Talks about Flowers Part 4

A Talk About Gladiolus.

"Posthumous glories, angel-like collection, Upraised from seed or bulb interred in earth, Ye are to me a type of resurrection And second birth."

It was my intention to devote this entire article to "Ornamental Foliage Plants," but I think I will have a prelude, and my prelude may have no more connection with my "talk" proper than Mr. Cook's preludes do with his lecture proper, and I think that frequently the first is the most interesting and important; and from the fact that in the published reports much more s.p.a.ce is afforded to the prelude than the lecture, I opine that others are of the same opinion. "The Topic of the Hour,"

whatever may be the question just then stirring the public mind, is usually chosen as the preface. The topic of the hour to-day has been a bit of a sermon from the text, "And to every seed its own body," and the lesson embodied was that of Faith. The preaching came from a package of gladiolus bulbs, just received, and it run on this wise:

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Here are these dry bulbs, separately wrapped and labeled. They look alike in color, and very nearly alike in form; some are rather more cone shaped than others. One is larger and more flat. But there is nothing in form nor size to show that they will not develop precisely the same form and color of flower. I know that they will all reveal the leaf, habit of growth, bud and bloom that distinguishes this species of plant from all others, because I know that these are gladiolus bulbs, and every seed hath its own body. A gladiolus bulb never yet produced a dahlia. A tigridia or sh.e.l.l-flower bulb, though greatly resembling some gladiolus bulbs, and its form of leaf is very similar, yet it never produces a bud nor blossom like the gladiolus. The tigridia hath "its own body,"

peculiarly and exclusively its own. I have spoken thus far of demonstrated facts--facts that have become to me a matter of personal knowledge.

But now comes the lesson of _Faith_. I find each bulb bears a different name. I take my catalogue and read the description against the name on each label. Thus I am told what colors pertain to each bulb, inclosed, shut up beyond my ken. Do I have any doubts respecting these descriptions--that the distinguishing characteristics of each sort before me will fail to correspond? Here is _Lord Byron_ and _Lord Raglan_. How do I know that the former will be a brilliant scarlet, stained and ribboned with pure white, while the latter will have salmon colored blossoms, spotted with scarlet and blotched with dark garnet? I do not _know_ this, for I have never seen it demonstrated, but I have an _a.s.sured faith_ that in due time I shall behold those flowers true to their a.s.signed colors, and if there should be a failure I should attribute it to the mistake of the labeler.

But why should these brown bulbs, so alike to outward view, bear flowers so widely differing in hues? Why should _Cleopatra_ have a large flower of soft lilac tinged with violet, and a purple feathered blotch, while _Meteor_ is dark red with pure white stain? Why should _Nestor_ be yellow striped with red, and _Addison_ dark amaranth, with white stripes? Vainly would I seek by dissection to fathom the mystery of these hidden diversified markings, but He who created this plant of wondrous beauty gave to each "seed its own body," and thus we can plant in faith--yea in full a.s.surance of faith--that in due time our eyes will behold all those varied tints now secreted in these bulbs before us.

Our seed sowing is all the work of Faith, and Hope looks beyond with bright antic.i.p.ations of the summer and autumn harvest.

The gladiolus is very easily cultured, and I have far better success in keeping the bulbs through the winter than I have with the dahlia. The tubers of the dahlia easily rot, on account of the dampness of the cellar, though carefully dried and packed in sand. But the gladiolus bulbs, without any special care, come out in fine condition. I like to add a few new ones to my old standard stock, so as to have a variety of colors, for few flowers make such a grand display in the flower garden, and the spikes of bloom are admirable for bouquets, as the buds will unfold day after day for a long time. The lower flowers on the stalk can be removed as they fade. The flowers are very fine also for saucer or shoal dish bouquets. I have a special liking for these. Fill the shallow dish with water or sand--I prefer the latter kept constantly wet--then arrange tastefully short stemmed flowers till they are a ma.s.s of bloom.

I first make a green border of geranium leaves, or some trailing vine.

Different shades of gladiolus flowers picked from the stalk are very effective to set off the flowers not so striking. Where the season for out-door culture is short, as it is here in Maine, it is best to get the bulbs started in the house. Some do this by simply placing them in a sunny window without covering. I always plant mine in a box.

