Evening star., 1927-04-13

Growing interest in the gladiolus on
the part of the average gardener is re
! tlected in the new books about this
/ flower appearing upon the market TINS
Spring.
Hitherto the gladiolus has had the
most meagGr literature of any OF the
outstanding flowers. Whereas the rose
grower has been able to find any mum
Der of authoritative works upon his
| favorite bloom. the glad fan has
been forced to get along with practi-
caIly nothing
The writer Of these lines last year
made an attempt to buy. for his own
use book about S,ads, and finally
secured. after Intensive slalCh, very
poor work worthless from the stand
point Of the amateur.
The great book catalogue in the
shops "a monumental book il itsel0
lis ed but two volumes, the one pur-
chased and Il paper-hound volume
issued on the Pacific Coast.
This Spring, however. already sees
the issuance of two volumes on TIL"
gladiolus. and undoubtedly more will
follow. for the home gardener, in the
mass is just beginning to wake up TO
the infinite possibilities Of this grand
bulb.
Books are tools, no less than spade
and rake. No garden, in a sense, is
complete without it's bookshelf There
arc many gardeners. too TO whom
nothing is really real until they read
about it, hence the Gladiolus fancie~s
viii welcome the new book upon his
lower.
The G~st of tn, sad books 20 he
conaid red in tlia column is IAe
Cladious and It's culture" bt A. c.
Beal professor Of Horticulture in the
New York State College OF Asricu ture
at Cornell University.
This book issued by the Orange
Judd Publishing co. in the same series
with The Iris by J. &. Wister. pre-
viously reviewed here, is by no means
so good work as the Iris book.
Prot Beal has approached his sub
iect from the standpoint of the scien-
tist rather than from that OF the
writer and flower lover. He has given
us a good technical treatise upon the
g,adiolus. but hardly SUCH a work as
we lad dreamed of. replete with the
poetry and romance Of the modern
eiadioua.
The book IS marred 10y many curious
sentences which SHOULD have been
caught in editing. such as the follow
ing:
''rhe large b'otchea seen IN some We
riettes has been ascribed 10 tits ny
bird.
"rhe adoption of community flower
centcrs attention definitely on one
thing and does not allow the attention
become dissipated among host of
other kinds OF plant material especially
if left to individual initiative.
"The results of undirected effort IS
seen in average community.
Attention has already been called
TO the fact that most gladiOE are
grown for cutting because il is proni-
nent as cut tiOWer.'
However, it il claimed that il flow
ers are removed from a plant de-
velops better and larger cormels."
The plant lice attack gladio}i as
well as other plants although seldom
in numbers sufficient to serious in
jury"
The VARIETY kokonlo is an example
Of third type"
THE varieties which do not grow
tall have rather small flowers stand up
much better than tall growing va
rieties, especially If these also produce
numerous large flowers
:. K K
The chapters on planting and cult
vaton. diseases, hybTidiZing and cross
ing, subjects upon which Prof. Beai
feels more at home. are the best in the
book. and viii repay study by the
amateur.