August, 1918 Ol)c Slower (Brower 
WAYSIDE RAMBLINGS 
inniiMimiiiiHiimiHHiMHiii, 
GLADIOLI FROM SEED. 
" Don’t forget to plant some seed this 
year” was a note I read last year in the 
February issue of the Modern Gladi- 
olus Grower. Having saved some 
seed the previous year I followed up 
the suggestion. Some varieties came 
up as thick as onions, others only here 
and there. During the past week I 
have shaken out the seedlings (they 
were kept in a cold frame all the win- 
ter) and repotted, in some cases all, 
and in others, a goodly proportion. 
The following list shows the varieties 
grown and the results : 
Variety 
Result 
Albion 
Very good. 
Anamosa 
Good. 
Angola 
Good. 
Bleriot 
Very poor. 
Elberton 
Good. 
E. Mayer 
Fair. 
Golden Measure 
Fair. 
Gold Drop 
Fair. 
K. P. 15 
Poor. 
K. P. 34 
Good. 
K. P. 37 
Very good. 
Karl Luz 
Good. 
Lilywhite 
Very good. 
Prince of Wales 
Good. 
Roanoke 
Fair. 
Rev. Ewbank 
Very good. 
Salmon Beauty 
Good. 
Sedan 
Poor. 
I grew 4 other varieties, but as these 
have not, so far as I have been able to 
ascertain, appeared in any catalogue, 
it would be useless to include them in 
the above list. 
Now I am anxious to know when I 
may expect my first flower. The 
largest of the seedlings did not meas- 
ure half an inch, although many were 
nearly that size. G. c. 
methods used in producing new 
varieties of gladioli. 
In a recent number of The Flower 
Grower one of your correspondents 
asks how new varieties of Gladioli are 
produced, how far primitive forms are 
used and what primitive forms are. 
All varieties, whether simple crosses 
or true hybrids, are produced by the 
simple contact of pollen from one va- 
riety with the stigma of another, either 
applied by hand, or by a natural 
method, such as being carried by 
winds, or insects, etc. Most varieties 
have originated by natural methods 
after the first crossings were made by 
specialists, and are only modifications 
of the original cross. A true type or 
class which more reliably transmits its 
characteristics to its offspring is al- 
most always necessarily a product of 
specific crosses. 
An original species, so-called, is a 
variety growing native or wild in a 
certain part of the world. Consider- 
ably over a hundred of such " species ” 
are known but only a small number of 
these have been used by specialists in 
producing our present day varieties. 
There are still many crosses possible, 
but most of the "species” are undesir- 
able because of inferior characteristics 
of size, color, type, etc. The use of 
the "species” is not generally desirable 
in producing new varieties excepting 
when guided by experienced workers, 
and certain careful combinations must 
be made in order to avoid mere repeti- 
tion of earlier breeders. Just the ex- 
act combinations used by breeders in 
producing certain characters, such as 
the newly acquired trait of ruffling the 
petals, etc., are usually the secrets of 
the original producer, and being in the 
nature of a trade secret are not often 
imparted to the general public. Each 
individual experimenter must work out 
his ideal by the application of such 
ideas as can be obtained, either from 
records of earlier experiments or the 
applications of new ideas of his own. 
F or the ambitious beginner or amateur 
I would recommend "The Book of The 
Gladiolus” by Matthew Crawford and 
Dr. Van Fleet, published by Vaughan’s 
Seed Stores of Chicago and New York. 
Those who have access to the files 
of The Modern Gladiolus Grower 
and The Flower Grower will find 
some valuable suggestions in the series 
of articles by Mr. W. W. Wilmore. 
Other correspondents have contributed 
useful information, and in a recent 
article by Mr. S. E. Spencer valuable 
suggestions on growing the seeds, etc., 
are given. In a general way the ideas 
and principles suggested here are ap- 
plicable to the production of other 
kinds of flowers as well as to fruits and 
vegetables. 
A. E. Kunderd. 
PEELING CORMELS BEFORE PLANTING. 
I have been doing this for thirty 
years and find that I get the best re- 
sults by planting them as soon as 
peeled. They should not be planted as 
early as the ones not peeled as they are 
liable to rot if the ground is cold and 
the weather wet or backward. In this 
latitude (Massachusetts) the first of 
May is early enough. 
I have peeled as many as 1300 cor- 
mels in one evening, so the question 
of labor of peeling need not be a seri- 
ous item if one gets accustomed to the 
work. 
Some years ago I overlooked 700 
peeled Niagara cormels for about two 
weeks when planting. When they were 
found they had shrunken somewhat, 
but they were planted and less than 50 
of them grew. This told me to plant 
as soon as peeled. 
Ninety per cent of the peeled cormels 
will germinate while only from 30 to 
70% of those not peeled is about my 
average. 
D. E. Nelson. 
Note by the Editor — 
We understand that the average germina- 
tion of unpeeled cormels is about 60% ac- 
cording to the experience of the largest 
growers. 
87 
EARLY BLOOMING. 
I have to report my first "Glad” 
bloom on June 15. Planted March 13, 
and raised entirely in the open with- 
out protection. During its growth we 
had many frosts and once ice half an 
inch thick. Variety Pink Beauty. 
I also wish to report that 1 have a 
bloom which appeared June 22 from a 
bulb planted May 4. It thus bloomed 
in 49 days from planting. Do you 
know of a bloom produced any quicker 
than this ? This variety is "Queen of 
Pinks.” 
A. J. Thompson. 
RESULTS FROM PLANTING MRS. FRANK 
PENDLETON CORMELS. 
In the spring of 1917 I planted a lot 
of Pendleton cormels, at the rate of 
about 200 cormels to the foot of row, 
from which I harvested in the fall 2,968 
corms. Of these 32 measured f inch 
or more, 446 measured \ inch or more, 
and 2,490 measured less than \ inch 
each. In other words, a little more 
than one per cent were No. 4 corms, 15 
per cent were No. 5, and 84 per cent 
were No. 6. 
Of course this is no general guide, 
as it is only the result in one case with 
a single variety of cormels. But it 
does give a little idea of what may be 
expected from the planting of cormels. 
C. C. Miller. 
BALTIMORE AND SALMON QUEEN 
GLADIOLI. 
A subscriber asks to know the differ- 
ence between Baltimore and Salmon 
Queen. He states that having flowered 
both of them from bulbs purchased 
from different parties he finds them 
alike. Can anyone throw a light on 
this subject ? 
The above photograph shows how A. E. 
Kunderd solves the labor problem in war 
time. It illustrates Anthony B. Kunderd 
and his crew of husky youngsters. When 
this crowd gets busy among the Gladioli, 
the weeds stand a poor chance. 
Instances multiply of the large 
amount of money which has been 
raised by the sale of flowers and turned 
over to the Red Cross. Surely the sale 
of flowers for this purpose is appropri- 
ate and we hope that articles published 
in The Flower Grower will influence 
growers to do more along this line. 
