UC-N B 3 mb M73 ARCH The Gift of Beatrix Farrand to the General Library University of California, Berkeley REEF POINT GARDENS LIBRARY CULTIVATED PLANTS " The engrafted Apple, blending kindly growth, Transforms the kindred Pear-tree, nothing loth; Leaves barren habits in the native wood, And joys to yield a fruitage apt for food ; Makes smooth the spiny Plums and prickly Thorns, And with gay foliage novel boughs adorns." — PALLADIUS : De Insitione, 78-82. "The Mountain Ash in white Pear-flowers arrayed." — VIRGIL : Georg. ii. 69. C U L T I V ATED PLANTS THEIR PROPAGATION AND IMPROVEMENT BY F. W. B U R B I D G E At THOK OK DOMESTIC FLORICULTURE,' 'THE NARCISSUS, ITS HISTORY AND CULTURE,' EDITOR OF THE 'FLORAL MAGAZINE,' ETC. " I would 1 had some flowers o' the spring that might Become your time of day ; pale Primroses, That die unmarried ere they can behold Bright Phoebus in his strength." — Winter's Tale. WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS EDINBURGH AND LONDON MDCCCLXXVII All Rights reserved SIFT SB TO J. D. HOOKER, C.B., D.C.L., LL.D. PKES. R.S., AND DIRECTOR OK THE KOVAI. BOTANICAL GARDENS AT Kli\V &{ji0 Work IQ IN RECOGNITION O1-" THE KINDLY ENCOURAGEMENT FREELY EXTENDED TO THE HUMBLEST STUDENT OF NATURAL HISTORY, AND AS A TOKEN OF APPRECIATION OF HIS DEEP INTEREST IN THE WELFARE OF BY FAR THE MOST COMPLETE EXISTING COLLECTION OF CULTIVATED PLANTS, BY THE AUTHOR 481 PREFACE THE late Dr Lindley, when preparing the preface for his father's ' Guide to the Orchard,' wrote the follow- ing: "There are two great considerations to which it is above all things necessary that the attention of the cultivator should be directed — namely, AMELIORATION and PROPAGATION." And with this object in view the present handbook has been prepared. Plant -propa- gation is one of the most important branches of cul- tivation as practised in our gardens ; and especially is this so in the case of hybridism and cross-breeding, on the scientific aspects of which so much has been written to the purpose in our time. In this work the practical side of the question has been chosen, since there here seemed a comparatively open field for a work of this kind, which, apart from its primary use as a popular handbook on plant propagation and improvement, might also serve young gardeners as a stepping-stone to works of a higher scientific character, and more especially to those of Charles Darwin. F. W. B. RAVEN'S VILLA, UPPER TOOTING, S.W., December 13, 1876. CONTENTS. PAGE INTRODUCTION, . > . . -.- , . , -. I HINTS ON THE IMPROVEMENT OF OUR FRUITS, VEGE- TABLES, AND FLOWERS, . -V • i . .' 9 PROPAGATING HOUSES AND PITS, . : . ' , • l ' . IJ SEED-SAVING AND SEED-SOWING, . . ' . ' ,' . 23 TRANSMITTING SEEDS, PLANTS, CUTTINGS, OR POLLEN, FROM ABROAD, 39 ARTIFICIAL METHODS BY WHICH PLANTS ARE MULTIPLIED, 43 PROPAGATION BY GRAFTING AND BUDDING, . . 57 GENERAL REMARKS ON HYBRIDISING AND CROSS- BREEDING, 87 NATURAL FERTILISATION AND CROSS-BREEDING, . . 138 ARTIFICIAL FERTILISATION AND CROSS-BREEDING, . 149 GENERAL REVIEW OF SOME OF THE MOST POPULAR GROUPS OF CULTIVATED PLANTS, WITH NOTES ON THEIR PROPAGATION AND NATURAL AFFINITIES, . 1 68 PROPAGATOR'S CALENDAR, . . . . '. • 579 APPENDIX, . . . . . . . . 598 INDEX, ..'•••'• . . . .. ... ... 605 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Acacia, gum-bearing, a, . • . 430 Aerides crispum Warneri, fruit of, 417 Anagallis arvensis, . . . 448 Ananas sativus, a seedling of, . 217 Arum maculatum, . . . 191 Bark replacing grafts, . . 84 Bow Vine-graft, ... 82 Bud-propagation of Rose, . 501 Budding reversed, . ,• . . 78 ti shield, 81 Bulb of White Lily, . . .370 Calceolaria Pavonii, . . . 531 Calisaya, fruiting branch and flowers of, . . . 242 Cambium layers of exogenous stem, 73 Camellia, inarching a, . . 554 Cellar for storing roots and tubers, 19 Cephalotus follicularis, . 527, 528 Chicory, pollen of, . . . 108 Cichorium intybus, pollen of, . 108 Cinchona Calisaya, . . . 242 Cineraria hybrida, . . . 249 Citrus aurantium, . . 198 Clarkia elegans, pollen of, . 107 Cleft-grafting, .... 76 Column of Orchid flower, . 420 Conifer-grafting, . . 262, 263 Crown-grafting, . . 75 Cutting-graft, a, . . . 85 M grafted, of the Grape- vine, ... 83 ii of Pelargonium, . . 48 it of Rose, . . . 499 Cuttings, pot for, Cyclamen Atkinsii, . M persicum, Dahlia coccinea, „ grafting, Datura stramonium, . Dendrobium nobile, fruit of, Echinated pollen-grain, . Echinocacti, seedling of, . English budding-knife, PAGE 50 449 449 254 252 539 417 107 219 80 Fertilisation of Lobeliads, 379, 381 Ficus carica, .... 397 Fig, fruits of, &c., . . ' . 397 Flute-grafting, . . . >, . 82 Frame heated by flax refuse, . 22 French budding-knife, . . 80 Fruit and seeds of Nymphaea, . 403 Fuchsia splendens, flower of, . 410 Fumaria officinalis, pollen of, . 108 Fumitory, pollen of, . . 108 German Iris, .... 354 Gladiolus, hybrids of, . . 351 Gloxinias, hybrid, . . . 336 it leaf-cuttings of, . 48 Graft, a stem replacing, . . 84 Grafted cuttings, ... 85 Grafting by approach, . . 83 ii cleft, .... 76 M conifers, . . 262, 263 it crown, 75 M cuttings of Grape-vine, 83 M Dahlia, . . . 252 n flute-like, ... 82 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. XI Grafting Grape-vine, ii side, .... n splice, ii terminal cleft, . . .. ' • ti to renovate bark, ': » , n whip or tongue, Grape-vine, a, . . « ,» it bow-graft of, . •. tt eyes of, . Green's hybrid Streptocarpus, . Grevillea, pollen-grain of emitting tube, Herbaceous and tuber grafts, . Herefordshire saddle-grafting, . Hippeastrum, hybrid sorts of, . Hips of wild Rose, . . ,' Hop, male and female, House, propagating, section of, Humboldt's Syphocampylus, . Humulus lupulus, . , . ' Hybrid Cinerarias, . . . ' n Gladioli, M Gloxinias, . ii Hippeastrum, M Pentstemon, Hybridising house, &c., . Inarching, . • . . n Camellia, Indian Fig, a seedling, . . Iris germanica, Juglans regia, .... Knives for budding, Lavatera trimestris, pollen of, . Layering, multiple or compound, n pegs for, . M simple, ii in pots, Leaf-cuttings of Gloxinia, Lilium candidum, . . ti tigrinum, pollen of, Lily scale, . . n tiger, pollen of, Lobelia erinus speciosa, . Lobeliads, pollen and stigma of, Magnolia grandiflora, . . , Mimosa arabica, Moutan Peony, . . Multiple layering, . Narcissus, pollen-grain, tubes, &c., of, n section of flower, &c., 570 Nymphaea alba, . . 403, 404 75 Opuntia, a seedling, 221 74 Orange, fruiting branch of, I98 77 Orchid fruits and seeds, . 417 84 Ovules and pollen - tubes of 75 Narcissus, . . . .• 112 567 Paeon i a m out an, . . "• S17 82 Passiflora Loudoniana, . 437 569 Passion-flower, a, . . . 437 338 Pavon's Slipper-flower, . . 53i Peach, splice-grafting the, 74 112 Pea-flower, section of a, . « 429 252 Pegs for layering, 44 78 Pelargonium, cutting of, . 48 179 n zonale, pollen of, 108 497 Pentstemon hybrida, 536 228 Peony, root-grafting of, . 517 19 Petals of Nymphasa, 404 381 Phaius albus, fruit of, 417 228 Phalasnopsis, seeds of, 417 249 Pimpernel, flower of a, 448 35i Pine-apple, a seedling, 217 336 Pinus, grafts of, &c. , . 262, 263 179 Pitcher-plant, Australian, 527, 528 536 "Pob "-frame for cuttings or 21 seeds, 22 83 Pollen and pollen - tubes of 554 Matthiola, H5 221 n grains, .... 107 354 Pot for cuttings (compound), . 50 357 Prickly Pear, a seedling, . 221 80 Privet, layer of, ... 44 107 Propagating house, section of 46 span-roofed, . 21 44 Propagation, house and cellar for, J9 45 Root-grafting Peony, 517 44 it Wistaria, . 436 48 Rosa arvensis 496 37° Rose-bud, cutting of, 501 108 n budding, . 78 370 n eye-cuttings of, . ^ 499 108 n flower of a wild, 496 379 n fruits of, . . . . 497 38i Saddle-grafting, ... 78 390 Scale of Lily bulb, . . . - 370 430 Shield-budding, 81 517 Side-grafting, . 75 46 Slipper-flower, a, . . . 53i Sowbreads or Cyclamens, 449 112 Spinose pollen-grain, 107 112 Stem replacing graft, 84 Xll LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Stem (exogenous), showing cambium layer, ... 73 Stigma of " Ten weeks' stock," 115 Streptocarpus Greenii, . . 338 Striking cuttings, ... 50 Style, cellular tissue of, . . 112 Syphocampylus Humboldtianus, 381 Terminal cleft-grafting, . • . 77 Thorn-apple, , . . . . 539 Tiger Lily, pollen of, . . 108 Tongue-grafting, . . « .. -75 Tree Peony, . * . . 517 Triangular pollen-grains, . . 107 Tuber grafting, . . . 252 Vanilla flower, column of, . 420 Vine-eyes, . i • .' •'. . 569 i! graft, a bow, . . . 82 H it saddle, . .• . 83 ., grafting, ... . .570 Vitis vinifera, . , . . 567 Walnut, catkins and fruit of, . 357 Water-lily, . . . 403, 404 Whip-grafting, ... 75 Wistaria, root-grafting of, . 436 THE PROPAGATION AND IMPROVEMENT OF CULTIVATED PLANTS. INTRODUCTION. ' To study culture, and with artful toil To 'meliorate and tame the stubborn soil J To give dissimilar yet fruitful lands The grain, the herb, the plant that each demands ; These, these are arts pursued without a crime, That leave no stain upon the wings of Time." — COWPER. THE propagation and improvement of cultivated plants is one of the most attractive and satisfying of all human occupations. From the vegetable kingdom we derive, directly or indirectly, our food and clothing ; and we have also the power to amelio- rate or alter the supply, according to the tastes of the age in which we live. This power to alter and improve the earth's produce, if rightly used, becomes one of the most noble and beneficial of all arts; one of the most intelligent of all the practical ends of science or organised intelligence, and yet one of which the very threshold is as yet barely reached. The word food, as here used, has a wide meaning, — for beauty, and especially floral beauty, is food in one of the highest of all the senses in which the word may be understood ; and although it may not have originally been actually essential to the mere existence of man as an animal, what a wealth of poetry and beautiful ideas, which go to make life so keenly enjoyable, should we have lost had not mankind from the earliest times reverenced flowers, perhaps from a feeling of gratitude, since 2 INTRODUCTION. fruits and roots formed man's earliest food ! The cultivation of the soil, and consequently the artificial improvement of plants, has been practised ever since the first man tilled the garden ; and some of the artificial methods of propagating existing forms of vegetation already improved by culture have been employed from time immemorial. Herodotus describes the process of fecundation — that -is, the transference of the pollen from the male to the female trees, by which the ancient Egyptians insured a crop of Dates. Virgil, Martial, Columella, Galladius, and Pliny all speak of grafting, although not always correctly ; but many years elapsed ere Grew pointed out the sexual organs of hermaphrodite plants. Indeed, even now, man is but a bungling novice in his recently assumed office of marriage priest in the garden. The balmy zephyr, and curious insect on hidden sweets intent, have performed the noble office since creation for the flowering-plants of every clime, just as they still perform the plant or flower nuptials on every moun- tain-side and dewy meadow and trackless forest in the universe, for man is as yet but strong enough to perform priestly func- tions for his captives in the garden. I said that Zephyrus had assisted in fertilising flowers, and this is true of very many plants. Have we not noted the clouds of pollen or fertilising dust shaken by the breeze from the tapering Pine, the sombre Yew, or gloomy Cypress ? Or if the garden is more familiar than the forest, the benefit of a current of air during sunny weather, and its pollen-wafting influence, on the setting of early Peaches or Golden Muscatelles, is well known. Again, while we banish our thrifty neighbour's honey and pollen collecting bees from the conservatory, where they cunningly cut the throats of every Achimenes flower in the most systematic manner, because they somehow know the nectar is there, but cannot creep down the slender tube to secure it ; yet we welcome them among the flowers in the early Peach houses, just because we know that they fertilise a flower, and secure for us a delicious rosy-cheeked Peach or Nectarine for every drop of honey they steal, or rather, rightly earn. The breeze and the insect are, then, essential to the welfare of flowering-plants ; but how about Ferns, Mosses, Mushrooms, and other so-called flowerless plants? Here are no dusty life-laden pollen-grains to be wafted by the breeze or carried by the insect, and so there are no hidden sweets and no bright colours.* But if these indirect agents are here useless, it is not because agents to secure fruition are not required. The same end has to be reached, but by differ- * " Ah ! " says an observing friend, "you should see the Fly Agaric " (Agaricus muscari) — " a glowing shield of scarlet enriched with pearls." SEEDS. 3 ent ways and means ; and this time fair Daphne celebrates the " concealed union " before Apollo has risen in the early morn- ing, or when he dozes at noontide behind cushioned rain-clouds. The male and female organs of Ferns and other flowerless plants (cryptogams) are produced after the germination of the spore ; and to enable the male fecundating bodies (spermato- zoids) to travel to the female organs (archegonia), a thin film of water between the two bodies is essential, and this is naturally supplied by mist or dew or rain. This is the reason that the terrible Potato fungus (Peronospora infestans) develops itself most rapidly during wet weather ; indeed, like some other fungi, it cannot develop itself unless in a moisture-laden atmosphere. Plants may. be considered as the most noble of inanimate organisms, and as such it would be marvellous to note the pre- cision with which the types or species propagate or reproduce themselves naturally, and in many cases unaided, had we not come to look on the whole labour as an everyday matter of course. We will, however, just glance at the principal methods, sexual and vegetative, by which plants are naturally repro- duced. SEEDS. " To watch the matchless working of the Power That shuts within its seed the future flower." — COWPEK. A large proportion of all known plants reproduce themselves when in a state of nature from seeds which fall or are scattered on the earth's surface as soon as they are ripe, and occasionally are covered by the falling leaves, which not only afford some protection from frost, but ultimately afford nutriment to the young plant. This is a most interesting fact ; and one phase of culture, the effects for good and evil of which are scarcely sufficiently appreciated by cultivators, consists in a direct viola- tion of this rule or natural law, since nearly all the seeds of cultivated vegetables, hardy as well as tender, are kept out of the ground from seed-time or harvest in summer or autumn, until the succeeding spring. Again, the seeds of cultivated plants are rarely allowed to remain on the plants until they are perfectly ripe. Some wild plants, however, do not shed their seeds until the warm sun-heat of spring causes the capsules to burst ; and some writers contend that the action of frost is beneficial to the seeds of all hardy plants rather than otherwise. Many plants of strong constitution and rapid growth produce large quantities of seed, and readily adapt themselves to any 4 INTRODUCTION. soil or situation, and such plants are found in immense num- bers over nearly the whole surface of the earth. The natural families of corn plants or grasses and composites serve as familiar examples. It is well known to cultivators that many plants dwindle, and never become properly developed, if too close together. Corn plants or cereals, indeed, acquire a dis- tinct habit from being grown closely together generation after generation ; and Dame Nature herself seems conscious of this fact, if we think of the many and varied contrivances by which the seeds of plants are dispersed or scattered, so as naturally to secure a change of soil. The seeds of most composite plants, or members of the Thistle and Dandelion family, are furnished with downy appendages (pappus), which are sufficiently buoyant to bear them up in the slightest breeze ; hence they become "as rolling things before the wind." The Squirting 'Cucumber affords another curious illustration of how nature manages to sow her seeds on new ground, so as to secure a rotation of crops, and in this case the slimy seeds are thrown out of the fruit (by the sudden contraction of its tissues) to a distance of several yards ; while our native Gorse or Whin, and the common Broom, afford instances somewhat similar. Where trees and other seed-bearing plants overhang rivers or streams, the seeds often fall in the water, and are carried for many miles by the current, until by some accident they are washed ashore, and germinate to produce seed themselves, which in its turn is carried still further by the tide. The seeds of tropical Orchids are as fine as sawdust, and very much lighter, the least breath of air being sufficient to waft them along, until they lodge on a dead or partially decayed tree or branch, which they not unfre- quently wreathe with their foliage and flowers ; while others vegetate on moss, grass, and other low vegetation. Birds often aid in distributing the seeds of fruit-bearing trees and shrubs. This is particularly the case with the Mistletoe; and the appar- ently wild Gooseberry and Currant bushes found in hedgerows, or on decayed trees and ruins, are not unfrequently propagated by birds, who have carried the fruit from neighbouring gardens. Seeds are not unfrequently rubbed off low-growing vegeta- tion, and carried long distances in the hairy covering of wild animals; and some plants follow the footsteps of civilisation everywhere. What seeds are to the flowering-plants, spores are to Ferns, Mushrooms, and other cryptogamic vegeta- tion. It is true that the spore is not quite the same in struc- ture as a seed, and the manner of its germination is very different, but for all practical purposes they may be considered the same. Many spores are so small — scarcely visible, indeed, OFFSETS. 5 to the eye, even with a good lens — and are so extremely light, that the slightest breath of air serves to waft them from the parent plant, and they thus travel immense distances unseen ; or they, like seeds, are carried in the plumage of birds or the coats of animals. There are myriads of these subtle repro- ductive bodies continually floating about in the atmosphere, ready to germinate whenever they fall in suitable situations. OFFSETS. Many plants reproduce themselves very readily by offsets, which may be considered as nature's method of doing what propagators speak of as division. Offsets are often produced in the form of little bulbs, bulbils, or tubers, as in the Potato- onion, Hyacinths, and many other bulbs, many terrestrial Orchids, and in the common Potato. Lilium bidbiferum bears little bulbils in the axils of its leaves ; and in the genus Four- croya, which is nearly related to the American Aloes or Agaves, a great number of bulbils are borne on the flower-stems, and evidently supply the place of seeds. Offsets do not always take the form of bulbs, however; for in many fruit-trees and ornamental shrubs, offset-shoots — or suckers, as they are techni- cally called — are produced from the underground stems or from the roots, and much of the dense undergrowth in woods and forests is produced in this manner. Sometimes nature takes precautions to distribute her offsets just as she does her seeds, and we see evidence of this in the garden and wood Straw- berry, where the offsets are technically termed " runners," in many grasses, in the " Sailor plant " (Saxifraga sarmentosa), in the Goethe plant (Chlorophyton Sternbergiensis}, and many others. This natural kind of division, or the production of "offsets," "runners," "suckers," "stolons," or whatever they may be called, is a wise and auxiliary force which often succeeds in reproducing the plant under peculiar circum- stances or conditions, where seeds or spores fail. Nor is this kind of power confined to flowering-plants alone ; for Mush- rooms and other fungi are reproduced by slender underground threads (mycelium), which not unfrequently travel immense distances before they find the peculiar conditions of nitro- genous food, moisture, heat, or shade necessary for the full de- velopment of the plant. Again, other cryptogamic plants, as Ferns, of which Asplenium bulbifenim or Osmunda orientalis may be cited as well-known examples, are viviparous, producing young plants on the surface of their fronds, so that when the old frond falls to the earth, these young individuals take root 6 INTRODUCTION. and continue the species. The common Lycopodium or Club- moss produces offsets which extend the area occupied by the plant in every available direction ; and the same is true of the tropical Selaginellas and many other flowerless or so-called flowerless vegetables. Seeds and offsets may be considered as nature's main plan of reproduction; but some plants, the common Bramble for example, are not unfrequently propagated from layers; and the branches and stems of many other plants readily take root when trodden in the earth accidentally by the larger animals. In some cases plants are propagated from cuttings in a state of nature — accidentally perhaps, but still not unfrequently ; as when swans and other vegetable-feeding water-birds break off portions of the plants on which they feed, which float away and root elsewhere; or when branches and twigs are broken off by high winds, and fall into moist earth and take root. We have even examples of natural grafting (inarching) in nature, as shown by climbing species of Ficus, or even very frequently in the common Linden-tree and Ivy, where two branches, or the trunk and a branch, become firmly united together. Natural grafting is, however, rarely if ever employed by nature as a re- productive force, but rather as a means of securing additional strength or power of climbing to a stronger support. NATURAL HYBRIDISM. Hybridising and cross-breeding, although generally regarded as artificial methods of propagation as used by man, are never- theless very frequently employed by nature not merely to per- petuate, but also to strengthen and invigorate herself. Thus we see that in many plants especial provision is made to prevent self-fertilisation. This is especially so in the Primrose family, and also among Orchids, Yuccas, and Asclepiads, nearly all of which require insect or other mechanical aid to assist in their fertilisation. But while these plants cannot fertilise themselves, it is often very difficult indeed to prevent cross- breeding, or even hybridisation in others, of which the Cu- cumber and Melon or Cabbage families serve as excellent examples. In the case of the Melon, the male and female organs are borne in separate flowers ; and early in the season, if one variety only be grown, artificial fertilisation is often neces- sary to enable the fruit to " set ; " but if two or more kinds are grown, and all flower together, they set freely without any aid — and, as the gardener is well aware, it is next to impossible to keep any particular variety true, so apt are nearly all Cucur- NATURAL HYBRIDISM. 