"Do gladioluses run out ?" we are asked. No, we think not. But, says one : "Mine were formerly nearly all white; now they are mostly dark, and do not produce as large flowers as formerly ; why is this ?" Simply because the light-colored ones are not so hardy as the dark ones. They do not increase so fast, and have less vitality. But few are reproduced for any great number of years by division; those nearest the European species are very much longer lived than the white or light-colored from Natal. The consequence is, that the species are perpetuated by the division of the more hardy ones, while the light ones die out. The question then presents itself: "How is the supply kept up for the trade ?" This is timely and pertinent. It is done by planting the little bulblets that form at the base of the new bulbs, and above the old. These are planted in drills in the field, just as peas are sown, only more thickly - about 200 to a foot of drill. As a rule, they come up quickly, but all depends upon how they have been kept during winter; if dry and warm, their vitality will be greatly impaired, if not entirely lost; but if kept in earth, slightly moist and cool, not much . above the freezing point, nearly every one will come up quickly.

To perpetuate any desired variety, the following is the only way, and it is a speedy one. The bulb lets should be taken off soon after the bulbs are taken up in autumn, put in sand, and placed in a cool, moist and dark cellar, and planted in the open ground as early in spring as any seeds can be sown. They should be covered about an inch deep with fine soil, and afterwards cared for in the same way as the most common garden vegetable. If the conditions of growth are favorable, bulbs will be formed as large as marbles, a large proportion of which will flower the following season.

It is a marked peculiarity of the gladiolus that the best or more beautiful sorts produce but few bulb-lets, while most of the varieties will not produce any after they are two or three years old; the largest number is produced from bulbs only one year old, or the second year from the bulblet. If the bulblets are saved from the best varieties and carefully grown, the increase of bulbs will be rapid ; and so will the interest that such beautiful forms awaken.

If there is in gardening any pleasure more fascinating than the growing of the gladiolus from seed, we cannot name it. This pleasure comes, in a great measure, from the uncertainty that awaits the operation. In growing a given number of bulbs from seed, one will be sure of getting an equal number of varieties; there will be no two alike; there may be some remarkably choice ones; there will be some decidedly poor ones; the proportion of either may be large or small - the results alone will determine that. No care in the selection of seed or cross-fertilization seems to make any marked difference. We have grown millions of bulbs from seeds, some saved with the greatest care, others taken at random, and have secured some of our very best sorts from what we supposed the most inferior seeds. The outcome is purely a matter of chance. As a rule, the chances are greatly in favor of the best results from the best care in selection and the best cultivation.

It is a singular fact that in every lot of seedlings, some will be found that closely resemble John Bull, a good white, and Brenchleyensis, one of the best scarlets. Now, these varieties rarely produce seeds; if they did, they would not reproduce themselves; but a close resemblance to these two distinct sorts will always be noticed in a bed of seedlings, while the rule does not hold good with regard to any other named sort.

Seeds should be sown in drills one foot apart, and covered thinly with fine soil; and the bed should be mulched with salt hay or other fine grass, to keep the surface moist and loose until the young plants are well up; then the mulching should be removed and the land be cultivated the same as for bulblets. Many of the bulbs will flower the second year, and their opening will be most interesting.

Queens.