as an amateur, Same as you would any other flower. Then as your interest in them 
increases you become a “fan,” than a “bug,” than a “‘nut,”’ then finally a “‘fiend.” 
When you reach this final stage you are hopeless. You think of “‘glads” all day, 
dream of them at night, spend every available minute of your time in the garden, 
talk of them, visit the shows, read all the catalogs and spend all your money on 
them. You will look lovingly at the last flower in the fall, ail handle over your bulbs 
in the wintertime and will hardly be able to wait till you can lovingly plant the 
bulbs in the spring. From then till the first bloom appears is a period of happy 
anticipation. When finally the spikes of bloom begin to appear you are in heaven.” 
In which class are you? I have been in the last class for years. 
Have just heard of a still further stage of gladiolus interest. A man writes me 
that he is not a “‘fiend”’ but a “‘damn fool.”’ I think that must be about the last stage. 
CLASSIFICATION 
Classification of Gladiolus is rather a mess. The different gladiolus societies 
use different methods of classification. There is no one method that is universally 
used, though the following is one that several societies are using, and I think will be 
used more extensively in the future. If this method would become universal, it 
would be much better for all concerned. By this method glads are divided into 2 
types and 3 sizes of each type, as follows: | 
Formal or Exhibition 
LARGE 
In this classification blooms are arranged in 2 more or less formal or regular 
rows, the blooms being more or less paired, and usually there are more blooms 
open than in the decorative type. Blooms are 434 inches across or larger. 
MEDIUM 
In this the type is the same, but the blooms are between 344 and 434 inches 
across. 
SMALL 
In this blooms are less than 3% inches across. There are only a very few varie- 
ties in this latter class. 
Informal or Decorative 
LARGE 
In this class the blooms are arranged in more or less an informal or irregular 
placement, and usually but not always have less blooms open than in the formal 
or exhibition type. The blooms are 434 inches or more across. 
MEDIUM 
Same as the above except that the blooms are between 314 and 434 inches in 
diameter. 
SMALL 
Same as above except that blooms are less than 3}4 inches across. 
In my descriptions this year, I am using the above classification method and 
marking each variety as Large, Medium or Small Decorative, or Formal. It is 
difficult to definitely place some varieties in a certain classification as different 
culture will often make a lot of difference in the size of blooms, so I can not guar- 
antee that each variety in my catalog has been put in the proper class, but I have 
done the best I could. Also varieties at different times will make different types of 
spike than they do at other times. About all we can do is to figure on what the 
variety naturally does in the majority of cases under ordinary good cultivation. 
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