August 22, 1903. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
713 
Gladiolus Fire King. 
Several species and hybrids of Gladiolus are grown, in gardens 
under the general term of early flowering Gladioli, and prove 
useful here for garden decoration or cut-flower purposes. Very 
frequently they are grown in pots for the decoration of the 
oreenhouse or conservatory, and there is an impression that 
they are less hardy than they really are. They can, however, 
be cultivated in the open with as great facility as the later- 
flowering Gandavensis strain, and other large flowering types. 
The variety Fire King is notable for its size and colour even 
amongst thes-e early flowering types. The general colour of 
the segments is bright orange-scarlet, with a crimson band 
upon each of the three lower segments, enclosing a blotch that 
shades from purple into white. These blotches ar e of frequent 
occurrence amongst tire early flowering Gladioli, and give the 
flowers, as a rule, a bright and sparkling appearance. The 
accompanying illustration shows three sprays of bloom of this 
variety selected from a large collection grown by 
Messrs. Ban- and Son in their nurseries at Ditton 
Hill, Suirey, and shown by them at Regent’s Park on 
July 4th last. _ 
Dianthus neglectus. 
The genus Dianthus is a veiy large one, and in¬ 
cludes species from various parts of the world, but, 
notwithstanding their beauty, relatively few of them 
receive that recognition in gardens which they de¬ 
serve. About 300 have been described by botanists, 
so that the larger proportion of them represents the 
neglect to which the Pinks generally are subjected. 
A "Carnation and Pink garden might indeed be en¬ 
tirely furnished or planted with the species of Dian¬ 
thus alone, and the collection would certainly form a 
pretty and interesting one. We throw out this hint 
for the benefit of those who are looking around for 
some class of plant of which to make a hobby. A 
large number of them, including the Carnation and 
the Pink of the florist., are found in Europe.; that 
is, the wild types of those plants. The plant under 
notice is also a European species, and in some re¬ 
spects differs from the great bulk of the species. 
The leaves are dark green, instead of being’ glaucous, 
as is most usually the case. They are linear, and 
form compact tufts, from which the short stems arise. 
The stems are only 3 in. or 4 in. high, furnished with 
a few leaves, and terminate in a solitary flower, that 
is relatively large for so small a plant. A well- 
furnished plant is a decided ornament on a. rockery. 
Tire wedge-shaped petals are all a deep rose-red and 
merely toothed at the outer end, not. fringed, as in the common 
garden Pink. Altogether, then, this species possesses great 
distinctness, and also a beautiful appearance, which recom¬ 
mends it for more general culture in the rock garden. 
Ostrowskia magnifies. 
This is a giant-flowered Campanula, for such it may be 
termed, its. stature, especially the size of its flowers, being 
“ titanic,” whilst the difference ’twixt it and Campanula is 
trifling, chiefly depending upon its whorled leaves, the 
numerous divisions of its calyx and corolla, (there being seven 
lobes of each), and the extra number of dehiscing pores of the 
capsule. It forms, an erect, glabrous, herb 3 ft. to. 5 ft. high, 
suitable either for rock garden or warm position in the her¬ 
baceous border. Terminating the stout terete stem are four to 
six flowers, borne in a corymbifomi raceme; these are broadly 
bell-shaped, the limb being comparatively short, seven-lobed, 
each lobe being traversed by five nearly parallel purplish lines, 
the rest of the flower being pale lilac. The calyx lobes, nearly 
equalling the corolla in length, are linear lanceolate, and arise 
from a turbinate much and deeply grooved ovary. It is a native 
of Central Asia, where it was discovered by Dr. Regel, a collector 
who has vastly enriched our gardens with beautiful plants. 
Round the Nurseries. 
Mr. H M. Bradley's Nurseries. 
An example of what can be accomplished in a comparatively 
short time by intelligent application and work, accompanied 
by the necessary knowledge and experience, is afforded by the 
nurseries of Mr. II. M. Bradley, at Peterborough. Five years 
ago this piece of land was acquired by Mr. Bradley when he 
determined to add a. nursery to his growing business as a seeds¬ 
man, experience having demonstrated the desirability of the 
extension. It was. then in a wild, rough state, and when taken 
over absolutely everything had to be done from the beginning, 
much as. though it were a piece of South African veldt or 
prairie of the Far West, although it is situated within a mile 
and a half of Peterborough Cathedral. 
Its appearance the other day, when we had a walk round it, 
Gladiolus Fire King. 
denoted nothing whatever of its primitive condition. It is 
now a highly cultivated, well ordered, and prolific garden, over¬ 
flowing with beautiful flower-life in its proper season. Con¬ 
spicuous. at this time of the year was the space set apart for 
Carnations, which Mr. Bradley is particularly interested in, and 
in which he has been most successful, as is evidenced by the 
number of prizes he has taken at shows during the past two or 
three years. Amongst the new varieties to which our attention 
was drawn was the “ Saxon,” a bloom of a veiy delicate yellow 
shade; also, the T. Henson, a beautiful yellow, fringed with a 
light crimson. A lovely pure white (Lady White) was veiy 
abundant, and a cerise-coloured bloom of a perfect shade, which 
has been named Cerise, was in particularly generous quantity 
and healthy condition. This is. a veiy hardy variety and re¬ 
markable for its free-flowering qualities. A sulphur-coloured 
flower with a. rich pink edge (Duke of Clarence) and one of 
a paler sulphur tint, fringed with deep red (J. P. Brown), next 
claimed attention, and were a few of the newest among the 
many new and old varieties of this very varied flower which 
was growing in such profusion all around. 
Passing through the houses containing tree Carnations and 
Clematis, we came to the field of Roses. The queen of flowers 
was here in almost all varieties and in all stages of growth and 
bloom. The soil appears to be particularly suited tc tlie cul- 