The gladiolus can be raised from seed, but they are of slow growth, and one has to wait till the third summer usually for their flowering. It is far better to purchase the bulbs, then they bloom the first season, and, except some of the rare sorts, multiply rapidly. Although novelties, and some rare sorts are very expensive, $1.50, $2 and $3 for a single bulb, yet very fine bulbs of choice colors can be obtained for that price _per dozen_. In reply to the question, "What are the names of six of your finest gladiolus not very expensive?" the reply is, "Calypso, Cleopatra, Agatha, Eldorado, James Carter and Lord Byron." These six cost but little more than $1. Of those more expensive the following are very desirable: Addison, Eugene Scribe, Etenard, La France, Meyerbeer and Rossini. These cost a little less than $3. Unnamed bulbs, a good variety, can be bought for $1 per dozen of reliable florists.

Of the new varieties sent out the present season for the first time, are the following raised during the past year by M. Souchet, M. Leomine and other French growers, who have for years made the improvement of the gladiolus a special study. They are said to be superior to any gladiolus. .h.i.therto introduced. Aurore, Bremontier, Chameleon, Corinne, Dalila, Eclair, Gulliver, Hermione, Lesseps, Tolma, Victor Jacquemont. The descriptions represent them as superb, and they ought to be at the price named, $4 per bulb! Some of us will have to wait till their novelty is worn off.

NEW HYBRID GLADIOLUS.

_Lemoinei_ and _Marie Lemoine_. "These two varieties are Hybrids of gladiolus purpureo-auratus, and are of the old garden varieties of Gandavensis, and are now offered for the first time. In form they approach the old Gladiolus Biperatus, the colors being creamy ground with distinct markings of crimson-maroon, with lemon and salmon colored cloudings. They have proved quite hardy and may be left out of doors from year to year." Mr. Henry Cannell of Swanley, England, a florist of world-wide reputation, says of those hardy Hybrids: "It is considered both by professionals and the trade, that M. Leomine's greatest victory was in crossing Gladiolus purpureo-auratus and gandavensis, two distinct species, and at the time they were awarded first-cla.s.s certificates, it was thought by many that some higher and substantial recognition ought to have been made for introducing a perfectly hardy const.i.tution into our glorious garden gladiolus, and saving the trouble of housing them from frost every season."

GLADIOLUS PURPUREO-AURATUS.

This is a new species from Natal, quite distinct from the common species of gladiolus and very attractive. On a slender, bending stem, which rises to the height of three or four feet, are borne from eight to twelve nodding flowers, somewhat bell-shaped in form, and yellow in color, with broad purple stripes on the lower divisions within. Its bulbs are small, and at the end of long runners numerous offsets are produced which are more certain to flower the succeeding season than are the old bulbs.

GLADIOLUS GANDAVENSIS.

This ancient type is a very ordinary flower, and it seems almost incredible that such superb varieties should have been produced therefrom by cross-fertilization. In the hands of the French florists it has attained to the superior position it occupies to-day. More than forty years ago Mons. Souchet, head gardener at the Chateau of Fontainebleau, first called attention to this flower, and began its improvement, and although some few other French florists, such as Messrs. Courant, Berger, Lamoine, Verdier and others followed his example, yet nearly all of the varieties now in commerce in France, are of the raising of that now venerable and respected private citizen. His successors, Messrs. Soulliard and Brunelet supply the great French houses of Paris, by whom the bulbs are forwarded to all parts of the world. About thirty years ago Mr. Kelway of Longport, in Somersetshire, began his culture and hybridizing of the flower, and has built up an immense business. He devotes fifteen acres to Gladiolus exclusively, and the number of seedlings annually raised is 200,000. In 1879-80, Mr.

Kelway exhibited eighteen named seedlings which were severally awarded first-cla.s.s certificates as possessing striking original characteristics. Of our own eminently successful growers, Messrs.

Hallock and Thorp of Queens, N. Y., take the lead. They devote over seven acres to Gladiolus, and raise thousands of seedlings.

MODE OF CULTURE.

For diversity of color and general effect, either in ma.s.ses, or in beds of three or four rows, placing the bulbs one foot apart and three inches deep. Mix a liberal supply of well-rotted manure with the soil, and if clayey, use sand. As soon as the plants are sufficiently tall stake them, and mulch with dressing.

The Use of Flowers.

G.o.d might have made the earth bring forth Enough for great and small, The oak-tree and the cedar-tree, Without a flower at all.

We might have had enough, enough, For every want of ours, For luxury, medicine, and toil, And yet have had no flowers.

Then wherefore, wherefore, were they made, All dyed with rainbow light, All fashioned with supremest grace, Upspringing day and night;-- Springing in valleys green and low, And on the mountains high, And in the silent wilderness, Where no man pa.s.ses by?

