296 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ April 12, 1888, 
There is one great advantage which the Gladiolus possesses — 
the length of time during which it produces flowers, owing to the 
fact that there are four distinct periods at which certain varieties 
produce their blooms, some, as Shakespeare, producing theirs on or 
about July 26th, and others, like Phoebus, not blooming until quite 
late in October, and while this somewhat detracts from the appearance 
of the beds, as some are going out of bloom while others are coming 
on, yet the pleasure the flower gives to the grower is greatly added 
to by this fact, fresh beauties are daily expanding, and thus the 
interest is kept up. In drawing up the following list I have neces¬ 
sarily been guided by my own experience, and it is possible it may 
not agree with that of many growers, but as far as this locality is 
concerned it is correct. The four periods are from July 26th to 
August 10th ; August 10th to 24th ; the third from August 24th 
to September 10th ; and the fourth from September 10th to the 
end of October. Let me take them in order. 
1 . 
Ali, a curious flower, long spike, but imperfect shape, well 
arranged, pale rose, and heavy white striped with red. 
Amalth^e. —Large flower, white ground, with violet stripes 
somewhat thin in texture. 
Arciiduciiesse Marie Christine.— Large, white ground, deeply 
flaked with rose. ^ ^ J 
Belladonna.— White tinted with lilac, lower divisions|lightly 
marked with carmine. 
Carnation.— A very pretty flaked flower, good spike. 
Demosthene.— Beautiful bright rose, very large, perfectly 
formed flowers. 
Horace Vernet.— Brilliant purplish red, good spike. Klusson 
marks this as a late variety ; with me it is one of the earliest. 
Mabel.— One of the most perfect flowers that we have ; com¬ 
pact spike, ground colour white striped with bright carmine on the 
edge. 
Madeleine. —Very early flower,dwarf habit. 
Opale. —Large spike of good flowers, very delicate rose. I 
have never succeeded in growing it quite to my satisfaction. 
Pactole. —Pretty yellow flowers, but somewhat uncertain. 
Shakespeare. —Very early and good, but sometimes blooms 
may be had of it later. I generally look for it about July 26th. 
Victor Jacqueminot. —Salmon orange richly veined with 
scarlet; a bright flower. 
2 . 
Andr6 Leroy.— Dark purplish red with white line on the 
petals. 
Baroness Burdett Coutts.— Lilac tinged with rose and 
purple ; large and fine flower, but not stout enough. 
Bicolore. —Very distinct; top petals bright salmon ; lower 
divisions white edged with rose. 
Camille.— Pale magenta lilac, flushed deeper colour ; fine 
flower. 
Colbert.— Deep cherry red petals with white lines. 
Crepuscule.— Creamy white, tinted lilac, large and fine 
spike. 
Dalila. —A very lovely flower, bright rose with white lines and 
spot ; very fine. 
Dr. Fontan. —Pale rose, richly flamed with red, compact 
spike. 
Flamboyant — Bright crimson scarlet, very large, bright and 
dazzling in colour. 
Hesperide. —Dark salmon striped, with a somewhat loose and 
flibby flower. 
Leandre.— Bi ight lilac with large white blotch ; a large flower 
of gp’eat solidity. 
Mascarelle.— A new flower of a very curious colouring, salmon 
rose ; lower divisions yellow edged with rose ; distinct. 
L’Unique Violet.— Dark lilac shaded violet ; large and good. 
Nekeide.— A very fine flower ; compact spike, pale lilac rose, 
good spike. 
Oriflamme. — Large straight spike, compact Large flowers, 
orange rose, a little paler in the centre, the lower divisions lightly 
marked with gold yellow and lined with carmine. 
OviDE.— Purplish crimson, blotched and striped with white ; a 
fine and striking flower. 
Ondine. —A very fine white flower. 
PasquIN.—B right crimson scarlet, edge of petals suffused with 
Elate colour ; shape not good, too square. 
Pygmalion.— Cherry red, blotched and striped with white. 
Tamerlane. —Very dark slatey red, blotched and striped with 
cream ; requires shading, as it is apt to burn. 
Tour du Monde.— Dark cherry, shaded lilac, white blotches. 
.3. 
Africaine.—S latey brown, flushed scarlet, white blotches, fine- 
spike ; a remarkable flower. 
