122 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
November 17. 
out thinly in a border in June, and lifted carefully and 
potted before the middle, or rather by the beginning, of 
October. Better plants will thus be secured, and less 
trouble involved than when growing such things in pots. 
R. Fish. 
THE GLADIOLUS. 
( Continued from page 102.) 
In my two former papers I described the culture of 
these fine flowers in beds and in pots. Those in beds, 
I suppose to be of the finest varieties ; but there are two 
or three species that are worthy of a placo in the mixed 
border, for even the G. communis, when in bloom, is as 
showy a flower as any in the border. The species I 
mean are Byzantinus, deep red; communis, red; florce- 
bundus, whitish; and psittacinus, yellow and red. These 
are all very cheap, the first, Is. 6d. a dozen; the second, 
Is.; the third, 2s.; and the fourth, 2s. for the same 
number. 
Plant them in clusters of four or five each in the 
border, but first make a little preparation for them, by 
taking out two spadefuls of the soil, and putting in half 
a spade full of well-decomposed manure at the bottom of 
each hole, level the.soil in upon it, and then plant the 
bulbs three inches deep. In such situations they may 
remain for three years, and then, when at rest, take 
them up and separate the small bulbs, and replant the 
large ones, after fresh preparing the stations for them. 
The smaller bulbs may be planted as I shall describe 
presently, under the head Propagation. 
Propagation: by Seed .—As these roots propagate freely 
enough by offsets, it is not worth the trouble of raising 
seedlings merely for the sake of increasing the number 
of plants of any distinct species. The great object of 
this mode of increase is to obtain improved varieties, 
combining superior form, colour, size, and substance. 
This improvement cannot be obtained so certainly by 
merely saving the seed of any variety that will produce 
it. Like all other florist’s flowers, hybridization must be 
resorted to, and that with considerable taste, forethought, 
and discernment. Choose, first, a well-formed flower, 
that is, with the petals as broad as possible, each petal 
or division so placed as to be salver-shaped; the three 
lower divisions larger than the upper, and a little more 
turned back, so as to show the beautiful markings on 
each, the upper petals being seldom marked; the throat 
or tube should be stout, and not more than one-and-a- 
half inch long. Such a shaped flower should be chosen 
as the one to bear seed. Then select a higher-coloured 
or better-marked flower, and dust the pollen of its 
anthers upon the stigma of the fine-formed flower, 
removing, previously, its own anthers; cover the flower, 
then, with some lino net muslin, to keep off the bees 
and flies. You have, then, so far as lies in your power, 
done your utmost to improve your flower. As soon as 
the seed is ripe, which may be known by the pod turning 
yellow and beginning to crack at the sides, gather it in 
the pods, and lay them on paper, in a window facing the 
morning sun. The pods will open very soon, and the 
seed may then be cleaned out from them and put by in 
a dry room till the sjiring. 
This carefully-saved seed should be sown in pans, or 
shallow boxes, in March, placed in gentle heat; or, if 
the quantity saved is large, it may be sown on a gentle 
hotbed under a one or two-light frame, facing the south. 
The compost described in a former paper for the beds 
will be proper for the seed. Level the surface and pat 
it down gently. That in pans, or boxes, with a flat 
pieco of wood; and if a frame is used, with the back of 
a clean spade. This pressing down is to make the 
surface even and smooth, so that the seed may be 
equally covered. Sow it so thin that every seed shall 
have a quarter-of-an-inch square to grow in. When 
the seed is sown, then, through a fine sieve, cover it about 
the thickness of a penny-piece ; give a gentle watering, 
and keep it close till the small grass-like seed-leaves 
appear; then give air daily, watering only when the 
surface is dry. In this stage the plants are fine food 
for slugs, therefore keep a keen w’atch for them, and 
destroy them every one. As the plants advance in 
growth increase the water and air; and finally, about 
the middle of May, expose them fully to the weather 
every day, only protecting them from heavy rains or 
late frosts. Towards the middle of June they may be 
exposed day and night. If all this has been judiciously 
attended to they will be growing freely through the 
summer. One point I had nearly forgot, but it must 
be attended to, and that is, the seeds of the summer¬ 
blowing varieties, such as ramosus, should be sown in a 
separate bed from the late bloomers, such as gandavensis, 
because the foliage of the former will sooner decay, and, 
consequently, the young bulbs will sooner be ripe and 
fit to take up ; whereas, if mixed, the late growers would 
be at that time still growing, and there would be 
danger of the early ones starting their fresh roots. Sow 
them then separately, so as to have all the new bulbs 
ripened together. 
When the leaves are decayed, procure a very fine 
sieve, and pass the surface-soil to the depth of one inch 
through it, picking out every bulb, however small; and 
when all are gathered, dry them very slowly, and put 
them away. This, for the early bloomers, should take 
place about the end of July; for the late bloomers, in 
October. The former should be planted in September, 
in drills four inches apart, in a prepared bed; cover 
them three inches deep with fine soil, and protect them 
from severe frost by a covering of two inches of spent 
tanner’s bark. In the spring, remove a portion of this 
before the leaves appear, to admit the warmth of the 
season to enter the soil. In this bed they should 
remain two seasons, and by that time the bulbs will 
have attained a considerable size. They may then, 
when the foliage decays, be taken up, and the largest 
bulbs be sorted out and planted in a bed to flower. The 
late-blooming varieties may be managed exactly in a 
similar way, only taking them later, and planting them 
later also. 
The smaller bulbs, not likely to flower, should be 
planted, at the usual time, in the nursery-bed, to grow 
larger another season. 
As the seedlings bloom, all the decidedly-improved 
varieties should be marked and named, and afterwards 
treated as the older-established varieties. 
T. Appleby. 
(To be continued.) 
STOVE FERNS. 
(Continued from page 82). 
Cassebeera i’ed at a (Bird’s-footed).—A West Indian 
Fern, of a dwarf habit, and very beautiful. The fronds 
are divided into five parts, something like a bird’s claws. 
Each division is pinnated, and droops gracefully down¬ 
wards. The stems are black, and the whole plant does 
not grow more than nine or ten inches high. It is a 
rather delicate species, and thrives better with a mix¬ 
ture of charcoal amongst the soil. Increased, rather 
slowly, by its creeping rhizoma. 
Ceratopteris. — Keras, a horn, and pteris, a Fern, 
that is, a Fern bearing a horn: a stag's horn, 1 suppose, 
is meant, because the fertile fronds are divided and 
twisted something like the branching horns of an old 
stag. These fertile fronds are very curious. The seed- 
cases are distributed, at regular distances, on the under 
