DEPENDABLE GLADS 
27 
Glad fan has as good chances of producing fine things as the specialist, because the 
best material for this purpose is accessible to all. 
GLAD SEEDLINGS 
I have the best luck getting the seed to set along the latter part of August and 
the first week in September. The summer sun seems to burn the pollen. In the 
heart of the flower you will find a pistil with three branches on the end. The other 
three stems with anthers on their tips are the stamens. The anthers contain the pol¬ 
len. Just as soon as these anthers are shedding the tiny pollen grains, usually about 
the middle of the forenoon, take the whole stamen from the pollen parent either with 
your fingers or a small forceps, and rub the pollen surface on the branches of the pistil 
of the seed parent. This operation may be repeated the following day on the same 
flower. Use only the lower half of the spike for best results. The spikes of the pol¬ 
len parent may be cut and bloomed indoors to protect the pollen from the wind and 
insects. The blooms need not be covered. Chance pollinations by the wind and 
bumble bees is not extensive enough to interfere greatly. It takes about three weeks 
for the pods to develop and ripen, and they should be gathered before they get too 
ripe and burst. 
Plant the seed rather thickly early in the spring in shallow trenches in good rich 
soil. It takes them about three weeks to sprout, and they should be kept thoroughly 
moist. Keep thpm covered with lath frames to protect them from the sun, as the ten¬ 
der blades are easily burned off. When they are dug in the late fall, they are about a 
half inch in diameter, maybe larger. They grow rapidly the following year if planted 
in rich soil ana kept well watered, most of them blooming. Save for a second year's 
trial all that show promise. One of the disappointments connected with this game of 
originating new Glads is the fact that most of these seedlings that show much promise 
the first year or two will deteriorate more or less rapidly thereafter. A few, and it 
is a very few, will maintain their original fine qualities indefinitely, while one in per¬ 
haps ten thousand will even improve on its initial appearance. 
THE KICK IN HYBRIDIZING 
Most of us Kad a sort of humdrum existence, with the same old rounds of the 
same old duties in the same old ruts. Very rare is the privilege afforded us of ad¬ 
venturing into the realms of discovery and invention. Extremely rapid progress is 
just now being made in the improvement of the Glad, and far better varieties are 
confidently expected in the future. The Glad world is eagerly awaiting a good big- 
yellow, for example, or a true blue, or a real orange, or a pink that is pink. Here is 
a chance to contribute something real to progress. This chance may not be big, but 
in that case the hunt is all the more keen on the trail. 
If one has a bed of a few hundred seedlings, no two alike, blooming for the first 
time, there is no keener delight than to watch their unfolding, to go out each morning, 
long before breakfast, to see what has bloomed during the night. There might be a 
world beater out there some fine morning. 
THE HISTORY OF GLADS 
The Glad is a newcomer among cultivated plants. Although there are a few 
species native to Southern Europe and Asia Minor, they never attracted any special 
attention. But it was when the bright colored and varied species of South Africa 
were discovered about a hundred years ago that a great impetus was given to 
Gladiolus improvement. A member of the Iris family, the genus Gladiolus contains 
about one hundred and fifty species, all but fifteen of them native to South Africa. 
The first specimens were brought from the Cape of Good Hope near the beginning 
of the 19th Century. A few of the more promising species were crossed, and several 
resulting strains developed, the most prominent being the “gandevensis” strain. The 
most famous variety of the latter strain was the old red and yellow Brenchleyensis. 
Many breeders of England, France, and Germany, as well as America, have been 
constantly on the job since then seeking newer and finer Glads. 
There are several distinct modern strains, though all Glads are more or less re¬ 
lated. The Primulinus (often shortened to Prim) strain was the result of crossing on 
the large-flowered kinds a recently discovered species called Primulinus, a pure yel¬ 
low, small, hooded Glad. The hybrids have slender, graceful stems, with small blooms, 
nearly all having the upper petal hooded down over the face of the flower. A 
French strain was developed by Lemoine, having a pronounced blotch. The violets 