7 bits to vary from cross-fertilisation. Cabbages vary in the same way. Look at the numerous forms of the common wild Cabbage (Brassica oleracea) for example. Take the Broccoli, with its crowded and swollen head of partially developed flowers; the Brussels Sprout, with a score or more little Cabbages up the lengthened stem, and a big one at the top, — and com- pare them with the weedy wild Cabbage, and this will show something of the effects of cross-fertilisation, judicious selection, and good cultivation. There can be no doubt but that new varieties, new forms of vegetation, have been naturally produced ever since the winds first swept over plant-clad hills. The difference between plants is most apparent in their modes of living and feeding and working, and if we wish to obtain any real botanical knowledge, we must study life and health, as well as death or -disease. De Candolle, in one of his letters to Mrs Somerville, says : "I advise you above all to see the plants at all their ages, to follow their growth, to describe them in detail — in one word, to live with them more than with books." I have only sketched out some of nature's more apparent modes of reproducing herself, in order to induce the reader, if possible, to observe for himself. Some of nature's processes are, however, so subtle, so complicated, and so attractive, that a volume ten times the size of this might be written on that one subject alone. The gardener has immense opportunities in the garden, and may by careful study of nature add much to our knowledge. We have the descriptive and arranging or classifying botanist, and the physiological botanist, ever on the look-out for new facts; and if the cultural botanist is wise, he will not be outdone in assiduity, seeing that his occupation is of all the most useful and attractive. Among the most remarkable cases of natural hybrids — that is, hybrids in a wild state — are, according to Lindley, the following : " Cistus ledon, constantly produced between C. monspessulanus and C. lanrifolius ; and C. longifolius, between C. monspessulanus and C. populifolius, found in the wood of Fontfroide near Narbonne, and mentioned by Ben- tham. The same acute botanist ascertained that Saxifraga luteo purpurea of Lapeyrouse, and S. ambigua of De Candolle, are only wild accidental hybrids between S. aretioides and S. calyciflora : they are only found where the two parents grow together, but there they form a suite of intermediate states between the two. Gentians having a similar origin have also been remarked upon the mountains of Europe." Darwin (See Jour. Linn. Soc., vol. x. p. 451) mentions the common Oxlip (P. acatilis x P. veris] as being one of the most abundant and familiar of all natural hybrids, and alludes to 8 INTRODUCTION. naturally produced hybrid Willows (Salix] as being equally numerous ; and he also cites the Narbonne Cisti above alluded to, and many hybrids between an Aceras and Orchis (See Dr Weddell's observations in Annales de Sc. Nat., 3d series (Bot), vol. xviii. p. 6). Verbascum is given as another example, and numerous interesting details may be seen in the Linnaean Society's Journal cited above. Among Phalsenopsids and Odontoglots we have several plants so strikingly intermediate between apparently distinct species, that we are quite as fully justified in assuming that they are natural hybrids as we should be in naming and describing them as new species. Orchis purpureo-militaris, O. morio-papilionacea are wild Continental hybrids, and one has been produced between O. galeata and Aceras antropophora. M. Timball-Lagrave has described other new hybrid forms of Orchis, and a, remarkable intermediate or mule between a species of Serapias and Orchis laxiflora. M. Koch, in the second edition of his " Synopsis," alludes to and describes 36 hybrids in the genus Circium alone ; to say nothing of the hybrid Primulas, Narcissus, Roses, Brambles, Violets, Hieraciums, and those of other genera which are known to exist, and to many of which we shall hereafter allude. HINTS ON THE IMPROVEMENT OF OUR FRUITS, VEGETABLES, AND FLOWERS. V" But various are the ways to change the state Of plants, to bud, to graft, t' inoculate." — DRYDEN'S Virgil, Georg. II. THE one great question to all intelligent horticulturists, whether professional gardeners or amateurs, is, How are we to improve ? and this innate desire to go a step farther than our predecessors, the spirit of emulation excited and fostered by horticultural societies or their exhibitions, and the skill, energy, and enterprise of our nurserymen, have already made this noble labour of improvement a popular, and, what is more, a profitable one, and we need not look far for examples of the marvellous changes wrought among garden - plants even in our own time. The Orchids and Nepenthes of Dominy, the Clematis of Anderson-Henry, Jackmann, and Cripps ; the hardy Rhododendrons of Standish, Noble, and Waterer ; the greenhouse hybrids of Messrs Veitch ; the Ericas of Rollison and Jackson ; the Azaleas of Smith ; the show Pelargoniums of Hoyle, Foster, and Turner ; the Scarlet and Zonal races of Beaton, Paul, Denny, Pearson, and Hibberd ; the double- flowered Zonals and Scarlets of Laxton, Sisley, or Lemoine ; the Golden Tricolors of Grieve ; and the Bronze Zonals of Wills, — are all the result of hybridism and careful cross-breed- ing, to say nothing of the innumerable selected races of Cycla- mens, Pansies, Hollyhocks, Dahlias, Roses, Gladioli, Hyacinths, Tulips, Narcissus, Pentstemons, Phloxes, and other popular florists' flowers which now grace our gardens. If there is one branch more neglected than another in this march of improve- ment it is our hardy fruits, and more especially Apples, Pears, and Cherries ; indeed, since the death of Mr T. A. Knight, there have been scarcely any systematic attempts in this country to improve any of our fruit-trees, notwithstanding the facilities afforded by our modern system of growing small bush-trees in 10 HINTS ON THE IMPROVEMENT OF OUR pots in the orchard-house, these small trees being sheltered from inclement weather, and entirely under the control of the hybridiser. We must, however, not fail to point out the great improvements effected by Mr Thomas Rivers, who has added many valuable varieties of Peaches, Nectarines, and Plums to our collections ; and these varieties may be referred to as examples of what may be effected among other fruits by care- ful cross-fertilisation and judicious selection. A few years ago our hothouse Grapes consisted mainly of Black Hamburg and Muscat of Alexandria, together with Muscadines and one or two other varieties of less note ; but here again we have examples of the power possessed by the intelligent cultivator, perhaps the most valuable of the new kinds being the late-keeping Lady Downes's Seedling, Madresfield Court, Mrs Pince's Black Muscat, Duke of Buccleuch, Golden Queen, and Dr Hogg. Nor have vegetables been left behind : indeed, one of the most striking examples of the valuable results to be obtained by careful systematic cross-breeding and selection is the race of new Peas raised by Mr Thomas Laxton, some of these varieties having the combined good qualities of dwarfness, extreme pre- cocity, and the most delicious marrow-like flavour. Every year, too, brings us fresh, and in some few cases actually better, selections from such types as those afforded by the Cabbage family, Cucumbers, Melons, Onions, Peas, Beans, and other vegetables ; and the same is true of some farm-crops, and notably of Turnips and Mangels. Cereal crops deserve more atten- tion than they have hitherto received ; and careful selection and judicious change of soil every two or three years would do much to improve these and other farm-crops. Let us, however, now glance at the means of improvement pos- sessed by the gardener. One of the most universal and potent of these is cultivation and change of seed, which means a change of soil. Careful selection of seminal forms or sports often affords a basis for future improvement ; and hybridism, cross-breeding, and grafting are other valuable aids which have already enabled the intelligent cultivator to accomplish much, and will yet aid him to do much more. Cultivation alone works great changes in many wild plants — indeed it has been adopted from the earliest times as a means of changing wild plants, and rendering them more useful either for food, clothing, or medicine. By cultiva- tion we favour the development of characteristics we know will be useful to us, by repressing those characteristics which we do not require. Thus we favour the production of leaves in compact heads in the Cabbage and Lettuce, but we favour leaves on the Grape Vine only so far as may be necessary towards the pro- FRUITS, VEGETABLES, AND FLOWERS. II duction of fine fruit, all others being removed. Thus in some plants the cultivator favours leafy or vegetative growth, while in others sexual vigour is also requisite, and this is especially the case in all our fruit-bearing trees ; and here the aim of the hybridiser is to produce fertile varieties — that is, varieties in which sexual vigour and vegetative growth are pretty equally balanced. In some cases, however, where the vegetative growth is much in excess of sexual vigour, it is balanced by root-prun- ing or by summer pinching, or by grafting on stocks which restrict the vegetative growth, as when we work strong-growing Pears on the Quince, or Apples on the Paradise stock. In cases where sexual vigour is in excess of the vegetative growth, as when trees are half starved on poor soils, we adopt different measures, such as grafting on more vigorous-rooted varieties as stock, or the application of manurial stimulants. The whole question of culture is based on the fact that each plant consists of diverse characteristics, some of which are antag- onistic to others ; and by repressing those characteristics we do not want, we give the others which we do require a better chance of full development. Thus it will be seen that by grafting and pruning we are able to adjust the balance between vegetative growth and sexual vigour, and so make a tree more fruitful than when on its own roots ; but then both pruning and grafting are unnatural, and only tolerated because we have not yet fully learnt the art of raising varieties suited to different soils in which sexual and vegetative growth are naturally balanced : and this leads us to a very important point, and illustrates how, by a combination of grafting and seminal reproduction or hybridism, we may hope to work great improvements in many of our fruit-trees by raising new varieties in which the balance between fertility and vegetative growth is so equal that pruning will be reduced to a minimum and grafting superseded. All our experience points to the fact that seedlings from a tree in which vegetative growth is predominant will never be so fruitful as those from a tree in which sexual vigour, whether naturally or artificially produced, is in the ascendant ; and it is a well- known fact that grafting on restrictive stocks favours sexual vigour or fertility. Hence this is a very valuable fact to the hybridist, and one which the young horticulturist will do well to remember. We graft our fruit-trees to render them more fertile ; and it may some day be thought advisable to graft all our flowering shrubs, both hardy and tender, so as to render them more floriferous. As I have already observed, the power of the cultivator and hybridiser or cross-breeder, as the case may be, is immense, and the efforts of each or all tend 12 HINTS ON THE IMPROVEMENT OF OUR towards the same result — viz., the development of characters or qualities which are useful to man, and the suppression wholly or partially of all those we do not require. Culture means change, and change means motion ; culture then means motion towards a superior standard of excellence. M. Naudin points out that motion is the transition of living organisms, as in plants, from one equilibrium or balance of characteristics, or state of repose, to another, and its course is begun by a breaking down of those characters which are weakest or which possess the least fixity ; hence it follows that change in that direction becomes easier, inasmuch as the stronger characteristics have a better opportunity of progressing after the barriers which hitherto restrained them or kept up the equilibrium are destroyed or partially so by culture or hybridism. Given almost any variety of vegetable, fruit, or flower, and by the due regulation of its food — i.e., moisture, light, heat, and air — it is in the cultivator's power to change it in size and flavour or in the period at which it arrives at maturity, and seedlings from it will also to a certain extent perpetuate the characters which culture has developed in the parent. To prolong the season of fruits, vegetables, and flowering or decorative plants, both early and late races are desirable ; and if late-ripening varieties have the additional merit of being good keepers, so much the better or more useful do they become. A good constitution, especially in the case of hardy plants, is a great consideration, since this in general means increased hardiness, and easier, less expensive, and more extensive culture ; one of the greatest of all drawbacks to the more general culture of Peaches, Nectarines, Apricots, choice Plums, and many other fruits in our climate being the preva- lence of late spring frosts, which often in a single night destroy the fruit prospects of a whole season. Both English and French cultivators experience the effects of late frosts, although the latter rarely lose a crop, simply because they go to great trouble in sheltering their trees during the blooming season. Cheap as are glass structures at the present day, every one with a garden cannot obtain them ; but by cross-breeding, our nurserymen might soon supply these cultivators with hardier and later-blooming varieties than those now generally grown. Cross-breeding is, however, not the only way in which we may obtain earlier or later varieties of our fruit-bearing or orna- mental trees ; for a tree or even a portion of a tree — a branch, twig, or even a single bud — is not unfrequently so affected by temperature, light, and other correlative causes, as to be earlier, later, or otherwise different from its fellows. Fruit from the " tops of the trees on the sunny side " is well known to be FRUITS, VEGETABLES, AND FLOWERS. 13 larger and better in flavour, and frequently earlier, than that on the lower and shadier branches ; and by taking due and intel- ligent advantage of this fact, we might possibly obtain earlier and later varieties of some of our finest and best -flavoured fruits. The explanation of the unequal effect of the same degree of temperature is, according to M. de Candolle, owing to the buds of a tree being engaged in a perpetual struggle. Badly placed or imperfectly developed buds develop imperfect shoots. The earliest shoots have the advantage so long as they are not injured by frost. In this way a selective process and an adap- tation of the tree to the climate are carried on. This is the more probable from the individuality possessed by the buds, and of which we avail ourselves in the operation of grafting. Thus M. de Candolle cites a case of a Horse-chestnut, near Geneva, which produces year by year, on a certain branch, double flowers. From this branch grafts have been taken which have furnished all the double Horse-chestnuts in Europe. Hence it may be concluded that certain branches may also be (as we know to be the case) earlier or later in development than others on the same tree, and that buds taken from these branches will preserve their characteristics when grafted. In the north precocity is sometimes advantageous, sometimes not so. In the south precocity seems generally beneficial, and yet it is in the south that species require the most heat to develop themselves. The principal cause of the difference in the vegetation of the north and of the south appears to be con- nected with the winter rest of plants. After a season of great external activity the plant loses its leaves and ceases to grow ; but in the interior of the plant great changes and modifications of material are taking place at this time, in anticipation of the development of the buds at a subsequent date. In the north the internal activity of the plant is specially marked. This is one reason why heat acts more rapidly in the north than in the south. On the other hand, in southern countries, the plant continues to grow superficially, and a larger proportion of sap being utilised at the surface, there is not so much available for the buds in spring. The mechanical effects of the same amount of heat should be everywhere the same, but when it is exerted on different materials to transport or modify them, it is clear that the effect will be different. Such, in brief, is M. de Candolle's explanation of a phenomenon of which he has, by his experiments, given additional confirmation. Careful study of nature will teach us much in the way of altering existing forms of vegetation. For example, climbing 14 HINTS ON THE IMPROVEMENT OF OUR or trailing plants have possibly been developed from plants of bushy or shrubby habit, which, having had to contend with more lofty and vigorous vegetation, as that of forests, have assumed a lengthened axis to enable them to climb or trail into the light and air. The common Ivy indeed assumes a bushy habit directly it reaches the extremity of the support to which it clings. Chinese and Japanese gardeners have long prac- tised the art of dwarfing large-growing trees; and specimens so treated, only a few inches in height, bear leaves, flowers, and fruit in season, and form pretty little plants for decorative purposes. Taking these facts into consideration, it seems possible, by a careful selection of seedling plants or cuttings from the more shrubby branches, added to a regular system of careful pinching and exposure to light and air, to produce dense-habited or short-jointed shrubby and floriferous varieties of Stephanotis, Bignonia, Dipladenia, Jasmine, and other climbers ; indeed, where desirable, this result has already been attained in Clematis and Allamanda. In the last-mentioned genus a variety named A. Wardleana was exhibited at South Kensington about 1867 or 1868, and plants only an inch or two in height, in small 6o-sized pots, bore from two to six flowers each. This variety is the same, or nearly the same, as A. Hendersonii, a hybrid raised between A. cathartica and A. Schottii. A trial in this direction is well worth attempting ; since climbing - plants, however graceful and useful in some situations, are inconvenient in others, owing to their straggling habit of growth and comparative paucity of flowers. One way of obtaining increased vigour in plants, and consequently greater power to ward off disease, is by changing their food and atmosphere as much as possible at frequent intervals ; and in relation to this fact, it is interesting to note that many of our choicest vegetables, including Asparagus, Seakale, Cabbage (and its numerous forms), and Celery, are natives of our sandy sea-shores ; and after growing for ages in poor soil and exposed positions, they have become succulent by cultivation and selec- tion in the garden. Cultivators as a rule do not pay sufficient attention to the careful selection of the plants from which they intend to save seeds. Careful and intelligent selection is, however, the only way to retain any good variety in its pure state, and neglect of this precaution often leads to a degenerate crop. Nor is this result confined to seeds alone ; for as the individual branches, and even parts of branches or buds, are very variable even on the same tree, as great care should be taken in select- ing buds or grafts from early or late, or fruitful and healthy FRUITS, VEGETABLES, AND FLOWERS. 