April 24. 
53 
COUNTRY GENTil-#^^ COMPANION. 
in winter; but, of course, if constantly used they would 
not last so long. I have tried unbleached calico for a 
similar purpose, and Jiked it well enough; and though 
it is brown instead of white, I thought, when trying 
some the other day, by holding them up alternately 
between the eye and the sun, that the one allowed as 
many rays of light to pass as the other. Mr. Gardiner, 
however, decidedly prefers the bleached. There is a 
natural tendency amongst us to try and improve even 
upon a good thing, and no doubt many will be thinking 
of several schemes for rendering the calico more clear 
and lasting. If they will be advised, they will let well 
alone. Mr. Gardiner tried oil, and several other mix¬ 
tures, and they all had one effect—accelerated the decay 
and the rottiug of the cloth. I have had several trials 
myself, from Whitney’s composition downwards to 
oiling and waxing; but I found, that on the score of 
economy, and ease in haudling and using, the untouched 
cloth was the best. Many of the modes of preserving 
such fabrics are just as useful as painting green, sappy 
wood,—worse, much worse, than labour lost. 
R. Fish. 
GLORIOSA. 
I noticed, lately, that some reader of The Cottage 
Gardener was enquiring about the culture of a species 
of this geuus, Oloriosa Plantii; and as they are all 
desirable plants, perhaps the information will be useful 
not only to our correspondent, but to all our readers 
that cultivate stove plants. The information will be 
seasonable also, for now is the time to repot the plants 
Some fifteen years ago, I was gardener to G. Young, 
Esq., of Sheaf House, near Sheffield. When there, I 
had a tuber given to me by Mr. Worm aid, of Sion Hill, 
near Thirsk, in Yorkshire, a gentleman that was a very 
successful cultivator of stove plants. This tuber, I 
expected, was the old Oloriosa superbat I grew aud 
flowered it, and it proved to be quite a distinct plant. 
The flowers were of a clear buff-yellow; the petals 
were much broader, and nearly Hat, and it bloomed 
more freely from smaller tubers. I named it G.Jlava, 
but I have every reason to believe that it is the 
same variety that was sent from a continental nursery, 
about seven years since, as a variety of G. surperba, 
under the name of G. Leopoldina, for which a high 
price was charged. I mention this circumstance to 
show how we are, now and then, foolish enough to 
purchase plants that are already in the country under a 
different name. It shows, also, that botanists ought to 
be very cautious in changing the names of plants, for 
such changes frequently lead plant purchasers astray. 
The following are the names of the species as now 
recorded. 
Gloriosa Nepalensis (Nepaul). — Flowers yellow; 
appearing in June; height two feet. Introduced in 
1825. A greenhouse species, but not much known. 
Gloriosa Plantii (Mr. Plant’s). — Bronze-yellow; 
height four feet; from Natal, in Africa. Sent over by 
Mr. Plant, formerly gardener to S. Schroeder, Esq., a 
large grower of Orchids. Mr. Plant went out to Natal 
to collect objects of Natural History for a gentleman, 
and plants on his own account. This handsome species 
of Gloriosa is named in honour of a zealous collector, a 
good, practical gardener, and a very quiet, estimable 
man. 
Gloriosa simplex (Simple).—I only know this plant 
by description. It is said to produce blue flowers; 
grows two feet high ; and is a native of Senegal. I 
should like to see it, but I fear it is extinct in this 
country. 
Gloriosa superba (Superb).—Flowers orange, red, 
and yellow; petals very much twisted, like a corkscrew; 
„ r ;ow9 /eet high. A twining plant, with leaves twisted 
t he base', and tendrils on the points; a fine plant. 
lnlroa' lced 80 l° n § s * nce as 1690. 
Gloric' sa superba Leopoldina. (King Leopold’s).— 
Flowers vei'' ow > P eta ^ s nearly plain, and much broader 
than the specif 8 > g rows six feet high. ancl is a twining 
climber. _ . , . 
Gloriosa vires. " ens (Greenish). - Mowers orange, 
tinted with green ; g/ ows f ° ur feet h | gh ’ *\ nd ¥°°“ S " l 
August. Native of MM zambl( l ue - Introduced in 1823. 
Such is the brief histo/Y °^ hl ? 8 en ™ aud lt8 s P^ ies ' 
The name is unmeaning- - Gloriosa (glorious). Ihere 
are hundreds of flowers that a 1 * 6 mor « glorious; however, 
the name is established, and so ^ 1S betber t0 allow it to 
stand. 
Culture. —They are all tuberous-i 
down through the winter; hence, 
valuable space whilst at rest. , . 
Soil.-^- Like most of the tribe to whn'v they belong 
(Lily-worts), they love a rich soil. I found them to giow 
well in a compost of fibrous peat, light loam, leaf-mould, 
not too much decomposed, and two years old co\ T ' aUD g> ^ 
equal parts, and all thoroughly mixed, but no,/ siUed, 
adding, also, a liberal mixture of roughish, sharp S^nd. 
This compost should be used neither wet nor dry. 
Potting. —As these plants require a rest for nearly 
half the year, the season for potting is any time in Apr. > 
or if there are on the place many bulbs, they might be 
[lotted at twice,—one batch about the end of lebruary, 
and the other at the end of April. This would prolong 
the season of bloom. Some tubers are as much as six 
inches long, and these large ones are generally double, 
something like a pair of fingers united at the base. 
These double tubers must be allowed to remain so; for 
•ooted plants, and die 
^hey take up little 
the least bruise, or breakage, will cause them to rot. 
Such large tubers should have pots in proportion ; at 
least ten inches diameter. To make a splendid 
specimen, three or four of these large tubers may be 
put into a fourteen-inch pot. Smaller bulbs should be 
put into pots of a proportionate size. The old bulbs 
perish every year, so that it is only the bulbs made the 
previous year that will grow. In potting them, observe 
the end of each where it has been joined to the parent; 
place that end lowest. The top of each should be, at 
least, (if large) four inches below the surface; small 
ones need not be so deep. Drain the pots perfectly, and 
then turn the old ball carefully out of the pot, and 
gently separate the soil till the tubers are all found; 
then pot them, aud place them in the stove, giving no 
water for a fortnight; then give just enough to moisten 
the soil, and no more will be required till the shoots 
appear above the surface. The quantity may then be 
increased more and more as the plants advance in 
growth; the most liberal supply should be just belore the 
flowers open. The tall, twining growers will require 
support; the most simple, and yet most effectual, that I 
ever found out, was, for large plants, four or five 
strongish sticks, five feet long, painted green, and 
planted in a circle near the edge of each pot; the shoots, 
as they grew, were tied round and round the outside of 
this circle of sticks, and by the time they reached 
the top of them they were in full flower. Weaker 
plants had a less number and shorter sticks in pro¬ 
portion. As soon as the leaves begin to turn yellow, 
the quantity of water should be reduced greatly; and 
when they are quite yellow withheld entirely. They 
may then be cut down, and the pots laid on their 
sides in any place where frost aud damp cannot reach. 
Propagation by Seed. —Whoever wishes to have a 
great quantity of these showey plants should allow 
the seed to ripen, and sow it in early spring, in wide, 
shallow pans, following the same process in placing the 
young bulbs to rest through the winter; then repotting, 
and growing them on till they are strong enough to flower. 
