796 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
September 19, 1903. 
A somewhat similar case on a small scale occurs to us which 
ha® been, used both lor the watering of Orchids, and for drinking 
water. We refer to chalk water to which more lime was added 
in, order to precipitate the chalk in the water and render the 
latter both clean and soft. This requires very careful adjusts 
ment and scientific skill, but in, the case of water for domestic 
purposes, wei believe it answered well, and is still in use. 
We should like to see the system of purification more applied 
to 1 waters used for garden purposes than is: the case at the 
present time. We frequently hear of the failure of crops of 
Tomatos, Carnations, Cucumbers, and Melons by nematodes, 
worms which may have been introduced with the soil. Thera 
is reason to suspect, however, that in many cases contamination 
of this kind has been brought to< the roots of the plants by 
means of the water. Water that is allowed to' stand for a 
certain length of time always contains impurities of an or¬ 
ganic nature which supports animal life of some kind, which 
may be described as parasitic and injurious to* human beings 
who may drink the water, or to' plants which may be watered 
with it, according to the bacteria, and other enemies which may 
be present. Small tanks may not, be so dangerous as large 
one®, because they are likely to be frequently emptied, but in 
tanks of large size organic matter may continue to accumulate 
as well as injurious organisms of the kind we have just named. 
The organic matter in the water affords these micro-organisms 
the means of subsistence, so> that standing or stagnant water" 
is always a standing danger for this reason. Now, if by means, 
of some insecticide, fungicide, or other agent, these tanks: could 
be purified, it Avould be the means: of saving many a, valuable 
crop of plants which would otherwise become infested with 
enemies from this particular source. This is a point that, may 
never have occurred to cultivators when having large tanks, 
built for the holding of water, but it would be well when 
losing valuable crops of any garden product cultivated under 
glass, either in houses: or frames, to ascertain whether the 
source of the disorder came from the water-tanks, and, if so, 
it would be desirable for some scientific worker to ascertain, 
what would purify the tanks of these organisms of the lower 
orders without rendering the water harmful to 1 the cultivated 
plants. 
All the facts relating to the automatic purification by Vial’s 
system are set forth in a, pamphlet published at the Economic 
Printing Press, 38, Rue de Treves, Brussels, by A. Breuar. 
We think it unnecessary to go into all the details, but think 
that once it lias, been established that polluted water can be 
purified by a process so quick, simple, and easy, it may 
be applied in many other cases that would benefit people in 
general and cultivators in particular. An, article on the subject 
has also been published by “ Le Patriot©,” Brussels, on the 
27th ult. The editor recently recalled the fact that the pro¬ 
vincial government of his country held an, assembly of all the 
burgomaster's: of the Communes of 1 Brabant, and the pr ovince of 
Antwerp 1 traversed by the Seine, for the purpose of finding 
some means: of remedying the dangers of infection by the river. 
Several solutions were proposed, among others to create a 
new vaulted bed for the Seine, ini order' to continue the opera,- 
tion of collecting as far as the Escaut, but this propositi on 
brought protestations, from the Antwerp representatives', for 
the deodorisation would not haA r e been sufficient during the 
journey in closed conduits, and the metropolis would be in¬ 
fected. Reservoirs of polluted waters become the breeding 
grounds of mosquitos, and the water also filters into' the soil 
and contaminates the superficial water-collecting area® from 
which the wells of the country derive their water 1 supply. The 
consequences of the pollution of the waters of the Seine have 
been remarked for a, long time past, and have 1 engaged the 
attention of the public authorities:. Typhoid fever and enteric 
maladies have increased to a disastrous extent in that region. 
The contaminated water gives rise to: deleterious miasma, be¬ 
sides bringing numerous cases of anaemia, and loss of life. It 
will thus be seen that the purification of the Seine is a, matter 
of primal}" importance. Nor can we forget that many of our 
own rivers at home, including the Thames, are in as bad a 
condition. 
Gladioli from Langport. 