15 branches, as in the case of seed parents, this selection being to some extent regulated by the purposes for which propagation is effected, taste, or convenience, and in harmony with locality, soil, or climate. Among plants the most likely to repay the labours of a careful hybridiser are those which bear male and female flowers sepa- rately, either on the same plant, as in Cucumbers, Melons, Oaks, and many Conifers, or on separate plants, as in the case of many Palms, Aucuba, Garrya, and others — in fact, nearly all monoecious and dioecious plants seem predisposed to hybridise freely with each other ; and some other plants which, strictly speaking, are hermaphrodite, or have both male and female organs in the same flower, as in Primula, Linum, Lythrum, some species of Pas- siflora, and Forsythia, which are practically dioecious, since they never or very rarely fruit unless fertilised with the pollen from another species. Another large group of plants to which the intelligent hybridiser should direct his attention are the Orchids, Asclepiads, many Pea-flowers and Melastomads, the Lobelia family, Ericas, and indeed all others which, like those just named, show either by the curious structure of their blossoms or the functions of the sexual organs that insect agency is essential to their fertilisation. Other plants naturally favour cross fertilisation by the alternate development of the sexual organs in the same flower, and of these Agaves, Hellebores, and nearly all the Calceolarias are excellent examples. In the case of Calceolarias, the style is receptive long before the pollen is shed by the anthers of the same flower; and in Agave the reverse of this takes place, the stigma not being receptive or capable of impregnation until after its attendant anthers are withered. All plants which exhibit this irregular development of the sexual organs, like monoecious and dioecious plants, or such as require insect agency, rarely fail to repay the attention of the hybridist, and should be preferred for all scientific ex- periments, since the chances of accidental self-fertilisation are here reduced to a minimum. Orchids and Asclepiads are perhaps the safest of all plants with which to conduct scientific hybridising experiments. In all matters of propagation, whether sexual or vegetative, the idea of possible improvement should always be present in the propagator's mind. It is not enough to save seed and take cuttings merely to increase or reproduce a plant ; but in all cases the selection of seeds, cuttings, grafts, buds, and stocks should be intelligently made, with the object of improving the future generation in addition to the mere fact of originating it. In other words, do not let the brain be led by a dexterous hand, but, above all, let the hand, however 1 6 IMPROVEMENT OF FRUITS, ETC. clever in itself from force of habit, be guided by a mind bent on bettering or improving the individuals to which life, or a separate existence, is to be given. Notwithstanding the enormous strides made in the improve- ment and variation of our florists' flowers, fruits, and vegetables, there yet remains a wide field for further improvement. Hy- bridisers and cross-breeders work too much in the same groove, one following the other. No sooner does a Dominy, a Seden, a Bause, a Rivers, or a Laxton originate a new race of flowers, fruits, or vegetables, than a host of imitators set to work on the same plants, and we are surfeited with tens or hundreds, as the case may be, of seedlings which resemble each other so closely that we are bewildered with a host of indefinite forms, and turn with a sigh of relief to the old species or types. It was so with Fuchsias, Calceolarias, Pelargoniums, Coleus, Caladiums, and it is equally as bad in the case of such vege- tables as Peas, Potatoes, different kinds of the Cabbage family, and Cucurbits. What we really do want is original work among distinct types not yet hybridised ; and there 'is not the slightest reason for the cultivator to confine his experiments solely to garden-plants, since those of the farm and the forest are equally useful, and in many cases more permanently beneficial. PROPAGATING HOUSES AND PITS. " Who loves a garden ; loves a greenhouse too." — COWPER. IN many small private gardens, no separate structure is required for propagating purposes, one of the vineries or cucumber -pits affording all the requisite accommodation — a common garden-frame, or a reduced form of it, being employed for tender cuttings, or for choice seeds which require a close and humid atmosphere. In large gardens, however, the pro- pagating house is, or ought to be, a separate one ; and in the hands of an intelligent cultivator it is at once one of the most interesting, and at the same time most profitable, of all garden structures. The size of the house must, of course, depend on the requirements of the place; but it is advisable to have a partition in the centre, and the hot-water apparatus should be so arranged that both divisions can be heated separately, and while one is kept at a tropical heat, the other may be of a greenhouse temperature, so as to serve for the multiplication of hardy and half-hardy trees, shrubs, annuals, or herbaceous plants. Span- roofed houses are the best, but a lean-to house or pit also answers well. The hot compartment will not require so much air as the cool end, but it is always advisable to provide ample ventilating apparatus at the time such structures are erected. As to aspect, a position due east and west answers well, and it should be sheltered from cold winds. As a rule, the closer and more genial propagating houses are the better, and building them partly below the ground-level not only renders them naturally less liable to suffer by external changes of temperature, but also by the same token saves fuel. Neat little span-roofed houses, partly — say two feet — below the ground-level, are generally the most satisfactory. As to the dimensions, they can be made to vary according to circum- stances of site and other peculiarities of situation ; but a house twelve feet wide, and eight to ten feet high at the ridge, is a convenient size, and generally suitable. As we have said, B 1 8 PROPAGATING HOUSES AND PITS. warm and cool compartments are desirable ; but where opera- tions are to be extensive, separate warm and cool houses may be erected. As a rule, it is best to heat the propagating house from a separate boiler, of which the propagator or his assistant takes full charge at least during the day; but in many cases, and especially in private establishments, it may be heated along with the other houses. It should always be borne in mind, however, that the inmates of the propagating house are peculiarly delicate and sensitive to any extremes of temperature, and ample heating power should always be provided, to prevent future accidents and disappointments. Shading materials are of peculiar value to the propagator ; and apart from the usual shading material — i.e., stout canvas mounted on wooden rollers, to be worked by a pulley outside the house — particular portions of the house or pit often require to be shaded with canvas or mats, and low nouses partially below the ground-level are in these cases very suitable. At one end of the house or pit it is convenient, if not actually necessary, to have a potting or propagating shed, and this should also be heated with hot- water pipes, so that no injury may be received by the young plants and seedlings which are brought here to be pricked out or potted off. This shed should communicate directly with the warmest end of the house, and should be fitted up with benches, bins for soil, sand, peat, crocks, &c., shelves or com- partments for pots, pans, bell-glasses, tools, and other appli- ances; while a shelf or cupboard may be added to contain memorandum-books, catalogues, and delicate implements. A nest of drawers for seeds should be added, and the amateur may also add a small library of books treating of the plants he most admires. Here also hot and cold water should be obtain- able. As to the fittings of the house itself, little need be said except that a path down the centre at least a yard wide should be left, and brick side benches about four feet wide, constructed on either side, as shown in our illustrations. Cases or frames, tan beds, and shelves near the glass, should also be provided. One of our sections represents a very useful propagating house, constructed over a cellar, — an arrangement much to be recom- mended wherever practicable, as the body of air thus obtained below the house conduces to a more regular temperature, and at the same time it is very handy for preserving or in which to store bulbs, tubers, &c., throughout the winter months. A cellar of this description is always secure from frost, and is especially useful for storing Cannas, Solanums, and many other subtropical or flower-garden plants, as also for Hippeastrums and other deciduous bulbs,. Gloxinias, Gesneras, Achimenes, PROPAGATING HOUSES AND PITS. 1 9 Tydaeas, and even for selected vegetables for seed purposes, such as Carrots, Beet, Potatoes, Parsnips, Salsify, and many others, The walls of the cellar are sloped inwards buttress- like, so as to better resist the pressure of the soil from without ; but, if .preferable, the walls can be carried down straight, and buttresses formed at intervals. The roof of the house is shaded when necessary by canvas rollers (a a) — these being Propagating House with Cellar beneath in which to store Dahlias, Mirabilis, and other Tubers. rolled up under the terminal coping by cords which work over pulleys 8 inches in diameter fixed at the ends of the rollers. The outer ventilators are shown at b b, and through these air is admitted into the chambers beneath the stage through which the hot-water pipes are conducted for bottom-heat ; while through the valves at c c the heated air can be admitted into the atmosphere of the house, the heated air of which escapes through the ventilator at d, over which a sheet of wire gauze 20 PROPAGATING HOUSES AND PITS. or perforated zinc is stretched to prevent draughts of cold air from without, and also to exclude insects. The 'outer walls should be at least 9 inches thick if solid ; but a still better plan is to build the wall hollow in the centre, so as to enclose a stratum of dry air, the cold or frost resisting properties of which are well known. The wall-plates and rafters should be of the best red deal or pine, well painted, and the whole glazed with 21 oz. glass free from specks or rings. Common white deal rafters and wall-plates, although cheaper in the first in- stance, soon commence to decay when subjected to a hot humid atmosphere. The internal fittings and arrangements are self-explanatory. Access to the cellar can either be made from the shed or stoke-hole at one end of the structure, or by a trap-door in the floor of the house, a short ladder or pair of steps being used to effect the descent. As a rule, the propagating house or pit is a kind of sanctum sanctorum, a holy of holies, into which the high priest alone — /'. e., the propagator — or other responsible per- son, is allowed to enter; and this is almost a necessity in most cases, since the thoughtless plucking of a single flower may destroy the hopes of months, and perhaps years. Apart from its use in the way of raising seeds, rooting cuttings, or as affording the requisite conditions for insuring the success of delicate surgery and manipulation in the way of grafting, budding, or inarching, the propagating house is generally selected as the best place for conducting experiments in the crossing or hybridisation of tropical plants, and it thus becomes a most attractive source of recreation to the intelligent hor- ticulturist, be he master or man. The ventilators of houses used for hybridising experiments should be covered with wire gauze or perforated zinc, so as to exclude bees and other honey-seeking or pollen-eating insects. Give an earnest hybrid- iser a snug little heated pit or house about the size of a saloon railway carriage, and what has he not in his power to accomplish in the way of originating nqw forms of vegetation ! In trade establishments, small span-roofed houses are added to the propagating department, and in these the young cuttings, seedlings, or grafted plants are grown on for sale. Most plant-growers are aware of the good results attainable in low span-roofed structures where every plant is close under the glass, and consequently fully exposed to the light. Our market-growers, who produce hundreds of fine sturdy little flowering-plants for the London markets every week during the season, appreciate these structures very highly; and the best of them are content with these low houses, and a series of PROPAGATING HOUSES AND PITS. 21 cool pits and frames for hardier plants. In some cases they may be sunk partly below the ground-level with advantage, but this is scarcely necessary except in exposed or bleak positions. If there is no propagating pit on the premises, one of these houses makes an excellent substitute with the aid of a few small one-light frames, or even a few bell-glasses or com- mon hand-lights; while for growing on young fresh-rooted plants they are just the thing. Our engraving illustrates in section one of these economical structures, which, for all practical purposes, are ten times more useful to the amateur who really wishes to grow or improve plants than the fancy greenhouses usually attached to villa and suburban residences, and in many of which a clever pro- fessional gardener could not grow plants successfully. One Section of span-roof ed Propagating and Hybridising House. H- of these little structures thirty or forty feet long is amply sufficient for the requirements of most amateur hybridisers, and a little compartment can readily be partitioned off at the warmest end, and heated with an extra row of pipes ; this will serve all the requirements of a propagating house in a small private garden. For the multiplication of conifers, hardy evergreen or decidu- ous shrubs and trees, either from cuttings or seeds, low frames or brick pits are often of great service; and even turf pits covered with canvas stretched on wooden frames may be turned to good account for various propagating purposes. Our illustration (p. 22) shows one of these low frames much used by nurserymen and others in the North of England and Scotland, where they are placed on a bed of flax refuse or 22 PROPAGATING HOUSES AND PITS. " pob," the latter being, say, a foot or eighteen inches thick. Over this substance a few inches of fine sandy compost is placed to receive the seeds or cuttings. Beds made of " pob " retain their gentle and regular heat for several months, the only diffi- culty being to get the refuse flax thoroughly moistened, either with warm water or steam, previous to its being used. These low frames are very useful for raising seedling Rhododendrons, Aucubas, Araucarias, and many other handsome ornamental Pob Frame. garden or forest trees or shrubs ; and in every garden they deserve a place, as, when not wanted for propagating purposes, they form admirable shelter for choice alpine and herbaceous plants in pots. For the propagation of many herbaceous plants from cuttings — and especially for Auriculas, Pinks, Carnations, Pelargoniums, Pentstemons, Wallflowers, Phlox, &c. — light wooden frames covered with oiled tea-paper are very useful, as they economise sun-heat by preventing radiation 'during the night ; indeed, in this respect they are superior to hand-lights. SEED-SAVING AND SEED-SOWING. "Throughout the earth the gospel preached by nature to man is that of growth. This is the glorious marvel that is ever with us. Seed-grain climbing to waving harvest, acorn springing up to towering oak ; black coal crystallising to diamond, and flint gathering the heat of the earth, till as opal it meets the dawn with tints pure as its own ; while on every lowliest grass blade and leaf is written the story of ascension." DOUBTLESS many will look here for instructions as to the general management of seeds, for few things are more per- plexing to the amateur cultivator. How shall I sow my seeds ? or when is the proper time to sow Wallflowers ? and hundreds of similar questions, are annually received by the patient editors of our horticultural journals ; and it was partly to meet cases like these that the present section was written. The management of seeds may be considered under two heads — seed-saving and seed-sowing ; and we shall commence with the first-named branch of the subject. SEED-SAVING. It was formerly necessarily the practice of all horticulturists to save their own seeds, but it is now quite optional whether they do so or not, as the nurseryman includes it as a very im- portant branch of his business ; and it is frequently both better and cheaper to buy seeds than to save them. Most of our principal seedsmen have extensive seed-farms in favourable parts of the country, where great care is taken to keep the sorts or varieties pure by weeding out bad varieties, or " rogues," from the seed-bearing plants. This careful selection of seed- bearing plants is an important matter ; for if plants were left to themselves, and seed gathered indiscriminately, the strain or variety, no matter whether flowering-plants or vegetables, would soon degenerate or revert towards the type or species from which it had been originated. In the case of Cabbages, Broc- coli, Turnips, and other plants which are easily altered by cross -fertilisation, it is necessary to grow the varieties quite 24 SEED-SAVING. separate from each other ; and it is a common practice to send the seed to different parts of the country, where it is grown in a field or plot by itself that is quite separate from any other brassicaceous plants, otherwise the variety would become de- teriorated, just as is the case when several kinds of Melons or Cucumbers are grown in the same house or frame. Some- times, however, as is well known, this promiscuous inter- breeding results in producing one or more new forms of even superior quality ; but even this does not compensate .for the loss of a valuable and known strain of uniform quality which is much wanted, and perhaps bespoke or sold while in the seed-beds. Many flower-seeds are grown on the Continent, especially in Germany; indeed the Prussian seed-farms at Erfurt are well known for their excellent strains of Stocks, Primulas, Balsams, Asters, and many other popular flowers. The Erfurt strains of Asters are very fine ; and the seeds of Asters, as well as most other Composites, ripen better under a hotter sun than ours, as they are extremely liable to suffer from dampness in the atmosphere. Good culture, added to careful selection, does much to insure good seeds; and as many plants produce more seeds than they can ripen properly, it is an excellent plan to remove or thin the flower-spikes, or take off their tips when flowering, so as to throw all the vigour of the plant into those that remain. This is often done in the case of Wallflowers, Stocks, Clarkias, and similar plants ; and the result is perfect seeds, which are found to produce finer or a larger proportion of double flowers than those left to chance. In the case of double-flowered plants, if we except Fuchsias, the seed has necessarily to be gathered from either single or only partly double flowers; and it is best to gather the seed of such flowers as are semi-double, as this shows their tendency towards the desired quality. Thus, from the seed- beds of Stocks, all perfectly single varieties are carefully weeded ; and the same is practised in the case of Balsams and other annual plants in which double flowers are most, highly prized. We have alluded to the great care necessary to keep any distinct variety pure, or what is technically termed " true to name ; " but in many cases this cannot be done, and then the energy of the cultivator is directed towards obtaining and pre- serving by selection what is called a " good strain." In plants which vary very much from seed, such as Calceolarias, Cine- rarias, Chinese Primulas, Balsams, Zinnias, Asters, and many other annuals, it is impossible to do more than save the seed SEED-SAVING. 25 from good varieties of compact habit, which themselves bear large, well-formed, and distinctly-coloured flowers. This is the plan adopted by the market-growers who supply Co vent Garden with flowering-plants, as well as by those florists who grow seeds for sale or trade purposes. In this case a house or pit is de- voted to the seed-plants, which are picked out of the entire stock grown, great care being taken in their selection. These plants are set near together, and are crossed by the breeze or by the bees ; and in this way a great variety of very beautiful flowers, scarcely two being exactly alike, may be obtained. Messrs Smith & Sons of Dulwich save from a pound to a pound and a half of Cineraria seed every year, and a propor- tionate quantity of Calceolaria seed. This is considered a large quantity, and several large pits are devoted to the seed- bearing plants ; but then it must be borne in mind that good Cineraria or Calceolaria seed is worth from ;£io to ^15 per ounce, and Primula seed even more, if it is known to be saved from a first-class strain. From a houseful of Fuchsias, Mr H. Cannel — who is well known for his new varieties of this favourite plant — only obtains about a quarter of an ounce of perfect seed, the value of which cannot be calculated, as it is never sold. The seeds of many plants are gathered indiscriminately; but these are principally for the propagation of hedge-plants, such as Hawthorn, Holly, &c., and such forest-trees as Oak, Ash, Sycamore, Pines, Firs, and other Conifers; but in the latter case, care in selecting acorns, keys, or cones, is not to be lightly thought of. Many Conifer seeds are now imported from California and other parts of North America, and these imported seeds are by many considered superior to those of home growth — (see Conifers). Soft or pulpy fruits, such as Strawberries, Rasp- berries, Blackberries, Gooseberries, Currants, and others of a similar character, are rarely propagated from seed, although one can scarcely imagine such fruits to be perfect, or so near perfection as they might yet be made by cross-breeding and more careful selection. American horticulturists have much improved their native Blackberry both in size, fruitfulness, and flavour, yet we neglect such a wholesome fruit here at home. Keen's Seedling Strawberry was a few years ago con- sidered the best for fruit-growers as a main crop for market, but it is now far surpassed by half-a-dozen others ; and even the antipathy of the delicious!/- flavoured British Queen to some soils might be overcome, one would think, by a little care in cross-breeding, or perhaps raising directly from seed. 25 SEED-SAVING. There is undoubtedly a limit to the improvement of most fruits ; but Currants like Grapes in size, and Gooseberries of similar proportions to a small Melon, are not impossible, one would think, judging from the results already obtained. Atten- tion to gather or harvest seeds in dry weather, and just as soon as they are perfectly ripe, is essential. Many seeds contained in dry pods or capsules are separated by beating or by rubbing in the hands. Pulpy fruits, as Melons, Cucumbers, bush fruits, and Strawberries, require different treatment. Some separate the seeds from the pulp by washing and straining in clean water ; but it is advisable to do without this if possible, as, unless the seeds so separated are very carefully dried in the sun or before a fire, they turn mouldy and decay — that is, unless grown at once. I have adopted the following plan in clearing Cucumber and Melon seeds ; and it is equally appli- cable for all pulpy fruits, if the quantity to be separated is not very large. Cut open the fruit and separate the seeds as cleanly as possible with the fingers, laying them on a coarse dry towel, in which they are to be rubbed until dry. The pulp quickly becomes absorbed by the clQth ; but in some cases two towels may be necessary, one to absorb the bulk of the slimy pulp, and the other to thoroughly dry the seeds. Seeds so treated, and exposed for an hour in the sun on a sheet of paper, may be at once wrapped up and put away without any fear of mildew or mouldiness. Most dry seeds, as Cabbage, Turnips, and flower-seeds, are winnowed or cleaned by machinery ready for the market. It is as well to bear in mind that all seeds should be saved from the most perfect plants of their kind ; and they should be harvested as soon as they are ripe, and in dry weather. Thinning seeds, where it can be conveni- ently done, is as essential to the production of plump, well- developed seeds, as thinning Peaches or Grapes conduces to finely-developed fruit ; while suitable soils and good cultivation are just as important in one case as the other ; yet we often hear the half-contemptuous expression, " Oh, I only stucl^ them in there for seed ! " All seeds are best left on the plants until they are ripe, but some plants do not ripen all their seeds at once ; hence, as in grain, some are cut when comparatively green, but with considerable stem attached, and those seeds are as good as, in fact germinate more freely and sooner than, those left to nature upon the growing plant. The seed in such cases should be fully formed, and is better if kept in the husk or pod until ready for sowing. SEED-SOWING. 