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WAYSIDE RAMBLINGS 
1919 GLADIOLUS NOTES FROM SOUTH- 
EASTERN OHIO. 
This past season was exceptionally 
favorable for Gladioli in this section. 
Weather conditions in the spring were 
such that our first plantings were later 
than usual, but when once in the 
ground the conns fairly lept into 
growth and came right along all 
through the summer without a check 
from excessive heat or drouth. In fact 
it seems that Glads do not suffer at all 
from hot weather provided there is 
plenty of moisture in the soil. 
Our first planting, 100 Kunderd’s 
Primulinus hybrids, was made on April 
15th. The first spikes of bloom were 
cut from these on July 3d, seventy-nine 
days after planting. From this until 
through the first week in August 
these interesting flowers (from this 
one planting) made the home of their 
owner continually bright and his heart 
happy in their wonderful and varied 
beauty. 
Most visitors to my garden fail to 
“see” the Primulinus. This failure I 
am convinced is due to a lack or de- 
fect of artistic appreciation. True, a 
vase of Primulinus is not at all strik- 
ing or especially showy. Their beauty 
is quiet, modest ; not compelling, but 
attractive. Their seductive charm 
grows on one like the music of a Schu- 
bert song or the voice of a dear friend. 
Their graceful, open arrangement on 
the stem, their varied, unique and very 
pleasing forms, their wonderful blend- 
ing of delicate and rare colors — these 
qualities combine to make the Primu- 
linus a constant delight, a precious 
jewel among flowers. 
This season I tried a number of Mr. 
Kunderd’s named sorts of Primulinus. 
As to these I am compelled to agree 
with others, in that their excellence 
above the mixtures hardly warrants the 
use of special names. In fact, with 
the exception of Butterfly and Salmon 
Beauty, I can choose from the mixture 
a number that are as good as the 
named ones I have grown. 
On Mr. Woodruff’s word I tried a 
few of the Diener hybrids. Corms of 
such size and vigor as these I have not 
bought elsewhere ; nor have I grown 
any like them with the exception of 
some Peace this season. They were as 
large as turnips and how they did grow 
and bloom! A dozen Anna Eberius 
produced over forty fine spikes of 
bloom and forty-one good corms were 
dug from this one dozen. A dozen 
Thomas T. Kent almost equaled this 
record. The spikes of bloom were very 
large, especially the Kents and some of 
the mixed seedlings. As compared 
with othersorts I can’t agree with some 
growers in praising these Dieners as to 
flowers. I recall that one writer in 
The Flower Grower leaves the im- 
pression that T. T. Kent is a sort of 
glorified Pendleton. Now I am sure 
that when this writer’s enthusiasm has 
cooled a bit he will agree with me that 
no grower or hybridizer has produced 
or is likely soon to produce a Gladiolus 
which in any respect excels Pendleton. 
I really do not like the Kent at all. 
Anna Eberius is some like Herada, 
darker and not nearly so attractive. 
And, by the way, Herada is hard to 
beat for sheer beauty, both in color 
and form. So that when one com- 
pares any Gladiolus with Herada, no 
little praise accrues to the sort com- 
pared. 
With the Dieners came an “Extra” 
corm labeled San Anselmo. It pro- 
duced two spikes of bloom, the like of 
which in size and beauty I have not 
before seen. For the life of me I could 
not tell it from an immense and per- 
fect Peace. Other growers tell me the 
throat blotch differs in color from that 
of Peace. So I am driven to the con- 
clusion either that I am color-blind or 
that a mistake was made in labeling 
the corm sent me. 
Of the newer reds I tried this year 
Fire Ribbon, Goliath, Red Amarillas, 
Lovesfire, Red Emperor (or Dominion) . 
Fire Ribbon and Lovesfire are of almost 
the same shade of bright scarlet. 
Lovesfire is of the better form, won- 
derfully beautiful. Red Emperor is all 
its sponsors claim for it, far and 
away the finest red of all. Red Ama- 
rillas is also very good. In the dark 
reds Goliath is hard to beat, produces 
wonderful spikes of immense dark 
wine-colored flowers, is a vigorous 
grower with very good foliage. As a 
cut flower it takes up water well and is 
a good keeper. It easily displaces 
Faust and is a better Gladiolus in every 
way than Empress of India. 