Aurore. —Clear orange, blotched and striped white. 
Atlas. —Pale porcelain, slightly tinted and striped violet; fine 
flower and spike. 
Cameleon.— Lilac, striped white, pale orange blotch ; fine and 
comi act spike. 
Caprice. —Pale ground, flushed purple. 
Cervantes. —Bright rose, tinted crimson, white lines, orange 
tinted lower petals. 
Ch LORIS. —White mottled, flushed carmine. 
Colorado.—B right orange, shaded red, good shape, and very 
bright. 
Gallia.—F ine flower and good spike. 
Gr.\nd Rouge. —Very like Meyerbeer, but larger, and blooms* 
earlier. 
Jeanette. —Rose striped and flushed with carmine. 
Jupiter. —Red flaked and spotted with dark maroon. 
Lac^pede. —Lilac rose, large, good flower. 
Madame Despuktes. — A fine old flower ; pure white, but not 
good in constitution. 
M. Adolphe Brongniart.^ —Another old but very fine flower 
flamed red on white ground. 
Mount Etna. —Velvety scarlet, blotched white ; a very fine 
flower. 
Murillo.— Cherry rose, somewhat undersized, but a very pretty- 
flower. 
Neige et Feu. —Good spike of medium sized flowers, bright 
cerise, with large white blotch 
Rayon d’Or. —Yellow with red stripes. 
Th^rese de Vilmokin.— A new and novel flower, creamy- 
white ; good and compact spike. 
4. 
Benvenuto. —Light orange red, white blotch. 
Grand Lilas. —Vei-y large, fine flowers, beautiful shade of 
lilac. 
Le Vesuve. —Brilliant scarlet red ; a fine flower of good sub¬ 
stance. 
Matador. —Bright cherry red, striped and blotched darker 
colour ; very fine. 
Medicis.—L ong spike of large flowers. 
Phiebus. —A very brilliant flower, fiery red ; the latest flow-CB 
we have ; very seldom exhibited. —D., Deal. 
PEACH BUDS FALLING. 
It is most perplexing to a cultivator when the Peach buds are falling 
and nothing can be done to prevent them. We have never had much cause 
to complain in this w-ay, but always inclined to believe that the state of 
the roots, or a portion of them, has something to do with the evil 
indicated, and it may be that one tree will suffer while its fellow 
escapes. We freely admit that fire heat supplied unduly, sudden 
changes from warm to cold, injudicious watering, and a host of other 
causes may be instrumental in strew-ing pcacheries with strong and 
healthy looking blossoms. The few cases of which -w-e have had ex¬ 
perience were from some of the leading roots, only a few, getting 
through the drainage into inert sandy soil, and with these trees we had 
to give b.attle sharply to keep red spider at bay. We never had any 
mishap with early forced Peaches, say those which set in January, and 
this year after thinning all the flow-er buds to about an inch apart the 
set has been superabundant. We believe in Leeping the shoots thin, 
and no more on the tree than are necessary—viz., one at the point of the 
fruit-bearing wood to draw up sap, and one at the base of the shoot to 
supply frui.ing wood for next year. Moreover, it is always our practice 
to thin all wood buds not wanted as soon as they can be discerned, 
which is some time before the fruit buds open ; the latter are thinned 
along with the immature wood buds. We maintain that by clearing 
off all these before they develope into growth the ti-ee receives no check. 
This experiment we tried first when a lad, and have rigidly put into 
practice ever since. 
Reverting to root-action, -we may describe a case where bud-falling 
was considerable. The first season we -ivere baffled. The roots, whiclt 
filled the fine border to the surface, had every care, every necessity with, 
top-dressing and moisture supplied, but half the buds fell notwithstand¬ 
ing. The following season matters were not improved. The foundation 
of the border inside was examined, and there a few strong roots were 
found that had gone through the drainage, which had been manipulated 
with much pains by a clever predecessor, and deep down among poor 
irony sand they had spread far and wide. They were immediately 
under the trunk of the tree, and it was useless to trace them with the view 
of saving them. They were cut clean off, and under the tree lime 
rubbish with stones was rammed. This was an effectual remedy, the 
trees doing far better without the strong roots than with them.. 
Vines clo.se by, very subject to red spider, were suffering from the same 
cause, and no watering could aid the roots.—M. T. C. H, 