27 SEED-SOWING. It is simply impossible to do more than speak generally on this subject, than which, perhaps, there is none more perplex- ing to the amateur horticulturist. When, how, and where shall I sow ? are questions which occur to every one who re- ceives seeds of which he knows nothing whatever, or very little, as the case may be. The experienced horticulturist is well up, as a rule, in the temperature and other conditions best suited to the germination of the seeds of most garden-plants ; and when he obtains unknown seeds from abroad, he, from past experience and experiment, seldom fails, if they are in good condition. All I shall here attempt will be to give such general instructions on seed-sowing as may be useful to the young horticulturist and to inexperienced amateur culti- vators. " How deep shall I sow my seeds? " is a very common question, and one not difficult to answer, since it depends mainly on the size of the seed and constitutional vigour of the plant. A depth of about two inches is sufficient for the large seeds of such strong-growing plants as Peas, Beans, Cereals, and others of a similar character ; indeed there are scarcely any seeds which should be sown deeper, in the open ground, than this. For such medium-sized seeds as Onions, Lilies, Tulips, Hyacinths, Cabbage and other Brassicas, Carrots, Antirrhinums, Sweet-Williams, Wallflowers, and hardy annuals, a depth of from half an inch to an inch is amply sufficient — half an inch if they are small, and about an inch if large. Dr Regel has demonstrated that the covering of soil is only neces- sary to preserve an equable condition of moisture around the seeds. If some of the finest and smallest seeds — as, for instance, those of Calceolarias, Ericas, Rhododendrons, Epacris, &c. — are sown on the surface of the soil, and an equable condition of moisture maintained by covering the pot with a pane of glass, the seeds will germinate in the full sunshine much better than if they had received a slight covering of soil. This is a plain proof that absence of light is not absolutely necessary for the germination of seeds. The smallest seeds — those like fine gunpowder or sand, of which Primulas, Calceolarias, Gloxinias, Pinks and Carnations, Sweet-Basil, and many others, may be mentioned as examples — scarcely require to, and indeed should not, be covered at all ; and it is principally with delicate seeds, like those just mentioned, that the amateur fails. All very small seeds, even if hardy, are best sown on the surface of 28 SEED-SOWING. well-drained pans of fine moist earth, and placed in a cool frame or in heat, according to the season of the year and the hardiness of the plant. Some prefer to water the compost first and then sprinkle the seeds on the moist surface, while others prepare the pan and sow the seeds on the smoothened surface, and then press them with a flat bit of circular board like that used to smooth the sand on the surface of pots for fine hard-wooded cuttings ; and as it is next to impossible to water fine seeds like those named with the- finest rose without displacing them or washing them away, it is best to plunge the pot or pan for a minute or two in a shallow vessel of tepid water until the whole body of compost becomes moistened by capil- lary attraction. In both cases, a covering of damp brown paper or canvas is spread over the pot or pan, to prevent the soil from becoming dry by evaporation before the seeds ger- minate. Some use a light covering of damp moss for the same purpose ; but paper, or a sheet of glass, is much handier, and decidedly the best. Care should be taken to remove the paper or moss as soon as germination is observed to have taken place. The great essentials to the growth of seeds are heat and moisture together with air, and darkness is often advisable (if not actually necessary) until the young seedlings appear above ground. Nearly all seeds, even those of hardy plants, germinate best in a moderate heat of, say, 50° to 60°, with a humid atmosphere, notwithstanding that the seeds of some plants, as Groundsel (Senecio), Chickweed (Stellarid), or Shep- herd's Purse (Capsella), will germinate readily in the open air during the winter season, or when the thermometer is only a degree or two above the freezing-point. As a general rule, the seeds of all plants germinate better in a temperature at least ten degrees above that in which the plant grows naturally. The seeds of all hardy and half-hardy plants grow freely in a genial airy temperature of from 50° to 65°. Intertropical plants, or such as require the protection of a warm greenhouse for most part of the year, should be sown in a heat of from 65° to 80° ; while seeds of stove-plants, from the warmest parts of the world, should be sown on a genial bottom-heat of 75° to 95°. Dr Regel gives the following information as to temperatures : The minimum temperature at which germination takes place is from 38° to 40° for Lentils, Clover, Lucerne, Wheat, Barley, Rye, Mustard, Radishes, and Cress ; 43° for Carrots, Broad Beans, and Spinach • 45° for summer-blooming plants ; 48° for Buck- wheat and Maize; 50° for Beans, and 55° for Pumpkins. The maximum temperature at which germination takes place is SEED-SOWING. 29 1 12° for Cress, Pumpkins, and Maize; no°for Beans; 104° for Broad Beans, Wheat, and Barley; and 100° for Peas. In such annual plants, the nearer the temperature approaches the maximum the sooner will the seeds germinate : for instance, Maize germinates in thirty to thirty-five days, in a temperature of from 45° to 56°; in twenty to thirty days, 67° to 75°; in seven to eight days, 90° to 100°; Barley in forty to forty-five days, in a temperature of from 35° to 45°; in twenty to twenty- five days, 55° to 60°; in ten to twelve days, 94° to 100°. For tropical seeds we have named a temperature of from 70° to 90°, but there are some seeds which require a still greater heat to cause them to germinate ; for instance, the seeds of the gigantic Water-rose of the Amazon river require a heat of from 95° to 105° before they will germinate. If seeds are to be sown as soon as they are gathered, it is as well to observe that the germ or embryo of the seed is fully capable of perfect germination long before the seed has arrived at that perfect state of ripeness or maturity which is necessary to insure its keeping properties ; and if seeds are gathered at the first stage, or sown as soon as the embryo is perfect, they germinate much quicker than when perfectly ripe. We see illustrations of this fact in wet seasons, when the seed of cereals frequently germinates in the ear. The reason that young seeds, or seeds sown directly they arrive at that stage of per- fection when healthy germination is possible, grow more quickly, is because they contain less carbon than those perfectly hardened and dry ; for the more carbon a seed contains, other things being equal, the longer that seed is in germinating, because it must get rid of a large proportion of that stored-up carbon ere it will grow ; or, in other words, after nature has stored it with sufficient carbon to insure its keeping power for one or more years, certain important chemical changes must take place before it can develop leaves and roots. Naturally, when a seed falls or is sown in moist earth, it absorbs water from the soil, and also decomposes it, if the seed is in a healthy state ; but if the seed is unhealthy, its tissues, instead of separating oxygen from the water, and thus getting rid of the superfluous carbon in the form of carbonic acid gas, become clogged with superfluous moisture, and rot. Moisture, then, is one of the greatest aids to germination, but the amount of moisture essential is a most important point. Strong-growing, healthy seeds may be placed in a shallow vessel and covered with water until germination takes place, when they may either be potted or planted out in the soil ; but, on the other hand, 30 SEED-SOWING. this treatment would be certain death to many delicate seeds, which will not germinate unless sown on the surface of moist compost, and covered over, so that they are surrounded by water in the state of vapour, — a method commonly practised with such delicate seeds as Primula, Gloxinia, Gesnera, Calceolaria, and Achimenes. Whenever healthy seeds rot instead of germinating, in nine" cases out of ten excess of moisture in the soil, or irregular application of heat and moisture, has caused such a result ; and it may be taken as a rule that, the smaller and more delicate the seeds sown, the less moisture is essential in the soil in or on which they are placed. In the. case of old or unhealthy seeds, the best plan is to sow them in dry soil, placing them afterwards in a genial heat and moderately humid atmosphere, where they should not be watered until signs of germination appear. In this way the seeds are gradually supplied with moisture by the powers of absorption or attraction possessed by all soils in proportion to their dryness when placed in the moisture-laden air ; and this plan will be found to succeed where any other fails. It is customary to steep many strong-growing seeds, in order to facilitate their germination ; and seeds with very hard coats may be immersed in water heated to 200° Fahrenheit, — the object in this case being to partly decompose or loosen the tissues of the hard seed-coat, and thus stimulate the seed to make a quicker growth. Autumnal-harvested seeds from cold and temperate latitudes, even when placed in suitable conditions as regards heat and moisture, do not germinate so readily as if they had previously been more fully exposed to frost and moisture ; and on this point Dr Regel remarks that these natural conditions of ex- posure appear to have the effect of disintegrating the nutritive matter or carbon of the cotyledons, and so hastening the ger- mination of the young plants. In a state of nature, Alpine plants, and many of the plants of Northern Europe and Asia, are sown in the snow ; and this is especially true of Primulas, Azaleas, Gentians, many kinds of Pinks, to say nothing of Willows, Brambles, Roses, and other forms of northern vegetation. " Exposed to the influence of water, heat, and air, the parts of a seed soften and distend \ the embryo swells and bursts its envelopes, extending the neck and bases of the cotyledons, and finally emitting its radicle (root), which pierces the earth, deriving its support at first from the cotyledons or albumen, but subsequently absorbing nutriment from the soil, and communi- cating it upwards to the young plant. The manner in which SEED-SOWING. 3 1 the embryo clears itself from its integuments differs in various species : sometimes it dilates equally in all directions, and bursts through its coat, which thus becomes ruptured in every direction ; more frequently the radicle passes out at the hilum or near it, or at a point apparently provided by nature for that purpose, as in Canna, Commelina, &c. If the radicle has a root-sheath, this is soon perforated by the radicle contained within it, which passes through the extremity, as in grasses and most monocotyledonous plants. The cotyledons either remain underground, sending up their plumule from the centre as an oak, or from the side of their elongated neck as in monocoty- ledons ; or they rise above the ground, acquire a green colour, and perform the ordinary functions of leaves, as in Radish and most plants. In the Mangrove, germination takes place in the pericarp (or fruit) before the seed falls from the tree ; a long thread-like caulicle is emitted, which elongates till it reaches the soft mud in which such trees usually grow, where it speedily strikes root and separates from its parents. Trapa natans has two very unequal cotyledons ; of these the larger sends out a very long petiole, to the extremity of which are attached the radicle, the plumule (or young stem), and the smaller cotyledon. Cyclamen germinates like a monocotyledon; its single cotyledon does not quit the seed till the end of germina- tion, and its caulicle thickens into a fleshy knob which roots from its base. The Cuscuta, which has no cotyledons, strikes root downwards and lengthens upwards, clinging to anything near it, and performing all the functions of a plant without either leaves or green colour of its own. In monocotyledons the cotyledon always remains within the seminal integument, while its base lengthens and emits a plumule. In Cycas, which has two cotyledons, the seminal integuments open and the radicle escapes." — (Lindley.) From the ' Flore ' we learn that two chemists of the Academy of Brussels, Messrs Deheian and Ed. Landrin, have made some interesting discoveries relative to the germination of seed. It is well known that the action of the air and the presence of water are necessary conditions ; but hitherto the mode of action of these two agents has not been fully understood. MM. Deheian and Landrin have been enabled to throw some light on these mysterious phenomena. It is now ascertained that the effect of water is to soften the covering of the seed so as to render it permeable by gas. When they have imbibed sufficient moisture, the tissues of the seed acquire the property of con- densing gases. This condensation cannot take place without 32 SEED-SOWING. producing heat ; the oxygen, therefore, which has penetrated the tissues is sufficiently heated to cause oxidation, and the consequent awakening of vegetable life. According to the experiments of MM. Dehe'ian and Landrin, the condensation of the gases in the seed is the first commencement of germination. If this condition is not produced, whether from want of water or because the air cannot reach the seed, there can be no for- mation of the immediate principles necessary for the evolution of the germ. These experiments, although highly scientific, are very interesting from a practical point of view, as they enable the cultivator to determine the influence which the solidity of the soil, the dryness or the excess of moisture, the depth of earth in which the seed is placed, may have on the success of the sowing. Experience has already taught us much on these matters ; but scientific methods, corro- borating as they do the observations of practical men, can alone point out the sure means to be employed to bring about desired results. A weak solution of alkali quickens the growth of some seeds, and lime-water has been recommended as a steep for cereals, coniferous, and other seeds ; but it must be used in a weak state. The secret of success in using lime would seem to be its affinity for carbonic acid, which it extracts from the seed, and thus induces a more rapid germination than the application of heat and moisture alone. Humboldt employed a weak solution of chlorine, which possesses the power of decomposing water, and thus setting oxygen at liberty ; and diluted oxalic acid has been successfully used in the case of very old seeds. Camphor has long been said to possess the property of hasten- ing the germination of seeds, and similar properties have been attributed to bromine, chlorine, and iodine. M. Heckel has recently experimented with these substances, and the results go towards proving the correctness of this assertion. Radish- seeds, simply moistened with pure water, germinated in eight days ; similar seeds, kept moist with iodine water, germinated in five days, with bromine water in three days, and with chlo- rine water in two days. The monobromide of camphor exhibited even greater quickening energy than either of its constituents used separately, or than a simple mixture of bromide and camphor, germination occurring after a mean interval of thirty-six hours. Alkaline borates and silicates, on the other hand, were found to retard germination, even when used in relatively small proportions ; stronger solutions checking germination for an indefinite period. Arsenious acid and the SEED-SOWING. 33 soluble arseniates prevented germination altogether by destroy- ing the germ or embryo. Heat assists germination by quickening the action of the tissues; and darkness is favourable to the liberation of the carbon and the formation of carbonic acid gas, — a process which takes place in the growth of all seeds. The relative length of time in which seeds germinate is very variable ; some, as Mustard, Cress, and Radishes, for example, appearing above the earth a few hours after they are sown, while other seeds lie in the ground for years. Seeds of many hardy trees and shrubs, as Conifers, Hawthorn, &c., germinate the first or second year ; while, if the ground is left undisturbed, straggling seedlings make their appearance for years afterwards. Some seeds will germinate after having been kept above ground for many years, while others fail to grow the second year, — and the fact is as unaccountable as it is true. Seeds buried deep in the earth — that is, below the effects of air and external tem- perature— retain their vegetating power for lengthened periods, and spring into life again when brought near the surface, so as to be influenced by heat and air. Evidence of this is afforded by the deep cuttings made for bridges and railways in nearly all parts of the country ; and it will be found that the botany of railway embankments is often far richer than the adjoining country. The quality and size of seeds, as pointed out many years ago by Mr T. A. Knight, demand some attention, since on these points the success or failure of a crop in a great measure depends. Dr Gustav Marck has recently published a valu- able paper on this important subject, embodying the results of a great number of experiments made by him at the experi- mental stations at Halle and Leipsic. Most convincing proof of the superior value of large seed is furnished by the results of some of his experiments in the garden. Beans and Peas were planted in the garden, small and large seeds of each kind being planted on adjacent plots, the Beans 12 inches apart each way, and the Peas in rows 10 inches apart and 2 inches asunder in the row. The crop was carefully harvested, and measured when ripe, and the progress of growth was closely watched during the season. The larger and more uniform growth of the plants from the larger seeds, from the beginning to the end of the season, is shown in the condensed tabular form in which we have arranged the results of these experi- ments. Height is given in inches, and weight in ounces, if not otherwise specified. 34 SEED-SOWING. Plants from — Large Small BEANS. Seed. Seed. May 23. — Height of plants, .... 6 — 8 3 — 9 Average number of leaves, ... 8 6 June 9. — Height of plants, .... 12—5 10— n une n. — Number. of plants in bloom, 45 12 une 17. — All the plants in blossom. Ten average plants taken up from each plot. Average height of plants, . . 24 20 Average number of leaves on each plant, . 13 n Aggregate weight of the ten plants when dry, ingrains, . . 837 576 July 31. — Pods fully formed. Whole number of pods, 3138 2799 Aug. 5. — Crop harvested. Total weight of haulm and pods, . . . . . 219 . 183 Weight of seed, first quality, . . : '< . . 162 121 Weight of seed, second quality, . . • . . • 6 25 In whatever way the plants are compared, and however minute the measurements that are made, the advantage remains always with the plants from the large seed. The much greater uniformity of growth cannot be shown in the table without taking too much space, but it appears all through the details given in the original paper. To give one or two instances : Of the ten plants taken up on June 17, all but one of those from the large seed had its leaves as given in the table, and the odd one had twelve leaves ; on the other hand, of the plants from the small seed some had ten, some eleven, and some twelve leaves, and one had thirteen. The uniformity of the plants from the large seed was marked. At the rate given in the above table, the increased yield per acre of seed of the first quality that may be obtained by the use of large seed rather than small would be 250 Ib. A similar course of experiments with Peas gave the following results : — Plants from — Large Small PEAS. Seed. Seed. May 23. — Height of plants, . .*•-.,. . 6—8 4—5 June 6. — Height of plants, 18 10 — 12 June 19. — Ten average plants taken up from each plot : Average height of these plants, . 44 34 Average number of leaves, . . 15 13 Average weight of the ten plants, green, . 1 1 — 5 9 Ditto, dry, .... 2 1—6 July 26. — Crop harvested : Total weight of haulm and pods, . . 201 192 Weight of seed, first quality, . . 48 — 5 19 Ditto, second quality, . . ••« 19 37 SEED-SOWING. 35 In the case of the Peas as well as of the Beans, the plants from the larger seed were better throughout the season than those from the small seed : the superiority of the former was specially marked in respect to the quality of the seed harvested, as shown in the table. Professor Lehmann, of Munich, carried out a somewhat similar course of experiments with the same plants, and with still more striking results in favour of the use of large and carefully-selected seed; and in his experiments not only did the larger seed yield a larger crop from the same number of plants, but .a much larger proportion of the small seed failed to germinate in the garden, or at least to push the young plants to the surface of the ground, than of the large seed. At the January meeting (1876) of the Edinburgh Botanic Society, Mr Stephen Wilson read a very interesting paper on " Turnip Seeds ; " and his experiments also go to prove that large, plump, well-ripened seeds are the best in every way. Even in the case of tubers used for " sets," as with Potatoes, the same rule holds good. Mr Maw, in his Prize Essay on Potato-Culture, read before the Society of Arts, points out that the larger Potato "sets" are, up to 8 ounces each, the finer and heavier is the crop. Large, heavy, well-ripened seeds secured, a careful mode of sowing must not be lost sight of; and as the object of sowing is to obtain the largest and best crops from a given area, it follows that the system which secures this end is the best. One of the evils most to be dreaded is sowing too thickly. Just the quantity of seed to secure a good crop should be sown, and no more. The seedlings should never be so close together that they are brought into competition for food and air ; in- deed, all cases of thick-seeding or overcrowding are so much power lost — loss of seed, loss of labour in thinning out, and loss of nature's greatest power, that of growth. In the case of large seeds, dibbling is perhaps the best of all modes of sowing. The following table on the duration of the germinating power in seeds was originally published in the ' Revue Horti- cole,' and may be useful to those who are uncertain whether to sow old seeds or not. The figures indicate the number of years in each case in which the seeds named may be de- pended upon as preserving their vitality or power of growth. In many cases the power of growth is preserved much longer than here stated. SEED-SOWING. Artichoke (Globe) 5 Dandelion i Pepper (Long) . 4 Asparagus . 4 Egg Plant 7 Potato . . 4 Basil . 6 Endive 8 Purslane . . 8 Beans (Garden) 6 Fennel 6 Radish . . 5 Beans (French) 2-3 Gourd . 5 Rampion . . 5 Beet . 5 Leek . 2 Rhubarb . -3 Burnet, 2 Lettuce c Salsify . . 2 Cabbage 5 Maize . 2 Savory . . 3 Carcloon 7 Melon . 5 Scorzonera . . 2 Carrot 4 Mustard 5 Sorrel . . .2 Cauliflower . • 5 Nasturtium 5 Spinach . . 5 Celery . 7 Onion . 2-3 Spinach (New Zea- Chervil 2 Onion (Wels h) 2 land) .". . 5 Chicory 8 Orach . I Strawberry . . 8 Corn Salad . 4 Parsley, 3 Thyme . 2-3 Cress (Garden) 5 Parsnip Tomato . . 5 Cress (Water) 4 Peas . 4-5 Turnip . . 5 Cucumber 5 As a rule, albuminous seeds preserve their vitality longer than exalbuminous kinds. Lindley, in his ' Theory of Horti- culture/ p. 79, speaking of the vitality of seeds, says : " Not to speak of the doubtful instances of seeds taken from the Pyra- mids having germinated, Melons have been known to grow at the. age of 40 years, Kidney-Beans at 100, Sensitive Plant at 60, Rye at 40, and there are now (1840) growing in the garden of the Royal Horticultural Society, * Raspberry plants raised from seeds 1600-1700 years old." — (See also 'Introduction to Botany,' 3d ed., p. 35-38.) Seeds should be kept in a dry, airy room or cupboard, and the more equal the temperature is the better. Seeds soon turn mouldy in a damp situation, and the place where they are kept had better be hot than damp. A nest of small drawers is the most convenient place to keep seeds, and the name of each kind should be painted on in alphabetical order. Arranged in this manner they are readily obtainable, and there is less danger of waste, mixing, and confusion, than when kept in papers loosely bundled together in a way which necessitates the whole assortment being looked over when any particular sort is required. The following excellent practical hints on the management of flower-seeds are from the pen of Mr W. Thompson of Ipswich, who has done much towards fostering and extending the culture of hardy and other ornamental plants in our gar- * The late Professor Henslow doubted this statement, owing to the pro- bability of fresh seeds having been mixed by accident with the older ones. (See a letter by Dr J. D. Hooker in ' Reminiscences of Fen and Mere ' (Longmans), p. 84.) SEED-SOWING. 