(See Supplement^) 
Some two or three weeks ago we received a box of spikes of 
Gladioli, cut full length, from Messrs. Kelway and Son, Lang¬ 
port, Somerset. As our readers are well aware, Messrs. Kelway 
cultivate Gladioli extensively, and are the leading raisers of 
this class of plants in Britain. It is unnecessary, therefore, to 
give a review of what they have been doing for years past, 
beyond stating that they have large exhibits of Gladioli at the 
more important London shows, and that both by their numbers, 
the size of the spikes and the flowers, as well as their beautiful 
colours, they never fail to attract a large amount of attention 
from visitors. On this occasion we shall refer in detail to those 
beautiful named varieties which reached our office, and six of 
which appear in our supplement. 
One of the finest in the whole collection was that named 
Edward VII. Six flowers were open at one time, and so large 
were they that the spike measured about Tin. or Sin. across 
the base, being almost triangular in outline. The flowers were 
bright scarlet, slightly flaked towards the edges with rose. One 
or two of the lower segments had a large marbled crimson 
blotch on the centre of a creamy area, and from this, as well 
as the great expanse of the flower, we concluded that G. Saun- 
dersii had something to do- with the parentage. 
The contrast between the above and Lady White was a erv 
great indeed. Pure white Gladioli are relatively scarce, but 
this might be reckoned one of them after the flowers have fully 
developed, with the exception of a purple line down the centre 
of cue or two of the lower segments, and some purple at the 
very base of the funnel-shaped throat. Nine flowers were fully 
expanded, and the spike carried eleA^en others in the bud state. 
A yellow one we also considered took a leading place in the 
collection, on account of the very distinct colour, AA'hich we 
might describe as a soft chrome-yellow with a large' crimson 
red blotch on the lower segments, but chiefly conspicuous 
only on the lowermost one. The base of the throat also 1 had a 
rayed crimson star. In this case five of the flowers were ex¬ 
panded, and twelve or more buds AA'ere carried upon the top of 
the main spike. The base of this variety carried two branches, 
each of which Avould have in time deA r eloped secondary spikes 
of sufficient length to be suitable for cut floAvers in vases. 
This variety was named Empress' Frederick, and judging 
from the colour as well as the blotch in the throat and^the 
rather smaller size of the flowers, av© consider this is one of 
the Lemoinei hybrids, produced by crossing Gladiolus purpureo- 
auratus Avith some of the gandavensis. strain. Even for the 
Lemonei type the flowers mark a great advancement in size 
and colour upon the original crosses. G. purpureo-auratus 
itself has really very small flowers, but the colour, and particu¬ 
larly the purple blotch upon the' lower segment, is a marked 
feature of it, and in Empress Frederick we have this evidence 
of its origin. 
Mrs. H. CornAvallis West is a very handsome striped variety. 
The stripes were mostly confined towards the margin, and con¬ 
sisted of various combinations of purple, rose and crimson, 
the latter colour being most in eAndence on the three outer 
segment®, but extending to all the othera Seven of the flowers 
A\ T ere open, and on the same spike were 1 fifteen buds ini various 
stages of advancement. The lower segment or lip had a large 
primrose yellow blotch. 
Sir A. Gaselee was a A r ery vigorous type, carrying seven huge 
expanded flowers and thirteen others in the unexpanded state. 
The lower portion of the stem was also branched, carrying two 
strong secondary spikes, on one: of which we counted a dozen 
blooms, which in itself would make a tolerably conspicuous 
spike when fully developed. The flowers of this variety were 
of enormous 1 size, crowding each other, and might be described 
a.s a soft lilac-purple, variously mottled with purple and scarlet. 
Avbile the lower segments had a large purple blotch, deepening 
towards the centre and surrounding a white central band, such 
as we frequently see in early flowering Gladioli. 
A very pleasing light-coloured variety was: that named Miss 
G. W. Willock, delicately flaked and mottled with soft salmon 