Our outward life requires them not,-- Then wherefore had they birth?-- To minister delight to man, To beautify the earth; To comfort man,--to whisper hope, Whene'er his faith is dim, For Who so careth for the flowers, Will care much more for him.

MARY HOWITT.

A Talk About Pelargoniums.

"And so I hold the smallest flower Some gracious thought may be; Some message of the Father's love Mayhap to you or me."

Here we step on disputed ground. Are Geraniums Pelargoniums? Who shall decide when florists disagree? There are eminent names on both sides of the question. Mr. Henry Cannell of Swanley, England, a florist who stands in the front rank, and whose name has become so widely known in connection with _New Life_ Geranium, of which he was the originator, jumbles up together under the head of Pelargoniums everything we on this side of the water cla.s.s under the head of Geraniums. A veritable muddle he makes of the matter--that is our private opinion--we whisper it to you confidentially. Here is our yellow Zonal _Guinea_; our best scarlet bedder, _Gen. Grant_, and _Wellington_, and _Mrs. Pollock_, and _Happy Thought_, all called Pelargoniums, and yet are quite unlike in leaf and flower what we Americans denominate a Pelargonium; and, to avoid confusion, it is certainly advisable for us to adhere to our established distinctiveness. We quote from the _Gardener's Chronicle_ of January 3d, 1880, a sensible talk on this subject, to which Mr. Cannell takes exceptions: "Pelargoniums and Geraniums--I think it would be as well to settle by authority the exact names of those flowers that seem to be indiscriminately called Pelargoniums and Geraniums. Botany has been described as the 'science of giving polysyllabic barbarian Greek names to foreign weeds;' but while some plants, Abies Mariesii for instance, are most carefully described, others, as Geraniums, seem to be called by names that do not belong to them, but to quite a different flower. I notice, both in your letter-press and advertis.e.m.e.nt, mention made of Zonal Pelargoniums; now I should certainly decline to receive Geraniums if I ordered Pelargoniums. I am old enough to remember that we had a parti-colored green-house flower of a violet shape that was called a Geranium, then came a lot of hardy-bedding-out stuff with a truss of red flowers, all of one color, followed by _Tom Thumbs_ and _Horseshoes_ which grow nicely out of door. Then we were told that we must no longer call those green-house plants _Geraniums_, that their right and proper name was Pelargoniums, and that those bedding-out plants were, strictly speaking, Geraniums. Now, however, the old name Geranium seems to be dropped for both, and the new name Pelargonium given to both, surely erroneously! Let us, however, have it fairly settled which is which, so that we may clearly and distinctly know what we are talking about, and not make mistakes either in writing or talking, in sending to shows, or in ordering plants."--_James Richard Haig, Blair Hill, Sterling._

We will now give a part of a lecture delivered last spring before a Pelargonium Society in London, by Shirley Hibberd, a delightful writer on Horticulture, says Mr. Vick, from whose magazine we quote the following:

"A Pelargonium is not a Geranium, although often so called. The true Geraniums are for the most part herbaceous plants inhabiting the northern hemisphere, and the Pelargoniums are for the most part shrubby or sub-shrubby plants of the southern hemisphere. Let us for a moment wander among the pleasant slopes of Darley dale in Derbyshire, or by the banks of the Clyde or the Calder. We shall in either case be rewarded by seeing vast sheets of the lovely meadow Crane's Bill, Geranium pratense, a true Geranium, and one of the sweetest flowers in the world. In the rocky recesses of Ashwood Dale, or on the banks of the 'bonny Doon,' we may chance to see in high summer a profusion of the Herb Robert, Geranium Robertianum, with pink flowers and purple leaves, a piece of true vegetable jewelry. And, once more, I invite you to an imaginary journey, and we will ride by rail from Furness to Whitehaven, in order to behold on the railway bank, more especially near St. Bees, a wonderful display of the crimson Crane's Bill, Geranium sanguineum, which from July to September, forms solid sheets, often of a furlong in length, of the most resplendent color. No garden coloring can even so much as suggest the power of this plant as it appears at a few places on the c.u.mberland coast; even the sheets of scarlet poppies we see on badly cultivated corn lands are as nothing compared with these ma.s.ses of one of the most common and hardiest of our wild flowers.

"Now let us fly to the other side of the globe and alight in the vicinity of the Cape of Good Hope, say on the vast desert of Karroo, where there is much sand, much sunshine, and little rain. Here, in the midst of desolation, the world is rich with flowers, for the healthy shrub that occurs in patches, glowing with many bright hues, consists in part of wild Pelargoniums, which often take the form of miniature deciduous trees, although in the valleys, nearer the coast, where more rain falls, they are evergreen bushes.