37 dens, by importing and supplying seeds of the most beautiful plants of all climates at a just and reasonable rate. HINTS ON THE MANAGEMENT OF FLOWER-SEEDS. Hardy Annuals are best sown in the open border in light soil, from March to June for summer and autumn flowering ; and in September for flowering the following spring. Half-hardy Annuals require to be sown in March or April, on a gentle hotbed, or in a close frame without bottom-heat, the latter mode succeeding perfectly unless the seeds are sown too early in the season ; many of them may even be sown in the open borders at the end of April or beginning of May, but will not then flower so early. Tender Annuals, a very limited class, will also vegetate in a close frame, but require more warmth to bring them to perfec- tioji than the preceding; they should, after pricking out, be transferred to a second hotbed, and will flower most satisfac- torily in the greenhouse or window. Hardy Perennials may be sown in the open borders any time from March to August, but will succeed with greater certainty if raised in a close frame, with or without bottom-heat ; thus treated, many will flower the first season, if sown early and planted out in the borders in May. The amateur will do well to bear in mind that though some perennial seeds vegetate as quickly as those of Annuals, there are many others which usually remain dormant for weeks, or even months ; to this class belong the Gentians, Cyclamens, Paeonies, Fraxinella, many Australian Leguminosse, and especi- ally North American plants. Half-hardy Perennials require the treatment of the Half- hardy Annuals, differing only in their need of winter protection. Stove seeds need a moist, elevated temperature, such as the stove or forcing-pit affords, and greenhouse seeds succeed well under the same conditions ; in their absence, the latter are best raised in a good hotbed. Biennials may be sown in the open ground in spring or summer, not later than June and July, the seedlings being planted in autumn where they are intended to bloom the fol- lowing season. The half-hardy plants of this class, as Ipomop- sis, should be pricked out in pots, that they may be protected in winter. All seeds sown in frames or pits require shading with tiffany or thin calico in bright weather during the middle of the day, 38 SEED-SOWING. especially as the spring advances. In the open ground, seeds should not be sown too early : there is' great risk of failure before the end of March. Where early flowers are desired of Annuals, it is better to sow in autumn. For all seeds in pots, a compost of/frz on tne "Influence of Insect Agency on the Distribution of Plants," and " Heredity and Hybridism," a suggestion by E. W. Cox, S.L. (Longmans). 88 HYBRIDISING AND CROSS-BREEDING. to insect agency; — for instance: i. Cultivation increases the size and colour of flowers quite independently of the existence or non-existence of insects. 2. Double flowers, in which the doubling arises from metamorphosis of stamens or pistils, are more showy than the single forms ; yet insects can be of little use to them, since they are either partially or entirely barren. The double-blossomed Cherry is brilliantly conspicuous, but it bears no fruit. 3. Such abortive flowers as the cultivated Guelder Rose and Hydrangea depend for their beauty upon the destruction of the reproductive organs. If their increased splendour is meant only as a lure to insects, it is surely an absurd failure. 4. The autumn colours of leaves and fruits* can serve no such purpose, yet these are often as bright and conspicuous as the flowers of summer. 5. Fungi and Lichens exhibit brilliant colours, which can have nothing to do with insect fertilisation. Do not these facts indicate, that though insects may be attracted by conspicuous colours, and may have some influence in the maintenance of coloured species, there is yet a deeper and more permanent cause for the colour itself? Insects and Colour of Flowers. — It is a curious fact that nearly all night-blooming plants bear white flowers, and many species of Cactaceous plants, especially Cereus, may be cited as examples, together with long-spurred, nectar-laden Angraecums and noble Yuccas ; while a further notable fact in connection with night-flowering plants is, that their fragrance is scarcely per- ceptible during bright daylight, and is almost overpowering at night, especially in a hothouse or close room. Here the colour and fragrance seem specially adapted to attract the attention of nocturnal lepidoptera or other insects. The theory that flowers owe their bright colours to insect agency is sup- ported by the fact, that in the natural order of Orchids we have the most lovely and varied of all floral beauty ; and this order is singularly indebted to insects, without the assistance of which, indeed, Orchid flowers cannot become fertilised in their native habitats. Asclepiads in like manner are mainly dependent on insect agency, just like Orchids; but in the first- named group nectar would seem to be the principal attraction ; while in the case of Orchids, colour and fragrance seem the charms to lure the little "winged messengers of love." My object here, however, is not to do what Darwin, Lubbock, Huxley, and others have already done before me, but to show * The beauty of fruits, as shown by Prof. Hildebrand and Mr Darwin (Origin of Species, chap, vi.), "serves merely as a guide to birds and beasts, in order that the fruit may be devoured and the seeds disseminated. " HYBRIDISING AND CROSS-BREEDING. 89 as clearly as possible how plants may be artifically fertilised so as to change and if possible improve them, either in use or beauty. Cross-fertilisation seems in many cases to in- fuse fresh life or additional vegetative vigour into cultivated seedling plants, besides changing them materially in habit and colour of flower, or in the size and flavour of their seeds or fruits. Increased Vigour. — I have in several cases noted the healthy vigorous appearance of Mr Dominy's hybrid and bigeneric hy- brid Orchids compared with the parent plants, and Cypripedium Harrissianum (C. barbato-villosuni) or Calanthe Veitchii may be cited as examples, being more robust than either of their parents, and more profuse bloomers; but in some cases we find that this vigour is at the expense of fertility in the hybrid, hence they are called mules. In the animal kingdom, also, this hardy vigour seems transmitted to sterile hybrids, the mule being capable of more prolonged exertion than either the horse or the ass. But while the occasional infusion of fresh blood by cross -fertilisation is beneficial 'and invigorating to either animals or plants, cross-breeding in-and-in very often pro- duces weakly and debilitated progeny. Some few hybrids or mules between distinct species are sterile or barren in the first generation, while on the other hand crosses between two forms of the same species are not unfrequently more vigorous and prolific than their parents in growth, flower, and fruit while under cultivation ; but it will be found that they possess far less " staying " power, and either revert to the normal type or die out, if they have to compete with other vegetables in the universal struggle for existence. It is curious to observe that varieties in some cases cannot be crossed ; while some plants, like Tacsonia, are more readily fertilised by the pollen of other species than by that from their own flowers. Hybrids also vary from complete or even increased fertility to entire sterility. I particularly wish to point out that all our improve- ments, however valuable they may be in a state of cultivation, either for use or ornament, are actually inferior to their wild parents when relegated to a state of nature ; and this is a most important fact, and one which proves the unyielding pressure of that curse which the first gardener incurred in the first garden. Natural Cross-fertilisation. — We need not here look into the mysteries of irritable or dimorphic stamens, elastic glutinous caudicles, and the many other simple or intricate arrangements by which nature secures that occasional cross so essential to pro- longed fertility and vigorous heatlh, since the works of Darwin, Lubbock, and others explain all these devices fully, so far as is 9O HYBRIDISING AND CROSS-BREEDING. at present known. It is sufficient for us to know that the organs of most plants are naturally adapted so as to secure fertility and cross-fertilisation occasionally ; so that artificial cross-fertilisation is but an attempt on our part to " mend nature, change it rather, — the art itself is nature." A very interesting paper on the subject of cross-fertilisation by insect agency and natural self-fertilisation, by Mr Meehan of Philadelphia, will be found in the * Gardeners' Chronicle,' 1875, p. 327, 32 8. In tms paper he names a variety of plants which are self-fertilising according to his experience, and draws attention to the fact that the way in which plants are fed influences their fertility to a much greater extent than is generally supposed. According to Mr Meehan, the de- gree of nourishment which plants obtain has a very wonder- ful influence on their sexual organs : indeed his conclusion is that female flowers are produced only in the best conditions of vegetative vigour, while with a weakened vitality comes an increased tendency to bear male flowers ; and when we con- sider the occasional appearance of male and female flowers simultaneously on such dioecious plants as Ccelebogyne, Hu- mulus, Aucuba, many Palms, and Araucaria, this view seems not only possible but also probable. From the facts given in the paper above cited, Mr Meehan deduces the following state- ments : — i st. That the great bulk of coloured flowering- plants are self-fertilisers. 2d. That only to a limited extent do insects aid fer- tilisation. 3d. Self-fertilisers are every way as healthy and vigorous as, and immensely more productive than, those dependent on insect aid. 4th. That where plants are so dependent, they are the worse fitted to engage in the struggle for life, the great underlying principle in natural selection. One great fact in reference to this fourth deduction should not escape our notice — viz., that all the plants which require insect agency to enable them to produce seeds are singularly deficient in economic value, so far as our knowledge now extends. Fancy the millions of flowers produced by our cereal crops requiring insect agency, and note how perfect is the fertility of our corn plants, nearly every flower in a head of wheat or barley becoming fertilised and developed with a pre- cision and exactness that would be marvellous had we not learned to regard the whole performance as a mere matter of course. It is very singular to note the precocity of some seminal HYBRIDISING AND CROSS-BREEDING. 91 varieties, and this tendency appears to be favoured by bad culture. Seedling Fuchsias, if starved, frequently flower when only an inch or two in height; and in a recent number of the ' Revue Horticole,' figures are given of an Ailanthus excelsa * which produced flowers when only four months old, and when the seed-leaves were still attached to the plant. The flowers were male. It is possible that a similar case figured in the 'Gardeners' Chronicle' was also a seedling, but we had no opportunity of ascertaining whether this was so or not. M. Carriere also figures a Weigela which flowered when little more than an inch in height. More than 200 seedlings showed the same precocity, and Rhamnus olecefolhis and Pavia hybrida have been observed by M. Carriere to present the like pheno- menon. A seedling Cocoa-nut Palm (Cocos nucifera) is figured in the 'Gardeners' Chronicle,' 1873, p. 213, and this bore both male and female flowers on a curved branched spadix long before the plant assumed its pinnate foliage. A whole race of dwarf Rhododendrons was raised by Messrs Standish & Noble prior to 1850 (see Rhododendron);. and it appears possible for the intelligent cultivator and hybridiser to originate and select some dwarf and precocious races of our most popular flowers, as well as of those plants which, like Brownea, Amherstia, ^Esculus, and other trees and shrubs do not naturally flower in a small state, by taking advantage of nature's variability or precocious sportiveness, induced by cross-breeding or cul- tivation, since whenever a break is obtained in any given di- rection, the perfection of such variations is merely a, work of patience and perseverance. Poor soil and a light dry atmo- sphere are favourable to either dwarf or variegated plants, and also facilitate the production of flowers. A moist genial tem- perature, with plenty of light and sun-heat, greatly assists fertilisation by hastening the growth of the pollen-tubes ; and careful selection of plump, well-ripened- seeds, from such individuals only as come nearest to the desired standard of assumed perfection, must be specially attended to as one of the most potent helps towards the desired end. The late Dean Herbert, writing as long ago as 1842, re- marked that a skilful application of these apparently simple but natural means would seem to be the medium by which it was intended that the life and energy, beauty and variety, of the vege- table kingdom should be made subject to the control of man ; * M. Carriere figures a tree of Ailanthus glandulosus in the 'Revue Horticole,' 1872, p. 234, which bore male and female flowers on separate branches. 92 HYBRIDISING AND CROSS-BREEDING. and all that has yet been accomplished in this way appears but as scattered fragments, compared with what may be expected when this sacred enclosure of nature has fully yielded itself up to the researches of science and philosophy. Enough has been already secured to encourage and stimulate future effort. There is considerable analogy between seeds and buds; and bearing this fact in mind, it is singular to notice that some buds which ought normally to have produced leafy branches and flowers the year following, bear a confused cluster of leaves and flowers together. This may be often observed on badly- ripened growths (pseudo - bulbs) of Dendrobium chrysanthum and D. nobile. In both cases deficient nutriment is one of the causes of these phenomena. The case of the Ailanthus cited above bears out Mr Meehan's theory — viz., that a weakened vitality tends to the fuller development of the male organs; and in connection with this theory it would be interesting to experiment with those plants which, like Narcissus biflorus, Verschaffeltii, and many others, are known to be deficient in pollen, as possibly a course of starvation might cause its development, and so enable us to obtain hybrids otherwise impossible. Many plants, if in ill health, or if half starved, are far more fertile than when amply nourished ; and weakly or decaying fruit-trees often bear enormous crops, which is evidently a strenuous effort towards reproduction ; and a knowledge of this fact may be of great service to the intelli- gent hybridist. Object and Results of Hybridisation. — " Can anything be more striking than the effects of hybridising upon Pelargoniums, Heaths, Gloxinias, Verbenas, and Gladioli? By this process we have given to the hardy Pears of the north all the richness and delicacy of those of the south, to watery and flavourless Grapes the perfume of the Muscat, to the pale-faced but hardy Rhododendrons of Caucasus and America the rich and glow- ing colours of their tender brethren of India, to the gaudy Azalea of Pontus the crimson of the small-flowered fragrant species of the United States. " Hybridising is a game of chance played between man and plants. It is in some respects a matter of hazard ; and we all know how much more excitement is produced by uncertain than by certain results. What increases the charm of the game is, that although the end of it may be doubtful, yet a good player can judge of the issue with tolerable confidence, and that skill and judgment have in this case all their cus- tomary value." — (Lindley.) It has often been said that the results to be obtained from HYBRIDISING AND CROSS-BREEDING. 93 crossing two species are irregular; and to a certain extent, undoubtedly, these assertions are true. We have instances, however, in which the same hybrid has been obtained by two different raisers ; and Mr J. M'Nab, in his presidential address to the Botanical Society of Edinburgh, pointed out that some hybrid Rhododendrons can be produced at will by crossing certain species. The late Mr James Cunningham, of the Comely Bank Nurseries, Edinburgh, raised the hybrid Bryanthus erectus by crossing M-enziesia ccerulea with pollen , from Rhododendron chamcecystis ; and Mr J. Anderson-Henry also raised the same hybrid in the same manner. Again, shortly after Messrs Veitch raised their greenhouse hybrid Rhododendron "Princess Royal" (R.jasminiflorum-javanicuni), a plant nearly if not quite identical was raised by Mr W. Wentworth Buller. Mr Marshall exhibited a hybrid Begonia (B. Marshallii} at South Kensington a year or two ago ; and at the same time Mr Dominy had a hybrid (B. Dominiana) to all appearance exactly like it, this last being raised between B. rex and B. argentea. When we see hundreds of seedlings precisely alike spring from the seed-pods of two distinct species, crossed reciprocally, as was the case with Cypripedium Sedeni ( C. longi- folio-Schlimii), we have ample proof that hybridising is not altogether mere chance work, and the seedlings of C. Harris- sianum (C. barbato-villosum\ although variable, were not more so than many species, and are themselves equally fertile ; but it is only by carefully collating a much larger number of facts than we now possess that we shall be able to catch a glimpse of the laws which regulate hybrid productions. A -series of experiments, repeated time after time with the same parent species, would do much to clear up the doubts which now .exist as to the possibility of reproducing hybrids by again crossing the parent species. The facts above cited go to prove that, in some cases at least, this can be done with tolerable precision. It is, of course, essential in experiments of the kind here suggested, that the plants operated on be in the most perfect health; and the heat, moisture, and other con- ditions by which the parent species are surrounded when fertilisation is effected should be carefully noted, and as nearly as possible secured when fertilisation is again repeated. It would be very interesting to take three or four healthy bloom- ing plants of Fuchsia spectabilis as seed-bearers, and cross these with pollen from F. serratifolia, and after sowing the seeds thus produced, note the result, which, according to precedent, should be three or four batches of F. Dominiana. This experiment might be tried in the case of any plants of which 94 HYBRIDISING AND CROSS-BREEDING. the hybrid parentage is known ; and in many cases I am fully convinced, from experiments of my own, that, if the same parents are crossed as at first, the reproduction of hybrids would be the result. At present the raisers of hybrids never, or at all events very rarely, attempt to repeat any cross they have previously made, since, if the results are bad, they avoid repeating the experiment, and if it is successful, and a distinct and beautiful hybrid is obtained, reproduction is more easily effected by the vegetative methods, such as cuttings, layers, grafting, or division. The ends to be obtained by intelligent culture, selection, and cross-breeding or hybridising, may be summed up in the words of the late Dr Lindley as follows : " To increase the size of flowers, or to improve their colour ; to approximate their form to some assumed standard of perfection ; to enlarge the foliage, as in esculents; to render tender plants hardy; to make barren races fertile ; to improve flavour, by changing acidity or austerity into sugary matter ; or to exchange early for late varieties." These results have already been obtained, and the further we advance in this noble field of intelligent research and improvement, the fainter do its boundary-lines appear. Proportionate Results of Cross-Breeding. — The proportionate results obtained by cross-breeding florists' flowers are interest- ing, and are thus stated in the ' Gardeners' Magazine : ' "Mr Keynes of Salisbury sows every year, and has done for many years past, 30,000 Dahlia seeds, and has averaged about ten named flowers for the last twenty years or more — a small per- centage, equal to one-thirtieth per cent : in this case, however, it would seem as if many good flowers must be lost, for 30,000 seedlings ought to give at least thirty varieties worth naming, . or say one-tenth per cent. The late Mr John Salter estimated that seedling Chrysanthemums worth naming averaged one in every 2000 plants, or one-twentieth per cent. Mr Downie grows 500 Pentstemons or Phloxes to get ten first-rate novel- ties, this being at the high rate of two per cent. In the raising of plants that admit of careful manipulation, the rate is still higher — the result, no doubt, of the control the raiser exercises. In the case of Dahlias, Hollyhocks, and Chrysanthemums, the raiser has not much control, but he selects the seed parent and watches over the growth of the seed, which is under control to some extent. There are cases in which the cross-breeder goes direct to his work, and having in his mind's eye exactly what he wants, insures it right off; but this is not an everyday business." HYBRIDISING AND CROSS-BREEDING. 