combined with the size and strength of America. Mr. O. Gil- 
christ, of W. Toronto, Ont., received many compliments on this 
exhibit. Still another novelty was found in a set of seedlings 
shown by Mr. E. S. Spencer in which the ground color was set off 
by well marked borders of contrasting shades. The Henry F. 
Michel silver medal for the largest and best display in the non- 
commerical class went to Dr. Frank E. Bennett, of St. Thomas, 
Ont., president of one of the liveliest horticultural societies on 
the continent. 
At the meeting of the American Gladiolus Society, Professor 
A. C. Beal, of Ithaca, N. Y., offered his resignation as secretary, 
but the society declined to accept it. All the other officers re- 
tained their positions for another year except that Mr. J. H. 
Prouty was elected to the executive board to succeed Mr. Lee 
R. Bonnewitz. 
On behalf of his society Dr. Bennett presented an in- 
vitation for the meeting of the National Society to cross 
the border next year and, although definite action was de- 
ferred, the feeling of the membership in attendance was dis- 
tinctly in favor of acceptance and therefore in all probability 
the 1921 Gladiolus show will be at St. Thomas, Ontario. 
At the annual meeting of the Massachusetts Gladiolus 
Society the most important action taken was a vote to change 
the name to the New England 
Gladiolus Society, and to seek the 
membership of growers through- 
out the New England states. 
“GLADS” 
T HIS picture was taken dur- 
ing the fifth week of “Glad- 
time” in my garden. The 
varieties of Gladiolus used in the 
basket were Mrs. Frank Pendle- 
ton, Loveliness, Halley, Prince of 
Wales, Evelyn Kirtland, and 
Gretchen Zang. The green used 
was the plebeian garden Aspar- 
agus. The combination was 
surely a beautiful color study. 
My little garden is gay with 
“Glads” for a period of nearly 
seven weeks each summer by 
planting the bulbs at intervals 
of two weeks from first garden- 
making time until the second 
week of June. “Glad-time” is 
truly one of the happiest times 
in my Iowa flower garden. 
Mary Burnham Homans. 
