. THE 
FLORIST’S JOURNAL. 
August 1 , 1842. 
THE GLADIOLUS, 
WITH AN ENGRAVING OF G. ATROROSEUS AND G. PATENS. 
This lovely genus is fast advancing to a very high station 
among florist’s flowers, and a very natural and highly orna¬ 
mental addition it is to the group of plants so denominated. 
The selection of this genus for improvement by means of cross¬ 
impregnation reflects great credit on the cultivators of it, as it 
exhibits a thorough knowledge of the physiological characters of 
the genus, and a sound judgment in the choice of individual 
species selected from such improvement. The Gladiolus forms 
part of the natural order Irideee—an order composed of plants 
possessing the greatest claims on our notice, from their extreme 
beauty and the great ease with which, for the most part, they 
are cultivated. This order is distributed throughout America, 
Europe, and the southern parts of Africa : the Gladiolus is 
found in greatest abundance in the neighbourhood of the Cape 
of Good Hope, where, blooming among antholyzas, sparaxis, 
and a thousand other plants of the same beautiful order, it im¬ 
parts to the herbage of those places that indescribable charm 
which has enchanted all observers. Our first importation from 
thence was about the year 1745, though G. communis and 
byzantinus were known to us at a much earlier period. Since 
that time our collections have been enriched a thousand fold by 
the zealous exertions of collectors abroad and the spirited and 
well-directed efforts of cultivators and patrons at home. Among 
the most assiduous cultivators of this and almost every other 
VOL. III. NO. VIII. 
T 