95 Cultural Variability. — Doubtless much is attributed to hybridism, which is really cultural variability; and in drawing attention to some phases of the latter, I cannot do better than quote what Professor M. J. Decaisne * says on this subject : " We cannot possibly doubt but that culture has a great ten- dency to cause, or at least hasten, the variability of plants, and this doubtless from the complexity of the elements which it brings into action. Changes or transformations which plants undergo in our gardens are much more rapid, comparatively speaking, than the variability of plants in the wild state. For example, the Poppy, .the Cornflower, the Larkspur, are always very uniform in habit, and especially in colour, in the wild state ; but in the richer soil of our gardens they are modified or changed in. the most remarkable manner. Poppy-flowers pass from scarlet to white, or nearly black, by the extension of the basal spot on each petal : sometimes they are shaded with two or more colours, or the crimped edges of the petals become elegantly fringed, while at other times they become perfectly double. Cornflowers and Larkspurs, the flowers of which are so uniformly blue in the wild state, nearly always change their colours, and that shortly after they are introduced to cultivation, and become white or rose-coloured; or rose blends with blue, and causes the bright metallic shades of bronzy purple so common to Larkspurs or Delphiniums : indeed it is very rare that they preserve their primitive colour. We cannot attribute these variations to crossing with other species, since the flowers are fecundated by their own pollen some time before the expansion of the petals ; and besides, these variations eventually become hereditary, like the specific characters. In- herence of forms is then not the exclusive right of species, since varieties or races of known origin also possess it in an equal or even superior degree, so that permanence of character — that is, habit, form, colour, &c. — is not an absolute criterion by which to decide that any particular form allied to some other, discovered in a wild state, and recognised as hereditary, is on that account a different species." It has frequently been pointed out that in a state of nature plant-life is as a rule in a condition of repose, the heredi- tary firmness of character being sufficient to counterbalance natural disturbing influences; hence the species reproduces itself from seed, and remains in its pure or characteristic state. This balance is so nicely adjusted, however, that if we vary the surrounding conditions of the plant by bringing it into * See Annales des Sciences Naturelles (1864), 4 serie, vol. xx. p. 188, or Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society (new series), vol. i. p. 39. g6 HYBRIDISING AND CROSS-BREEDING. cultivation, the plant becomes changed, and its offspring are likely to vary. Culture is one disturbing influence ; but culti- vators avail themselves of even more violent measures in con- junction with it, one of the most potent of these being hybridi- sation. That plants are changed and ameliorated by culture has been known from the beginning of man's history ; indeed, culture is especially used as a means of increasing crops, or with the definite object of changing them in size, form, texture, flavour, and value, either as necessaries or luxuries. Wichura has the following remarks on the subject of cultural variability : " Transported from nature into the garden, or from a warm into a colder climate, the plant preserves its peculiari- ties for a time ; then slight changes creep in, and more follow, until ultimately, by repeated generation, scarcely one seedling individual is like another. In this state the pollen of many plants resembles that of hybrids in its variability of form, structure, and even chemical composition. Most cultivated varieties of Primula auricula, Hyacinthus oriejitalis, Tulipa gesneriana, Solatium tuber osum, Brassica oleracea, Mathiola incana, Antirrhinum majus, Cineraria cruenta, and Verbenas, have strikingly irregular pollen. Koelreuter therefore says rightly that the nature of species of plants and beasts is to a certain extent like that of hybrids as soon as they are in any way re- moved from their natural conditions. Where culture and hybridising or cross-breeding concur, the consequences of dis- accommodation are naturally quicker and more extensive or variable than where only one of these agencies is at work. Thus we find in fancy and show Pelargoniums, giant Pansies, Calceolarias, Fuchsias, Strawberries, and many other artificial or hybrid races, variability and multiformity of pollen in the highest degree. It is probable, although not proven, that in cultivated plants — that is, species as in hybrids — irregularity of pollen favours variability. If gardeners, in raising new fruits or flowers, varieties or hybrids, would use the microscope or a good lens, and allow those individuals to remain for seed which have the most irregular pollen, or if they would use the most irregular pollen in artificial fertilisation, they would doubtless materially facilitate the accomplishment of their desires. The imperfection of pollen in hybrids is often adduced as a decid- edly distinctive mark between them and pure species ; but the fact is, there are hybrids the pollen of which is little less regular than that of the parents — as, for example, in Petunias; and there are pure species, or wild plants regarded as such, which have more irregular pollen than many known hybrids. Yet, generally speaking, it is quite true that hybrids generally have HYBRIDISING AND CROSS-BREEDING. 97 more irregular pollen than species. Gaertner remarks that the anthers of all fertile hybrids, as Nicotiana rustica-paniculata, Malva mauritiana-sylvestris, Aquilegia atropurpurea-canadensis, Lychnis diurna-vespertina, have larger and smaller pollen -grains mixed in different proportions, beside small grains of very vari- able size and form, some curiously elongated, some shrivelled, others mere dry sacs, the latter form being especially the case with the less fertile hybrids — a fact also observed by Koelreuter, who observes that the increased luxuriance of many hybrids arises from the fact that they are sterile, the weakness or impo- tence of the generative organs in luxuriant hybrids inducing an increase of vegetative growth. " Sometimes nature produces offspring of extraordinary pro- portions from parents of ordinary characteristics. How this happens — whether from peculiar temperature and high culti- vation causing redundant vigour and power at the time of fecundation, or from what other cause — we are not yet able to determine. An instance of this kind is to be seen in the Camellia Floyii, an American seedling whose gigantic habit, and large and thick foliage, are without a parallel in the whole tribe ; and what renders this the more remarkable is the fact that when this variety was raised from seed by Mr Floy about sixty years since, there were not ten varieties of the Camellia in the United States, to none of which have we been able to trace its genitive origin. From a cross by this Camellia was produced Camellia President Clarke, which inherits many characteristics of the parent. In fruits we find the same augmentation in the size of progeny from parents of common size. Beurre Clairgeau Pear, so large and beautiful, is without doubt from the seed of Beurre Capiaumont; the Northern Spy Apple, so magnificent in proportions and beauty, from the Red Nonsuch or old Canada Red. Both these seed- lings are of unusual vigour and beauty, and from whatever im- pregnation they may have arisen, they furnish evidence of the power of nature sometimes to produce without the aid of man varieties of great excellence." — (See Marshall P. Wilder's Ad- dress to the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, Feb. 7, 1872.) Bud Variation dr Sports. — As we have already observed, hybrid plants, or the seminal offspring of two distinct — that is, different — species as parents, are practical truths or facts ; and in many cases, were their hybrid origin unknown, no botanist would hesitate to describe them as new species. Indeed this has already been done in one or two cases, and notably in the case of Imantophyllum cyrtanthiflorum. Not that the botanist is to be blamed for these little oversights, he having in many 98 HYBRIDISING AND CROSS-BREEDING. cases no information beyond that afforded by an examination of the plant before him, and it is impossible to find any definite distinction between hybrids and species, even after the closest examination possible; and many hybrid plants, such as Del- phinium formosum, Primula elatior, and others, reproduce them- selves from seed as exactly as, or even more so than, many pure species or plants generally received as such. Indeed some varieties, and notably Pelargonium " Christine" and P. "Madame Vaucher" and the races of Greengages and Dam- sons among Plums, reproduce themselves from seed with but little variation. Just as species and varieties are in many cases undistinguishable by structural or functional characteristics, so are bud variations or "sports" often so permanent and distinct as to be perfectly unrecognisable from seminal varieties; in- deed it is often assumed that sports and seminal variations have a common causation in the uniting of two sets of individual characteristics by hybridisation or cross-breeding, only in the latter case the variation is apparent from the time of the germi- nation of the seed, while in the former the blended characters are not apparent until after the plant has grown considerably. In the 'Proceedings of the Royal Society,' 1872, Mr Francis Galton has a valuable paper on " Blood Relationship," from which we learn that every individual parent animal (and we may add plant) transmits, or has the power to transmit, to its progeny qualities and variations which are latent in itself, but which may become apparent in the offspring from the first ; or, owing to some cause of which we are unaware, these latent and previously unsuspected qualities break out in the indi- vidual in the form of sports. Thus every adult human being and every perfect plant is composed of two sets of characters, the one apparent, the other latent; and both of these are combined in the primary stage, having been inherited, and they are both again combined in the progeny. There are, however, two parents, and what is true of the male is true also of the female ; and it is thus made evident that the primary or germinal vesicle stage, although apparently a simple one, is really more complicated than the adult or perfect form, for in the germinal vesicle and embryo are condensed the united latent and per- sonal or evident characters of both parents. The multiplica- tion of characteristics in individuals would thus go on in pro- gression, were it not that the weaker characteristics are crowded out or rendered latent by the stronger ones in all well-organised progeny. The physiologist is as uncertain as the practical cultivator as to the causation or origin of these variations : they are never- HYBRIDISING AND CROSS-BREEDING. 99 theless facts — often very beautiful facts — and not unfrequently the florist welcomes them, and increases them by grafting or budding, well knowing that if distinct, as is frequently the case, they are facts worth gold. Many varieties of Roses, Camellias, Chrysanthemums, bronze and tricolor Pelargoniums, Bouvardias, Azaleas, &c., have originated in this manner, and have been at once seized and turned to good account by the intelligent cultivator. In the case of cultural or cross-bred varieties, this variability may be partly owing to culture or nutrition, but whole or partial reversion to pre-existing types offers another source of explanation. The theory of pangenesis as advanced by Darwin shows pretty plainly how this may take place : a trace of colour or hereditary taint may linger from generation to generation without showing itself, and then, owing to some cause of which we know nothing, some interruption to the smoothness and sameness of plant-life takes place, and the result is variation in habit, form, colour, or precocity. The theory of reversion is feasible enough wherever varieties are concerned ; but when we remember cases of species which sport — take for example the Chestnut near Geneva, cited by Decandolle, one branch only of which bears double flowers — no theory of rever- sion to pre-existing types, or pangenesis, will go far towards explaining this singular phenomenon. Mr Henderson, a distinguished American horticulturist, remarks that in a bed of about one hundred cuttings of the new Tea Rose,. " La Nankin," all made from one parent plant, he found four distinct varieties, some with clear nankeen flowers, others pure white, others light pink or blush, and the remainder in the normal state, white above and nankeen below.1 Mr T. A. Knight mentions a case where a tree of the yellow Magnum Bonum Plum, 40 years old, suddenly produced red fruit on one branch ; and he had a Mayduke Cherry in his garden, one branch of which annually bore oblong, heavier, and later fruit than the rest of the tree, but of inferior flavour. — (See Trans. Hort. Soc., vol. ii. p. 160.) There is no practical and very slight theoretical difference between a bud variation, i.e., sport, and a seedling variety, since both may be perpetuated, if de- sirable, either by cuttings, layers, or by grafting ; and in this way many weeping, fastigiate, cut-leaved, and other ornamental trees have been obtained, to say nothing of all the many varie- gated plants which add so much variety to our own gardens as well as to those of China and Japan.* * Those who wish to pursue this subject further should read Dr M. T. Masters's valuable paper on "Bud Variation" in ' Gard. Chron.,' 1872, p. 1388, 1453, and 1523. The papers of Naudin, Braun (" Rejuvenes- 100 HYBRIDISING AND CROSS-BREEDING. LH&cious and Monoecious Plants. — Wichura observes — and, as I think, very rightly — that dioecious plants which are subjected to fertilisation by insects must necessarily produce hybrids, and especially so if they comprise a great number of species nearly related, growing in close company, and all flowering at the same time. In cultivation, however, all dioecious plants do not flower synchronously, and this is .especially the case with the male and female Aucuba, and with the monoecious Nepenthes and Crotons. M. Carriere, in relating his experience with seedling male and female Aucubas in the ' Revue Horticole,' says that out of several thousand seedlings which he has raised, those which have flowered are, with few exceptions, male plants, and that the few female plants which did appear have flowered much later than the male seedlings — that is, several weeks, and sometimes even two or three months. Ccelebogyne ilicifolia, a plant long thought to develop female organs only, has at length been found to produce male organs simulta- neously with the female ones. Dioecious grasses, Palms, and other plants rarely produce fertile seeds in cultivation, owing to the male plant being absent, or on account of their not being in bloom at the same time. Where the male plant blooms earliest, pollen may in most cases be preserved by wrapping it in dry tinfoil or silk -paper; and all hybridisers would add greatly to our knowledge by recording the length of time they have kept pollen in its potent state. In case a female plant blooms, and it is of importance that its flowers should be fertilised, fresh pollen may in many cases be pro- cured by advertisement, or from correspondents abroad or plant-loving friends at home. Many hermaphrodite plants are for all practical purposes monoecious — that is, contrivances have become developed to prevent self - fertilisation, or their male and female organs cence Cytisus Adami"), and Duchartre, " Note sur le Chasselas Panache," in the 'Journal de la Societie Imperiale et Centrale d' Horticulture,' 1865, should also be consulted in connection with Dr Masters's paper. Dr Masters contributes a valuable and. interesting paper "On a Pink Sport from Gloire de Dijon Rose" to the 'Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society,' vol. iv. p. 153, which should be read by all interested in this subject. See also Carriere, ' Production et Fixation des Varieties dans les Vegetaux, ' p. 35; Darwin, 'Variation of Animals and Plants,' 1868, P- 379 j article on "Bud Variation," 'Popular Science Review,' 1872; and "Graft Hybridisation," 'Popular Science Review,' 1871, p. 141. Carriere gives a list of Roses which have originated from sports, and Dar- win gives copious references to the literature on variability among plants. See also 'Gardeners' Chronicle,' 1871, p. 74, and Herbert's ' Amarylli- daceoe,' p. 377. HYBRIDISING AND CROSS-BREEDING. 101 assume an alternate development which secures the same end. Cross-Fertilisation and Fertility. — Some experiments made by Mr Williams go to prove that artificial fertilisation not only improves the quality, but also increases the quantity of the seed produced. For example, a flower of Victoria Regia fertilised with pollen from another flower growing on the same plant yielded four times as much seed as when left to become naturally fertilised, and above one-half more than when care- fully fertilised with pollen from the same flower; and the result was still better by two-thirds when the flower was fecun- dated with pollen from a flower of the same species growing on another individual plant. Produce of natur- ally fertilised flower. 2. Produce of flower fertilised with its own pollen artificially. Produce of flower artificially fertilised with pollen from a separate flower grown upon the same plant. 4- Produce of flower fertilised with pollen from a different plant of the same species. 25 seeds. 60 seeds. loo seeds. 300 seeds. Dean Herbert, writing in 1837 (see Herb. Am., p. 371), remarks : " I am inclined to think that I have derived advan- tage from impregnating the flower from which I wished to obtain seed with pollen from another individual of the same variety, or at least from another flower rather than with its own, . . . and especially from an individual grown in a different soil or aspect." To illustrate this, he mentions that he had nine hybrid Hippeastra flowering in his stove, and being desirous of blending these still further, the different flowers (stigmas) were touched with pollen from their several neighbours and ticketed, other flowers being touched with their own pollen. Almost every flower that was touched with pollen from another cross produced seed abundantly, and those which were touched with their own pollen either failed entirely or formed slowly a pod of inferior size, and with abortive flower-seeds. " It seems to me that this circumstance may be analogous to the introduction of a male from another flock or herd, which has been found advantageous to the breed of domestic animals." Hybrids prove that their parents are nearly-related species, 102 HYBRIDISING AND CROSS-BREEDING. or have descended from a common origin, and in their entire system of growth are quite as normal and often as fertile as well-authenticated species. Sterile hybrids — that is, mules which are incapable of bearing fertile seeds when fertilised with pollen from a nearly-related species — are very rare ; and some of those which are reputed sterile produce fertile pollen, which may be used to fertilise other species or varieties. Forsythia viridissima, which rarely produces seed from its own pollen, fruits freely when fecundated with that of F. suspensa ; while the common garden Balsams require cross-fertilisation in order to secure a prolific supply of fertile seeds. M. Nageli has pointed out that conditions of sexual vig- our, or even absolute sterility, are no proof of hybridity, since many individual plants of direct descent are sometimes sterile ; indeed the whole question of fertility seems to hinge on con- stitutional vigour and a proper supply of nutriment. While many hybrids seem to have weakened reproductive powers, crosses between different species of Calceolaria, Erica, Di- anthus, and Pisum are more fertile than the original species from which they have descended ; so that we also in some cases obtain additional sexual vigour or fertility in hybrids and their subsequent progeny, notwithstanding that sterility and additional vegetative vigour or growth is in many cases the rule. The late Professor Henslow wrote a most valuable treatise on one of the hybrid Foxgloves (Digitalis), with a view to dis- cover, if possible, the distinction between species and hybrids. In this object, however, he failed, not from want of accuracy, but simply because no such difference exists. Immediate Effects of Foreign Pollen. — It is generally supposed that the effect of crossing or hybridising is confined to the embryo of the seed which has been vivified or quickened by foreign pollen ; but there are at least two or three well-authenti- cated cases in which the impression or influence of the strange pollen has immediately altered the fruit or seed in general appearance. Some interesting experiments bearing on the influence of strange pollen on the form of fruit have been made by Maxi- mowicz. — (See Jour. Royal Hort. Soc., vol. iii. (new series), p. 161 et seq.} The species experimented on were Lilium davuri- cum and Lilium bulbiferum. The pollen of each species was applied to the stigmas of the other species, the process being repeated upon several individual plants. The result was that the capsules borne by the several plants were found to have the form characteristic of the pollen parent ; while the form of HYBRIDISING AND CROSS-BREEDING. IO3 the seeds was intermediate between that of those of the two parents.* Another instance is quoted from a French pamphlet in the ' Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society of London ' (new series, 1866), vol. i. p. 51, from which it appears that one of the objects with French wine-growers is to obtain Grape-juice of a deep colour ; and a Grape named Le Teinturier is remark- able as having coloured juice, but is not a prolific bearer. The idea of crossing this variety with Aramon and other prolific wine Grapes having pale juice occurred to M. Bouschet, and he succeeded in raising a race of Grapes with coloured juice ; but a more important result from a scientific point of view was obtained from these experimental attempts. The berries of the pale-juiced varieties fertilised with pollen from Le Tein- turier yielded coloured juice the first year, while others on the same bunch (but unfertilised by that variety) re- tained their original character. Yet another case, but this time a rather doubtful one, occurred' in Mr J. Watson's nursery at St Albans, where a Cucumber plant bore a globular fruit, exactly like a Melon in form, together with normal Cucumbers. This is figured and described in the ' Gardeners' Chronicle,' October 4th, 1873, P- I335j ano^ i§ supposed to. have been brought about by the accidental fertilisation of a Cucumber flower by pollen from some Little Heath Melons growing in close proximity in the same house. At a meeting of the Academy of Natural Sciences at Philadelphia, Mr Thos. Meehan made the following highly interesting and important observation : " Mr Arnold, Paris, Canada, determined to observe the effect of cross-fertilisation on Indian Corn (Zea mays), and to this end he procured a brown variety, with a circular dent on the apex, and from this he raised one plant. The first sets of flowers were permitted to be fertilised with their own pollen, in order to test whether there was any reversionary tendency in the plant or the pollen of any other variety in the vicinity. The ear which Mr Meehan laid on the table was the result, every grain being like its parents. The Corn or Maize plant produces two ears on each stalk. As soon as the '. silk ' pistils of the second ear appeared, the pollen, in a ' tassel ' :of the common yellow Flint Corn (a well-known American variety with yellow grains) was procured, and set in a bottle of water, * It is quite possible, and indeed highly probable, that Maximowicz has here attributed to the action of foreign pollen a result which is due to specific variation. Nearly all Lilies are very variable in habit, and but little reliance can be placed on the form of any fruits, unless grown and compared in large quantities. Professor Dyer has, moreover, pointed out that L. bulbiferum in the Kew Herbarium bears fruit like that of L. davuricum, as described by the Russian botanist. 