THE GLADIOLUS. 
By L. H. Hower. 
CuLTURE,—Gladioli are of the simplest 
culture. Plant at any time from August to 
December, in any fairly good soil, well 
'spaded. Setin rows three inches apart, or 
in masses six inches apart each way. Plant 
in full sun, if possible, andkeep down weeds. 
They bloom from December to May. After 
Autumn, lift.the bulbs, and after removing 
the tops let them dry for two or three weeks 
in any airy position under cover. ‘Then, 
after removing the roots, store them in a 
cellar, or any cool dry place, away from frost, 
for planting again the following spring. 
Good rotten stable manure is the best, 
mixed well with the soil, so that it does not 
come in contact with the bulbs. In light 
soil the bulbs should be planted so as to 
give about three inches of soil over them. 
In very heavy soil they should only have 
about one inch of cover, and always see that 
you cover the bulbs with fine earth, so as to 
give them a chance to grow up Straight, 
otherwise you will not get good flower stalks. 
Many people ask how long will a Gladioli, 
GLADIOLUS, 
after planting, bloom. rom long experience 
I find it depends a great deal on the weather 
and the part of the couutry in which you 
live. Onthe coast and up to about 1500 
feet above the sea level the Lemoines will 
bloom from ro to 12 weeks on the highlands, 
and frosty places from 12 to 14 weeks. The 
Childsi are about a week longer, and the Nan- 
ceianus next. ‘The Gandevensis take from 
about 12 to 14 weeks in cold places, such as 
Mount Victoria. Some of those planted in 
the middle of August did not bloom until the 
middle of December. The soil is only a 
poor, sandy loam, and very little subsoil, so 
‘that in good soil they would grow and bloom 
quicker. There is one great advantage, the 
bulbs grown in poor soil always:do well on 
being moved to richer and warmer growing 
districts. I find that bulbs grown in very. 
rich soil are large and spongy, andare more 
hable to rot in rainy weather and wet soil. 
Bulbs taken up every season do much better 
than those left in the ground.  Gladioli 
should be carefully attended to when the 
stalks are about six inches above ground. 
_ This is the time they should be-kept moist, 
as they are then making most roots. 
_ rent of air. 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
AUGUST Io, 1903. 
Roses. 
Seooonr 
CULTIVATION OF THE ROSE. 
By E. Smiru. 
The following paper, read before the 
South Australian Gardeners’ Society, 
is well worth careful study: 
The Rose has been elected from hun- 
dreds of thousands of beauties from all 
parts of the globe by universal consent the 
queen of flowers, and well she deserves the 
title. It has not only been appreciated at 
all times, but in all climes, and is found in 
every quarter of the globe—in deserts, in 
glaciers, on mountains, in marshes, forests, 
valleys, and on plains. That our. climate 
is well adapted for the cultivation of the 
Rose may be seen by the splendid displays 
at our Shows. At a Show held here in Oc- 
tober, 1869, the Duke of Edinburgh was 
present, and stated that he had never seen 
a finer display of flowers at any of the 
Rose Shows held in England. Well, to ob- 
tain good Roses you must cultivate them, 
and I will endeavor to give in as concise 
a form as possible my experience and prac- 
tice. I will, therefore, begin with 
Som anp SrruaTron. 
I know of no soil but what the Rose 
will grow in with the exception of drift 
sand and soil that contains salt or mag- 
nesia, but the-best of all is a strong allu- 
vial loam inclining to clay; it also grows 
well in heavy calcareous clays. Care, 
however, should be taken in such soils to 
drain when water is likely to lay on or near 
the surface. 
cool subsoil, suits them well. A light sur- 
face soil, with limestone or sand beneath, - 
will grow good Roses, with an abundance 
of manure on the surface, and dug in an- 
nually, but any ordinary garden soil will 
grow them to perfection if properly cared 
for. - 
In choosing a situation for a Rosery on 
a large scale, let it be well open, so that 
the. plants may always have a free cur- 
An open field is suitable for 
them, sheltered round with a hedge of 
some sort; and the Dog Rose, Boursault, 
and Sweet Briar are well adapted for such 
a purpose ; so that you may have all Roses, 
or Roses to shelter Roses, on a small scale. 
They do well planted in double or single 
rows by the sides of walks, in open beds, 
or on lawns, &c. Some people plant their 
Roses under some tree or shrub, and won- 
der why they do not come to perfection. 
They will not stand such a situation, for 
the reason that they are robbed of their 
soil or food by the roots of the tree under 
which they are planted, and also by the’ 
want of a free current of air. I say give 
to the queen of flowers the best situation 
at command, and ‘you will be rewarded by 
her beauty. 
Still, any deep soil, with a 
PropaGation By Seep.—The hips of all 
varieties will be ripe in May or the begin- 
ning of June. They should then be 
gathered and kept entire in a flowerpot 
filled with dry sand, carefully guarded 
from mice. In August they should be 
broken to pieces by hand, and sown in 
beds, boxes, or seed-pans, the latter two not 
too shallow—say from 8 to'9 in. deep. Use. 
a rich compost of rotten manure, loam, or 
peat, with plenty of sand, or an equal part 
of each of the above. Cover the seeds to 
the depth of about half an inch. If in a bed 
the same compost may be worked in near 
the surface. After sowing, let the beds 
or boxes be exposed to light and air, water- 
ing when necessary, and shading on very 
hot days. The seed will germinate and 
show themselves in September. When they 
have formed three or four leaves, exclusive 
of their seed leaves, they may be carefully 
raised, put into small pots, placed in a 
frame or pit, and shaded when necessary. 
If they are wanting to flower early they 
may be repotted in larger pots to grow 
them on, and in some cases they will flower 
the following season. 
Our climate being so well adapted to the 
Rose’s seed-bearing capability ought to 
produce some extra fine varieties if care is 
taken in hybridising. It requires some 
watchfulness to do this at the proper time ; 
if too soon the petals will be injured in 
forcing them open; and in the hot weather 
in September and October, if delayed only 
an hour or two, the anthers will be found 
to have shed their pollen. In order to 
ascertain jprecisely when the pollen is in a 
fit state for transmission, a few of the an- 
thers should be gently pressed with the fin- 
gér and thumb. If the yellow dust ad- 
heres to them the operation may be per- 
formed. It requires close examination. and 
some practice to know when the flower to 
be operated on is in a fit state to receive 
the pollen. Asa rule the flowers ought 
to be in the same state of expansion, or, in 
other words, about the same age. A 
camel’s hair brush is almost the best thing 
to take the pollen from one flower to an- 
other with, the hybridiser selecting the 
varieties he wishes to operate on. J wish 
some of our amateurs would take the work 
in hand, as 1 am sure they would be well 
repaid for their trouble. - 
Propagation or Rosres.—There are four 
other methods of propagation applicable 
to Roses besides by seed, viz., by layers, 
cuttings, grafting, and budding. 
Propagation By LayERING is very useful 
with some varieties, such as Noisettes, Tea- 
scented, and other climbers, as some are 
difficult to strike from cuttings unless 
under very favorable circumstances. About 
the middle of November the shoots will be 
about 18 in. to 30 in. in length. From 
these the leaves should be cut off close to 
the shoot with a very sharp knife, begin- 
ning at the base to about two-thirds of the 
length of the shoot. The shoot must then 
be brought to the ground, so as to be able 
to judge in what place the hole must be 
madd to receive it. This may be made large 
enough to hold a small quantity of compost 