I am disappointed in Myrtle. It is 
variable in quality for me. A few 
spikes were very good, but most of 
them came bad in color, splashed and 
striped with too pronounced a red. It 
keeps well and has the very good 
quality of having a number of blooms 
open at once. In fact, most spikes 
showed every flower open at one time. 
So far as I tried it, I find that Myrtle 
should be cut early and bloomed in the 
house. What spikes I allowed to bloom 
in the garden were atrocities in color. 
I much prefer Pink Perfection to Myrtle. 
Prince of Wales is a jewel, “ The 
Ophelia of the Gladioli.” It is a glori- 
fied Halley, very similar in form, but 
much better in color. It is a good 
keeper and inclined to show too light 
in color when bloomed in the house. 
A vase of good Wales is hard to beat. 
And while we are considering pinks, 
I venture to suggest that producers of 
new varieties are going to have a hard 
time to bring out one to beat either 
Evelyn Kirtland or Gretchen Zang. Last 
year the drouth cut my Zangs short. 
This year they were perfect, immense 
flowers of radiant pink in long heavy 
spikes. I feel about these two Gladioli: 
“ How happy could I be with either 
Were t’other dear charmer away.” 
Peace did not do well for me this 
January, 1920 
year, except that it did produce some 
immense corms. The spikes were 
sturdy and floriferous enough, but the 
flowers came small and the petals were 
splashed and striped with an ugly, 
dirty red; so that, if I had not grown 
some unsurpassedly beautiful Peace be- 
fore, I should be inclined to discard it. 
But so it goes. Lily Lehmann was no 
good for me last year and this season 
did fine. 
Pendleton always comes good and I 
suppose most growers, if confined to 
one variety, would choose this one. If 
I could have but two I would not hesi- 
tate to choose Pendleton and Kirtland. 
After that perhaps Peace for a third, 
though Peace is rather variable and 
disappointing when conditions are not 
favorable and this sometimes when 
conditions are perfect. 
Harry Briggs. 
HEMEROC ALLIS FLORHAM. 
Among the hardy perennial plants 
which have been grown everywhere 
for a long time, perhaps few are more 
universally popular than the old 
Lemon Lily ( Hemerocallis Flava). Its 
clear yellow color, delicious fragrance, 
graceful form of the flower and its 
willingness to flourish and increase 
under any favorable conditions make 
it a general favorite. Because it is 
cheap and easily obtained it is the only 
variety known to most of us, but there 
is at least one other variety which is 
well worth adding to the general col- 
lection. Hemerocallis Florham has 
the advantage of blooming in July, 
about a month later than the old Lem- 
on Lily ; the flowers are a little larger, 
a trifle darker and have the same fra- 
grance. I obtained this variety several 
years ago but planted it in a rather 
unfavorable locality, near an oak tree, 
and it did not spread like the old sort. 
So, last spring, I took up the whole 
clump and divided it into six, with the 
result that each division bloomed about 
as well as the whole clump did before. 
I have no plants to sell and can dis- 
interestedly recommend this new Hem- 
erocallis. 
Other varieties are advertised but I 
confess my ignorance of them. Per- 
haps some reader will tell about some 
of the others. 
Geo. S. Woodruff. 
GLADIOLUS — PRINCE OF WALES. 
One of our advertisers wrote us for 
a description of Prince of Wales, and 
we were quite at a loss to locate a suit- 
able description for him. The best we 
could do was to give our own ideas 
based on experience as follows : 
As Halley is so well known, and as 
Prince of Wales is no doubt a sport of 
Halley, it is perhaps best to compare 
these two varieties in order to give a 
good idea of the characteristics of 
Prince of Wales. Prince of Wales has 
been called a glorified Halley if that 
means anything important in this con- 
nection, but we regard Prince of Wales 
as a big improvement on Halley. It is 