104 HYBRIDISING AND CROSS-BREEDING tied near the developing ear, the plant's own ' tassel ' (anthers) having been cut away some time previous. After sufficient time had elapsed, this set of male flowers was removed, and a panicle of male flowers from a white-grained variety was intro- duced to the same bottle, in order to afford the pollen an opportunity of operating on the same female flowers, and the result was another ear (cob), which Mr Meehan exhibited, and the corn in this head was variegated, the base of each grain being of the yellow Flint Corn, while the upper half was of the white variety. From this curious and valuable fact Mr Meehan came to the conclusion not only that there was an immediate action or influence on the seed and the whole fruit structure by the application of strange pollen, but the still more import- ant fact, hardly before more than suspected — namely, that one ovule could receive and be affected by the pollen of two dis- tinct parents, and this, too, after some little time had elapsed between the first and second impregnation." The known cases where the immediate action of foreign pollen on the fruit has been noted are so concisely given in Professor Dyer's translation of Maximowicz's paper cited above, that I gladly avail myself of the following quotation, which summarises the whole matter — with references to the original papers : — " The few instances may be found collected in Gaertner* or Darwin.t Thus Mauz asserts that he observed different kinds of fruit on a Pear-tree, of which a number of blossoms had been castrated, and, as he supposed, fertilised afterwards by neighbouring trees. J " Pavis maintained that the fruit of Apples, Melons, § and Maize underwent alteration in form, colour, and special quali- ties when they were planted near other kinds. || Bradley even says that he had seen an Apple which was sweet on one side and sour on the other, and one half of which became soft * Die Bastardzeugung, p. 73. *t* Animals and Plants under Domestication, i. 397. J See Gard. Chron., 1871, p. 1354. § [Livingstone states (and the instance has not, I think, been quoted) that in the case of Citrullus vulgaris, Schrad., which varies with sweet and bitter fruit, "Melons in a garden may be made bitter by a few bitter Kengwe in the vicinity. The bees convey the pollen from one to the other" — (Travels in S. Africa, p. 49). — TR.] fi Dr Hogg mentioned at a meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society, Dec. 15, 1868, a case where Pear Beurre Superfin and Doyenne Depais were growing close together on a wall, and the last-named variety bore a fruit exactly like the former, the inference being that the flower which pro- duced it had been accidentally cross-fertilised with pollen from flowers of Beurre Superfin. HYBRIDISING AND CROSS-BREEDING. 105 when boiled, while the other remained hard. But these are only observations, and not experimental results. Wiegmann first obtained the latter in Peas. Gaertner tested experiment- ally many of the statements which we have quoted, and made experiments on other plants besides. He was only able, how- ever, to confirm Wiegmann's results to a certain extent. He is therefore disposed (and with much reason) to attribute the majority of such cases to variation in the individual ; he allows, however, as a rare exception, the possibility of change even in the mother plant itself. Other observers (as, for example, Knight,* and recently even Nageli t) deny even the possibility of such an influence. " More recently Darwin has again quoted cases J where, by crossing yellow and dark Maize, cobs were produced which contained both yellow and dark grains. Hildebrand § confirms these observations, and further cites the instance of an Apple which bore traces in its marking of the influence of another sort But whilst the question has been in these cases only a variation in the colour, in the three which follow we find it affecting the form. Hartsen|| has seen on Solatium edule (the well known Egg plant) a fruit which in colour, size, and shape exactly resembled a Tomato, and possessed only the greater dryness and firmness of the flesh of the Egg fruit, besides the smooth border of the seed, which in the Tomato is villous. Dr Kanitz IT met with a case of a hybrid fruit, between Lycoper- sicum esculentum and Capsicum annuum. Fritz Miiller** fertilised Cattleya Leopoldi by Epidendrum cinnabarinum, and obtained seeds of the former with the shape belonging to the latter. Meehan,tt lastly, observed that the bough of a Pear-tree, which had always been altogether unfruitful, projected into the boughs of a neighbouring Apple-tree. Fruits were produced, which in skin, flesh, and other respects were altogether Apples, and had only the seeds, carpellary partitions, and stalk of the Pear. " These are all the cases with which I am acquainted. Con- sidering, then, that the observations of Bradley, which are the earliest, date from the year 1721, and that the list has only increased very slowly, notwithstanding the vast opportunities for noticing these cases which botanists and gardeners have had in crossing different species of plants, we must allow that Gaert- * Trans. Royal Hort. Soc., v, 67. t Sitzungsberichte d. bayerischen Akad., cited by Hildebrand. £ Savi, cited by Darwin, /. c. p. 400. § Bot. Zeit, 1868, p. 325, t. 6. || Bot. Zeit., 1867, p. 378. IT Bot. Zeit, 1867, p. 335. ** Bot. Zeit., 1868, p. 631. ttProc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Phil, 1871, vol. i. 106 HYBRIDISING AND CROSS-BREEDING. ner was quite justified in declaring that the immediate influence of foreign pollen upon the mother plant is a rare exception. " If we agree with Gaertner in excluding from the list, as possibly due only to bud variation, those cases which are not the result of direct experiment, the only well-established ones which remain are those of Maize, * Peas, and Cattleya Leopold^ In the ' Book of the Garden/ vol. ii. p. 321, Mr Anderson- Henry records the interesting fact that he " once spoiled a pure 7#/j//.: 150 ARTIFICIAL FERTILISATION by pure accident. But for the most part now, I make clean work of it, and remove all other expanded flowers on the seed- bearing plant, and allow no kindred one to be near. 3d. Do not be in a hurry to effect your cross ; wait till you find that the stigma is fully developed. In many plants this is shown by a glutinous exudation on the summit, as in the Ericaceae, the Onagraceae, &c. In othe/ orders, such as the Geraniacese and Malvaceae, it is indicated by the feathery expansion and recurvature of its separate divisions. 4th. The next thing is to obtain properly -ripened pollen- grains from the male plant. This is done by carefully watch- ing when the anthers burst, otherwise the insects may be before you ; and so active are they, especially on such favourite food as the pollen of the Rubus tribe, that, to get at it all, I have found it necessary to encase the opening blooms in muslin bags till the pollen was ripe and ready for use. Do not use, as is generally recommended, the camel-hair pencil, which, applied often and indiscriminately, may and often does convey, with the foreign, some insidious grains of native pollen, which, however few, are prepotent, and wholly neutralise the former. Take, where that can be obtained and afforded, the entire bloom of the intended male, and give the slightest brush with all its anthers over the stigma, or all the stigmas, if more than one, of the intended female. I will give my reasons for this by-and-by. You may use for experiment, in some cases the long, and in some the short, stamens. To those of the proper dimorphic form I have made some allusion elsewhere; they occur in the species of Primula, and in some of the species of the Linum tribe (as to both of which, see Darwin's most remarkable papers in the 'Proceedings of the Linnaean Society'). Such anthers, at least two long and two short ones, occur in the two orders of the Linnaean class Didynamia, on which I may have a suggestion to offer hereafter, for I think something interesting may be worked out of this form. In cases where the anthers are few, as in the Linnaean classes Diandria, Trian- dria, &c., you may use small pincers — a bit of wire so twisted as to form that implement, to carry in the pocket, is by far the handiest. I have used such an instrument all along, and find it better than any other form. In some tribes, the better to secure against invasion by insects, such especially as in some of the Rosaceae having large discs, a muslin bag may be used, so as effectually to exclude them ; I use it constantly in the Rubus tribe immediately after emasculation, taking it off and replacing it after the cross, and keeping it on thereafter till the cross has set. AND CROSS-BREEDING. 151 5th. In some cases it is a matter of some difficulty to pro- cure, and when procured of no less importance to preserve, pollen. In dioecious plants — say the Aucuba — a friend may have the male, and you have, as we all have, the female in abundance. You would like to store that pollen till your female plant, generally later, comes into flower. Many hold that pollen cannot be preserved in a vital condition for more than one or two, or perhaps three weeks. In a recent publica- tion which refers to this matter — namely, Max Wichura's ' Ob- servations on Hybridisation,' of which a very lucid abstract, carefully digested and translated from the original German by the Rev. M. J. Berkeley, is given in the January number of the 'Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society' for 1866, that eminent authority holds it as "a fact of great importance that the pollen of Willows retains its potency for some time. In some cases, pollen ten days old was efficient, while vitality was still further prolonged by steeping it in a solution of honey " (of which I have doubts). " Pollen," he adds, " of Salix silesiaca eight days old seemed almost as potent as ever; in twenty-eight days the traces of vitality were very slight, while that of the Salix cinerea had become weak in six- teen days." Now I am not aware that there is less vitality in the pollen of Willows than in that of any other family; and as many experimentalists hold kindred views to those here enun- ciated by Wichura, I deem it a matter of some importance to give you one or two instances of my own experience. I have carried in my pocket the pollen of Rhododendron again and again from six weeks to two months and upwards, and still found it potent. Of the Japanese forms of the genus Lilium I have kept pollen effective in the same manner for equal periods. In fact, generally speaking, I have found the pollen of most plants to remain good for similar periods. Having last year got the new and beautiful Clematis Jackmanii to flower, and anxious to preserve its pollen as long as possible, I collected and stored it in its anthers in a simple pill-box. On the 4th of July 1866, I so gathered and put it into a drawer of a cabinet in my own sitting-room, where it remained wholly away from damp. On the 5th of June 1867, having first care- fully emasculated a flower of Clematis Candida, I crossed it with the pollen, then eleven months old, and from this cross I have this autumn gathered and sown eight well-developed seeds. Now both parents are hybrids, with a large infusion of alien blood in them, so that here the vitality was put to its severest test. Subsequent experiments satisfy me that the vitality of all pollen may not be so long preserved, for I have 152 ARTIFICIAL FERTILISATION found that of the Aucuba inert after being stored about six weeks. But as some bits of stems had got mixed, these may, by inducing damp, have destroyed it. I would therefore recommend it to be brushed off pure and stored in silk-paper. I notice this result here (somewhat out of place) to suggest the propriety of storing, and, if needful, of importing pollen, which, if wrapt up in silk-paper, might even, enclosed in a letter, reach this country still potent, by the overland route from India, or after two or three months' voyage, from all parts of South and North America. Let collectors and friends in distant countries be instructed as to this, and we may soon have an improved progeny of the rarest things, even before such novelties from which they are derived have been obtained from their own seeds in this country. 6th. There is another matter of much consequence to be attended to in the crossing of distant species — I mean, the times and seasons for effecting the cross ; yet not one of those most experienced in the art, from Darwin downward, has touched upon this point. It has been forced upon my atten- tion for more than twenty years. I have found that I could, on some few propitious days which occur throughout the season, successfully effect crosses I could not effect with all my care at other times. I have adverted to this in the paper I formerly submitted to you, and I again refer to it. There are some crosses which I have effected at such times, and which I would have tried in vain to accomplish at times less favourable. If you have, say two plants of Rhododendron, one a tiny thing, to cross with a large species, or if you wish to attempt a cross between an Indian Azalea and a Rhododendron, watch for a propitious time. Such times occur, often few and far between, when there is less of sun than of that latent form of heat which frequently occurs before thunder, from the air being more than ordinarily charged with electricity. Or they may occur in the spring season, when there is much ozone present, whose influ- ence I have often found to tell most favourably in promoting the germination of long-sown seeds. It was to the presence of ozone, or to some other form of electrical agency, I attributed the almost simultaneous germination of some New Zealand seeds of a shrub which I got from that country under the name of " Black Maupan," a species of Pittosporum, which sprang up together on the morning of the i6th March 1863, after they had lain dormant two years and eight months. Such atmo- spheric conditions, to whatever cause they may be due, I have found not unfrequently to occur with the east winds of March and April ; at which times I have seen many other long-sown AND CROSS-BREEDING. 153 seeds spring quite suddenly and unexpectedly. Seize upon all such seasons for difficult crosses. As to the time of the day, you may operate best perhaps from 10 A.M. till 6 P.M. Appearances if the Cross has succeeded. — We shall suppose the cross now performed. Your next anxiety will naturally be to find out whether it has taken. Almost all experimenters have noticed that soon — I would say from six to ten days — an alter- ation is observed on the stigma and style. You will find the viscid matter on the former dried up, while the latter has begun to shrivel. You will naturally conclude that it is all right, and that the fertilising pollen has now passed down into the ovary ; and in some cases you may be right. But these appearances are deceptive, especially if you find the style maintain an erect position. And singularly, as I now write, I find, on glancing at the 'Gardeners' Chronicle' of the ipth October 1867, that this state of matters had been observed last summer by the learned editor of that publication, and described in his leading article of that day. He there observes : " We have ourselves, in following some experiments on cross-breeding this season, noticed that the stigma becomes changed — withered, almost immediately after contact with the pollen, even if no perfect seeds be produced." Now that gentleman is quite right ; but I did not note the withering effect to be just so immediate as he had observed it, though it might have been so in the Epilo- bium tribe, to which his experiments refer. Another effect I particularly noted last summer was, that in attempting to cross an Indian Azalea with a Rhododendron (which, however, in that instance failed), not only did the stigma and style decay, but the divisions of the calyx took on a purplish tint, and a honeyed secretion continued long to exude from the disc. Another still more misleading condition often arises, as is noticed in the same leading article of the ' Chronicle : ' " The ovary will swell, the fruit will set, in some cases without any contact with the pollen at all, though of course no embryo is produced." Wichura has noticed the like result ; and the fol- lowing degrees of failure noted by him have so often occurred in my own experience, that I cannot do better than cite them in his own words, from the Rev. Mr Berkeley's translation already alluded to, which I only alter according to my own experience : ist, The organs submitted to hybridisation (the stigma and style) soon wither, but do not in all cases soon fall off. 2d, The ovaries swell and ripen, but do not contain a trace of seed. 3d, The ovaries may seem filled (I say may seem partially filled), having in some instances the small pro- tuberant swelling outside as if seeds were within, and yet no 154 ARTIFICIAL FERTILISATION seed be there. 4th, Seeds are present, but small, languid, and incapable of germination. 5th, Seeds apparently perfect are developed which do not germinate. 6th, Seeds which ger- minate, but the young plants are weak, and wither in a short time, dying off oftentimes after developing the seed-leaves. I have had all these conditions and results amply illustrated ; and of the second of these results I had, last summer, mortifying proofs in a muling operation I tried, by fertilising a flower of the new Arabis blepharophylla with my still newer Draba violacca. The cross, to all appearance, had taken ; the seed- vessel swelled better than the others where no experiment was made, and while the valves of the silicules of these last opened, and showed no trace of seed in them, the siliquas of the former remained closed, showing by outward development that two seeds were certainly within. But I found on opening the ripe seed-vessels that there was no perfect seed in the interior, but only an abortive production. While Wichura's accuracy in the above degrees of failure is consistent with what I have myself had ample experience of, I cannot, from like experience, endorse the views he has formed on some of his successful results. At page 72 of the above article in the 'Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society,' Mr Berkeley, commenting on Wichura's paper, observes : " Gaertner, indeed, supposes that in genera which are rich in species, there are some which have a pre- potent influence when hybridising, so that in some hybrids the type either of the male or female prevails. Amongst the various hybrid Willows, though the genus is so rich in species, and so prone to hybridising, Wichura has never seen a pre- potent type, and doubts Gaertner's statement, especially as he makes it in very qualified terms." Mr Berkeley very judi- ciously remarks that it is not very easy to determine, "by examination of types, whether a hybrid is more like the mother or father — the perfect distinction is subject in many cases to great difficulties, since very much depends on the subjective view of the observation ; for, in consequence of the frequent intermelting of both characters, the one observer finds in a hybrid the maternal type, while another thinks the paternal type prevalent." By which I regard Mr Berkeley as very modestly dissenting from his author. And further on, at page 78 of the same Journal, Wichura speaks out still more absolutely. "When both parents," says he, "belong to the same species, we cannot tell what part the male and female parent take respectively in the formation of the progeny. But dissimilar factors are united in hybrids, and an intermediate form is the consequence. The products which arise from AND CROSS-BREEDING. 155 the reciprocal crossing in plants, unlike those which are formed amongst animals, are perfectly alike." I regret to differ from so great an authority as Wichura, and must venture to demur to the doctrine in more decided terms than Mr Berkeley does. I have had so many instances of hybrids taking some- times to one side and sometimes to another — but most fre- quently to that of the mother — that to those who, like myself, have made experiments with many genera, it would be needless to give instances. The converse is the rarer case — i.e., where the paternal type comes out most marked. Yet I remember one eminent instance of a seedling Veronica, from the batch of seedlings from which I obtained V. Andersonii ( V. salirifolia, V. spetiosa), being so like the male parent V. spetiosa, that I presented it to a friend in the belief that it was purely and simply the latter species; but when it bloomed, it showed, by the longer spike, and lighter and brighter colour of the flowers, and by their being a bright crimson instead of very deep purple, which is the colour of the flower of the V. spetiosa, that the blood of the V. salidfolia was there. I can well understand that, as respects the family of Willows, from their being so attractive to bees, and from their being natu- rally so prone to intermix (insomuch that few can tell what is a species and what is a hybrid), Wichura has not much over- stated the fact, and that a distinct intermediate form may generally be reckoned on. I must dissent still more strongly from what Wichura lays down, in continuation of the above passage at page 78, as to reciprocal crossings. "The products," he says, "which arise from reciprocal crossing in plants, unlike those which are formed amongst animals, are perfectly alike.* It is of no con- sequence which is the male and which the female parent. It * Mr Seden obtained exactly similar results by the reciprocal cross-fer- tilisation of Cypripedium longifolium and C. Schlimii, both having been made the female or seed-bearing parent, fecundated with pollen from the other, and the result was offspring of each precisely the same, two or three hundred seedlings having resulted from this double union, and these are now under cultivation under the name of C. Sedenii. This is a well-authenticated case, for the facts of which I am indebted to Mr Seden himself; and certainly goes to prove the observation of Wichura, who says, "The products which arise from the reciprocal crossing in plants, unlike those formed amongst animals, are perfectly alike." — (See Datura.} Some hybrid Aloes, raised at Kew by Mr R. I. Lynch, between A. albo- cincta and A. grandidentata are to all appearance exactly identical in habit and variegation, although the parent species are singularly unlike each other. These hybrids, as in the case of Cypripedium Sedenii, are the result of seeds saved from both the species, each having been crossed with pollen of the other. 