FREESIAS, 
Freesias are natives of South Africa, and therefore 
may be roughly classed as “ Cape bulbs.” Their nearest 
alliance is the Gladiolus, and the plant, known to culti¬ 
vators as Freesia refracta, is described by Redoute as 
justify the cultivator in regarding them as species ; but 
intermediate forms are met with, and through these we 
pass from one to the other by minute gradations that no 
one can divide, saying, “ These belong to the first, and 
FREESIAS. 
1.— Leichtiini Maxima (Flowers primrose yellow.) 2.— Refracta Alba (Flowers white). 
Gladiolus refractus. They are irids with the characters 
strongly'marked, and they are so distinct in appearance 
that in all their variations they are readily identified, so 
far as to their generic relationships. How many 
species we have is a question, but the question is a 
narrow one, for the decision lies between one and two. 
F. refracta is sufficiently distinct from F. Leichtiini to 
these to the second.”' It follows, as a rule, for the 
practical man, that the so-called species are likely to 
breed together freely ; as a matter of fact this is the 
case, and it is important to bear in mind that while seed 
may be obtained in plenty by artificial fertilization, it is 
a most rare event for these plants to produce seed when 
left to their own resources. We see within the flower 
