This little book is written with a view to being of service to those inexperienced admirers[A] of the gladiolus who wish to become better acquainted with its nature, and more familiar with the details of its cultivation. The language used is plain and easily understood, and the absence of technical terms, which might seem a fault to the skilled grower, will probably enhance the value of the work to the learner, for whom it is prepared. While it is written from the view-point of the commercial grower, the interests of the amateur are kept in mind throughout, and the instructions are as carefully adapted to the management of a little garden as to that of an extensive field.