"Very different in their character are these two tribes of plants, and they are not less different in their const.i.tution and aspects. We may regard the Geraniums as herbs of Europe, and the Pelargoniums as miniature trees of Africa. When we examine the flowers, we find the fine petals of a true Geranium of precisely the same shape and size; but the fine petals of a Pelargonium are not so, for sometimes the topmost are the largest, and stand apart from the rest with great dignity, like mother and father looking down on their dutiful daughters, and in other cases they are the smallest, suggesting that the daughters have grown too fast and become unmanageable. The florists are doing their utmost to obliterate the irregularity of the petals of the Pelargonium, and in this respect to convert Pelargoniums into Geraniums, but the conversion will not be complete until much more wonderful things are accomplished.

A Geranium has ten stamens, and a Pelargonium has only seven (perfect ones). These numbers are not constant, but the exceptions are of no consequence in a general statement of the case.

"When all is said that can be said about the differences and resemblances of the several genera of Geraniaceae, there remains only one constant and unfailing test of a true Pelargonium, and that is the nectariferous tube immediately below the flower, and running down one side of the flower-stalk. If you hold the pedicel up to the light, it may be discerned as giving an indication of a double flower-stalk, but when dissected with a pin or the point of a knife, it is found to proceed from the base of the largest of the green sepals, and it often appears to form a sort of digit or point in the line of the pedicel.

When you have mastered this part of the story, you may cherish the idea that you know something about Pelargoniums.

"The large flowered show varieties and the large-flowered single Zonals take the lead, and they are pleasantly followed by a crowd of ivy-leaved, double-flowered and variegated sorts that are useful and beautiful. The Pelargonium Society has set up a severe standard of judging, and a variety must be distinct and good to pa.s.s through the sieve. Moreover the raising of varieties has been to a great extent reduced to scientific principles, and we obtain as a result new characters suggestive of the great extent of the field that still lies open to the adventurous spirit in cross-breeding. No one in recent years has contributed more directly toward the scientific treatment of the subject than our own painstaking Treasurer, Dr. DENNY, of whose labors I propose to present a hasty sketch.

"Dr. DENNY commenced the raising of Pelargoniums in the year 1866, having in view to ascertain the influence of parentage, and thus to establish a rule for the selection of varieties for seed-bearing purposes. In raising varieties with variegated leaves, as also with distinct and handsome flowers, he found the pollen parent exercised the greatest influence on the offspring. The foundation of his strain of circular-flowered Zonals was obtained by fertilizing the large starry flowers of Leonidas with pollen taken from the finely formed flowers of Lord Derby. From 1871 to the present time Dr. DENNY has sent out sixty varieties, and he has in the same period raised and flowered, and destroyed about 30,000. These figures show that when the selection is severe, and nothing is allowed to pa.s.s that is not of the highest quality, there must be 500 seedlings grown for the chance of obtaining one worth naming."

We have devoted a good deal of s.p.a.ce to this citation because of its interest and value on the question at issue. Mr. Hibberd has, we think, made the matter very clear, and conclusive it must be to the most of minds. Pelargoniums are divided into cla.s.ses, though we rarely see any cla.s.sifications of them in the catalogues.

REGAL PELARGONIUMS

Are comparatively a new type, and from the fact of their having more scalloped petals, somewhat approaching a double; they retain their petals instead of shedding them as do the single show flowers. The Beauty of Oxton and Queen Victoria, novelties of very recent introduction, belong to this cla.s.s. We had them in bloom last year and thought them very fine. The Beauty of Oxton has the upper petals of a very rich maroon color, darkly blotched; under petals very dark crimson, shaded with maroon; light center tinted with rose. All the petals are attractively and regularly margined with white and beautifully fringed.

The flowers are large and the extra number of petals gives them the appearance of being semi-double.

Queen Victoria is of a very novel type and marvelously beautiful. The flowers have crispy petals, all of which are a rich vermilion in color, broadly margined with white, and the upper ones blotched with maroon.

The "Show and Fancy Pelargoniums" have what the florists term "blotches," i.e. large spots on the two upper petals, and "spots" which mean the darker marks upon the center of the lower ones. The Lady of the Lake belongs to this cla.s.s. Lower petals orange-rose painted with crimson, very dark maroon top petals with a narrow, even crimson edge, white center. Prince Charlie is very unique in its markings. Color white elegantly tipped, with rose-violet blotches.

FRINGED AND STRIPED PELARGONIUMS.