156 ARTIFICIAL FERTILISATION is therefore a mathematical necessity that the pollen-cells must have just the same part in the act of generation as the ovules." And, based mainly on this doctrine, he follows up and amplifies it in a series of aphorisms which, he admits, are to be " con- sidered conjectural, and require to be submitted to proof," — an admission for which he is to be commended, and all the more if he submitted to the like test the dogma on which they mainly rest. It humbly appears to me that his statement had been suggested from his experience among the Salices — of all plants the most mongrel in a state of nature. Now, in all this, Wichura appears to me to imply that if a distinct intermediate may be formed, and is formed, by crossing A on B, so may an exactly similar intermediate be reciprocated by crossing B on A. And M. Naudin, in his experiments among the Daturas, enunciates the same belief, and holds " that there is not a sen- sible difference between reciprocal hybrids of two species." That distinguished observer, like Wichura, seems to have confined his experiments to herbaceous or soft-wooded plants. But, from a long and large experience among both hard and soft wooded plants, I demur, ist, to the capability of the parents being in all cases made subject to such reciprocity; and, 2d, to the statement where such reciprocity does hold, that the progeny are perfectly alike, whether A or B supply the pollen. In my various crossings I have experimented on many hard as well as soft wooded genera — in particular, I would here instance among the former the species of Rhododendron. In these I have again and again been baffled to reciprocate a cross which on one side was comparatively easy to be effected. When the lovely and fragrant Rhododendron Edgeuwrthii first bloomed in this country, all were eager to see its beauty and perfume transfused into dwarfer and hardier forms. Some tried the cross by making R. Edgeworthii the female or seed- bearer, others by making it the male. I tried it in both ways, but all my efforts failed where I attempted the cross on the R. Edgeworthii. But while it would not be brought to bear hybrid seed, I had no great difficulty in effecting a cross from its pollen on R. ciliatum, another of Dr Hooker's beautiful Sikkim species, having all the desirable requisites of hardihood, dwarf habit, and free-flowering tendency; and, singularly, just as I had obtained and sent off blooms of this brood to lay before the committee of the Horticultural Society of London, Messrs Veitch, of Chelsea, anticipated me in having a plant of this identical cross first exhibited before that committee, which is now well known and generally cultivated under the name of AND CROSS-BREEDING. 157 Rhododendron " Princess Alice." Now, neither I nor any one who ever tried it, so far as I know, ever effected the inverse cross of R. ciliatum on R. Edgeworthii ; and if they did, the progeny would long ere now have appeared in nursery cata- logues. There is yet one other instance I may notice as an illustration of what I am now contending for. In my former paper I noticed, as an exception to a rule I had found almost general — viz., that- European had great aversion to cross with Asiatic species — that I had, notwithstanding, effected such a hybrid by crossing R. eleagnoides (another of Dr Hooker's acquisitions, a tiny Sikkim species) on the European R. hirsutum, and of having sent the survivor of the two plants which came of it to Kew, — of which, by the way, Dr Hooker writes me, that it dwindled away and died after being a few years in their hands ; but by no possible means could I invert that cross, or get that same very interesting tiny yellow- flowered species, R. eleagnoides (a form of R. lepidotum\ to submit to a cross from any species whatever. I shall now advert to the second point which Wichura lays down as a fact — viz., that the progeny of reciprocal crossing, whether it is A on B or B on A, are precisely alike. While my past experience goes with what I observed last summer, it may perhaps suffice to give the latest instance. Having, through the kindness of Dr Hooker, obtained seeds of a beautiful new Californian Arabis (A. blepharophylld) with large fine rose-tinted flowers, I felt desirous to infuse that colour into some of the other kinds I possessed. After trying it on several, especially on A. albida, in vain, I at last effected a cross — a reciprocal cross — between it and A. Soyerii, a white-flowered species from the Pyrenees, something like A. albida, but with glabrous foliage. Of the cross A. Soyerii on A. blepharophylla I have raised six plants, the product of two very largely developed seed-pods. These plants are alive and healthy, and promise an improved vigour over either parent. That the cross was sure I had the best proof, from there being no seeds in the normal pods of the seed-bearer. Of the inverse cross from one weakly seed-pod I raised one plant, which, after maintaining a sickly existence for some two months or so, has died off. But while this last cross was equally certain as the others, like it, the plant had more of the mother than the father in it. In fact, I have oftener found the maternal type most marked in hybrid progeny. I have various crosses effected between distinct species of Rhododendron, where, while the male manifests his presence, the female type prevails. I have it in R. Jenkensii crossed by R. Edgeworthii, R. 158 ARTIFICIAL FERTILISATION caucasicum by R. cinnamomeum, and the hybrid from this latter cross crossed again with R. Edgeworthii, and especially the Sikkim species R. virgatum crossed with another of my hybrids, R. ciliatum by R. Edgeworthii — all having more the foliage and the aspect of the mother than the father. I have another hybrid of the same R. virgatum, the female parent crossed, I believe, by Rhodothamnus chamacistus, a tiny procumbent plant of three inches, but all set with flower-buds — not, as in the male parent, at the tips of the shoots, but, as in the female, at the axils of the leaves. I have stated my belief that the Rhodothamnus is the male parent, but I cannot do so confidently, from the tallies having got into confusion — the specimens being planted out. But as some plants were obtained from that cross, and as this is the smallest, I regard it as likeliest to be the true progeny ; and the cross being an extreme one — a mule, in fact — it is open to question. But as I have this season effected still more extreme — certainly more unlikely — crosses in that family, where there could be no mis- carriage, you may, I think, take it as true in the meantime. I could overwhelm you with proof. Darwin, at page 333 of the last edition of his ' Origin of Species,' has observed the above tendency. "When two species," he says, "are crossed, one has sometimes a prepotent power of impressing its likeness on the hybrid; and so I believe it to be with varieties of plants." Naturalists of the highest note — Gaertner, Kolreuter, Naudin, and Wichura — are far from being at one on the subject of varia- bility, as Darwin has shown, especially as relates to crosses, ist, between species and species; 2d, between species and varieties ; 3d, between mongrel offspring. But this is a com- plex subject ; and when such high authorities are not at one, and Darwin admits that he cannot reconcile them, it is manifest that the case is still open to further probation. In dealing with the views of Gaertner, to whose testimony he deservedly accords great value (page 331), Darwin says that Gaertner, whose strong wish "it was to draw a distinct line between species and varieties, could find very few, and, as it seems to me, quite unimportant, differences between the so-called hybrid offspring of species and the so-called mongrel offspring of varieties. And, on the other hand, they agree most closely in many important respects. The most important distinction is, that in the first generation mongrels are more variable than hybrids ; but Gaertner admits that hybrids from species which have long been cultivated are often variable in the first genera- tion ; and I have myself seen striking instances of this fact. Gaertner further admits that hybrids between very closely allied AND CROSS-BREEDING. 159 species are more variable than those from very distinct species, and this shows that the difference in the degree of variability graduates away. When mongrels and the more fertile hybrids are propagated for several generations, an extreme amount of variability in their offspring is notorious ; but some few cases, both of hybrids and mongrels, long retaining uniformity of character could be given. The variability, however, in the successive generations of mongrels is, perhaps, greater than in hybrids." So reservedly does Darwin deal with a subject on which the opinions of others could be brought to bear ; but as they are not all concurrent, and not unfrequently conflicting (which they may well be from the various subjects experimented on), he has said, with commendable moderation, all that can be said on the subject. From my readers I respectfully claim the same kind indul- gence which Darwin has shown to the testimony he has had to deal with in judging of the views I have offered and am now to offer on the experiments which I mean to lay before you. But ere I enter upon them it is necessary to premise, especially as regards that form of dimorphism which occurs among many plants in the Linnaean classes from Pentandria (5-stamened) up to Decandria (lo-stamened) — in having very generally one if not two pairs of stamens shorter than the other stamens in the same flower, and the same dimorphic form often occurs in even a more marked degree in many plants of the class Tetrandria (4-stamened). It is also the distinctive character of the two orders of Didynamia to have two long and two short stamens. As described in my former paper, it is now seventeen years since my attention was drawn to the long and short stamens, but to the latter more particularly in muling operations I had performed, where by using them I crossed that large species of Rhododendron, R. rinnamomeum, on the pigmy Rhodothamnus chamceristus. I refer to these short stamens again as the means by which I succeeded in effecting some extraordinary crosses, which I confidently believe but for their use and my improving a propitious time would have been utterly impracticable. As I have said, I at first worked only with short stamens ; these I use in all cases where I wish to cross a large on a small species. I have now found that the converse holds good, and use the long stamens where I wish to cross a small on a large species. In all extremes I use the longest or shortest pair of stamens as the case demands. The short pair is generally well distanced by the others — the longest pair is often not just so much in advance. There is often an intermediate pair of short stamens, which in cases less extreme are exceedingly serviceable, but .160 ARTIFICIAL FERTILISATION there are seldom such intermediates among the long ones. My reason for the use of these short, intermediate, and long stamens is intelligible enough. If I wish to cross a large on a small species, the smallest-grained pollen being in the short stamens, I take the pollen of these stamens of the large plant as best fitted to pass down the tubes through the stigma to fertilise the ovules of the smaller species, and so effect the cross on it ; and so, cceteris paribus, with respect to the other forms. I shall restrict the instances I am now to cite to the last few years, noticing first — Cases of Crossing with Short Stamens. The first cross I shall notice is one already alluded to — viz., Rhododendron virgatum with my own hybrid Rhododendron B (R. ciliatnm crossed on R. Edgeworthii) ; and as this cross is memorable and instructive in several points of view, it is proper to give you its history. On April 20, 1864, I find from my note-book that " I took off all expanded blooms of R. virgatum and removed the stamens from all unopened ones on the plant, there being none left for self-fertilisation ; done in fine sunshine — west wind — with three short anthers of B " — z.e., the hybrid male, being the identical cross which produced Veitch's Rhododendron, " Princess Alice." Of this cross I ripened four capsules of seed, which I sowed on January 28, 1865, and with some failures, got up by December that year seven nice healthy plants, all of which, however, save one, I lost by an accident. That one plant is now setting for bloom — not at the axils, as the female parent (R. virgatum) generally shows, but at the extremities of the shoots, as in the male (R. ciliatum crossed by R. Edgeworthii). But, as I have had occasion to observe already, the type in all else is more that of the female than of the male parent. By the mother's side this plant is a hybrid, by the father's it is a mongrel, and yet it has a fair share of vigour in it. As in its sexual aspect so in its height, it is that of the mother. A few cilia are noticeable on its leaves, but it has none of the tomentose or dense hairiness of the male parent ; and so in this also it partakes most of the glabrous foliage of the mother. Again, this doubly-crossed plant, and the crosses which produced it — all extreme — show how such crossing may hasten on the reproductive or flowering state. Never in all my experience have I seen or heard of Rhododen- drons offering bloom at two years of age. I have Rhododen- drons now fifteen years from seed which have never shown the AND CROSS-BREEDING. l6l slightest tendency that way, though ten and twelve years I would consider about the mean at which they attain their flowering condition. If by such crosses the like precocity can be generally secured, practical florists may turn them to some account in their profession. You will please observe that I am now dealing with hard-wooded shrubs, where there is in general more fixedness of structure and habit than in those on which the physiologists I have cited have chiefly experimented, and which are less liable to be modified by the manifold influences which affect the more pliant and shorter-lived herbaceous genera. 2d. The next cross in the Rhododendron tribe effected by the short stamens to which I would direct attention is very recent, and one with which I took the utmost pains to prevent miscarriage. The beautiful R. jasminiflorum of Java, with its delicious perfume and its long tubular five-lobed flowers, of snowy whiteness, so like Erica Aitonii — so like, too, in form and fragrance, the sweet-scented Jasmine — and so unlike all its own congeners, is the subject of it ; and as I regard this cross as of some scientific as well as of some practical value, I shall offer no apology for giving you particulars. I made it the sub- ject of many attempted crosses by many of its own tribe — all of which failed except two, which, by the way, afford a good illustration of what I alluded to in my former paper of the sympathies of plants, and perhaps, too, of natural selection, though whether it be in the mode which Darwin regards as leading to diversity of species I cannot positively assert, yet I think it is worthy of his consideration. While it rejected so many of its legitimate brethren of the Rhododendron tribe pure and simple, I was somewhat surprised that it took kindly with my hybrid B already noticed — i.e., Jt. ciliatum crossed by R. Edgeworthii — a hybrid of the first degree, having large flowers of three inches diameter, perfumed, and also of snowy white- ness. After the bloom had been long emasculated, on April 1 7th, 1867, I effected the cross with the short anthers of the hybrid B. The cross took admirably — the seed-pod swelled, and was pulled fully ripe about i2th July last. On the i5th of that month I sowed the seeds. For the purpose of com- parison, I sowed a pod of its own plain native seeds which I had gathered previously, and had, in fact, sown it some ten or twelve days before I sowed the cross. These are both now up. While the native seeds have produced a fair show of feeble plants, the crossed seeds have come up in more than double the number of plants, doubly vigorous in growth and habit, and with leaves so much larger than those of the normal form as to remove all doubt about the verity of the cross. L 1 62 ARTIFICIAL FERTILISATION 3d. The next illustration I have to give you is of a small- foliaged Indian Azalea, eighteen inches high, which I crossed with the tall and robust shaggy-foliaged Rhododendron Edge- worthii. Two things more unlike in every feature from which to effect a union can hardly be imagined. Yet, with the short anthers — and it was with the very shortest I could find on R. Edgeivorthii that I effected it — the cross, after careful emascu- lation, was done on the 6th May last. The seed-pod swelled to its due dimensions, and, appearing to be ripe, I cut a slice off it, and sowed the seeds so early as the i3th, and the residue on 28th September last, and I have now got up one or two* plants. If I shall be so lucky as to bring it to maturity, the progeny of this- cross (one never before accomplished, perhaps) should be a sweet-scented Azalea, having a rose variegation like the female parent, a novelty in its tribe ; for though the Azalea siriensis has been crossed by Rhododendrons, I am not aware of any authentic cross, or cross of any kind, between the Rhododendrons and this proper Indian Azalea-. 4th. I have still further a cross of the same nature, between another Indian Azalea and Rhododendron jasminiflorum, the latter .being again the seed-bearer; and I here refer to it mainly as showing another tendency of this Rhododendron towards natural selection, or rather, perhaps, of sympathy between it and remote species, if not genera, for the Azaleas have till lately been regarded as a separate tribe from the Rhododendrons. The cross was effected in August last, when it again rejected its more natural allies, and formed a union with the Indian Azalea, a late rose-coloured spotted variety, a seedling of my own raising. The seed-pod of this cross is now at maturity. 5th. But I have now to call your attention to a cross in this same family bearing on Darwin's doctrine of natural selection, or of sympathy, in a still more remarkable manner, which I effected last summer between that most gorgeous of all the Rhododendron tribe — namely, the lovely white, large-flowering, sweet-scented R. Aucklandi of Dr Hooker, otherwise R. Grif- fithii — and an Indian Azalea, the latter being the seed-bearer. I made the cross on two separate days on two separate blooms, carefully emasculated some time before; and on the same Azalea I tried other crosses with several of the Rhododendron tribe — viz., with a fine form of R. arboreum, jR.. Edgeworthii pure, and the above hybrid seedling B (R. ciliatum x R. Edge- worthii]. But while every one of these failed, the crosses by R. Aucklandi) which were effected respectively on the 3oth April and ist May, took most kindly. Both pods swelled; and the seed-pods, though green, appeared to be sufficiently AND CROSS-BREEDING. 163 ripe when I pulled them. I counted the seeds in one of these pods, and found them to be about 324, all finely formed, but, I fear, too green to vegetate freely, though some which I sowed appear to be coming up. I cannot vouch for this cross being effected with the shortest stamens, for the stamens with which I effected it were kindly sent to me from another source, as I did not myself possess the male plant; but as I invariably select the shortest for such crosses, my firm belief is that I had so selected these in this instance, and I had a plentiful supply of all lengths to choose from. In the above cases of crossing a small with a large species, I hold firmly by the opinion that but for the use of the short stamens I could not have suc- ceeded. I have few recorded instances of having extended my experiments with them far into other families. I certainly tried the Pelargonium in a plant I had of the beautiful white- flowered Madame Vaucher. I fertilised a bloom with its two shortest stamens, which, however, were very little shorter than the remaining ones ; and, from the three seeds which came of it I raised two fine plants, far more compact and somewhat dwarfer in habit than the parent, having the flowers equally fine, and elegantly thrown up above the plant. But the short stamens of this section of the Geraniaceae are very little shorter than the others, and I therefore cannot rely much on the results as establishing the hypothesis I contended for in my former paper — namely, that where all other things are equal, a cross or simple fertilisation with the short stamens tends to dwarf the progeny — to my belief in which, however, I still adhere. The instances I have given support this other hypo- thesis, that by their use you may cross a large on a small kindred species — a result which, without them, you 'might not effect. Crossing with Long Stamens. I have made fewer experiments with the long stamens, but I have one before me now no less remarkable, perhaps, for its far-reaching result than any I have alluded to as done with the short stamens. It is a cross which I effected on the tall Rho- dodendron formosnm, fertilised with a scarlet-flowered Indian Azalea, on the nth June last. The seed-pod is finely de- veloped, but I have taken care in this instance to avoid pulling it too early. And I may here notice, once for all, that to obtain the seeds of a cross — especially if it be extreme — suffi- ciently ripe, you must allow a longer time for it than for the ripening of the normal seeds on the same plant. 164 ARTIFICIAL FERTILISATION In all the foregoing crosses I had, perhaps, less an eye to accomplish a purely scientific experiment than to effect a bene- ficial result ; for, after all, it is the quid sit utile which those for whom this paper is mainly intended will have most in view ; and, in my estimation, science is best promoted when she is made to minister to some useful end. The following experiment among the species Clematis illus- trates my view of sympathy as well as of antipathy, and, I would add, of unnatural selection : Having many years ago (long before the Messrs Jackman, who have accomplished such wonderful results) been myself working on the members of this genus, I thought of making another experiment on it, with a view to infuse a richer colour into a new and larger-flowering progeny; and, as I have observed already, I managed success- fully to cross with pollen, kept for eleven months, the beautiful four-petalled Clematis Jackmanni on a thirteen-petalled flower of the fine C. Candida. But it is of a cross on Messrs Jack- man's smaller but no less beautiful C. rubro-violacea I am now to speak. Though, like its congener C. Jackmanni, it sometimes comes with five or even six petals, it is in its gene- ral type a four-petalled flower. With a view to improve it in this feature, I crossed it also with pollen of the large-flowered Clematis Candida, taken from a bloom having seventeen petals, though this Clematis — a French hybrid, I believe, from C. lanu- ginosa — is in its normal state a six or eight petalled flower. Though I crossed two flowers, after careful emasculation, I only gathered three seeds, but these all of unusually large dimensions. After the cross had taken, I left the normal blooms on the crossed plant to their fate ; and though visited by insects innumerable, and though the native pollen was abundant, not one native seed, or any except the three pro- duced by the cross, were ever formed on the plant ; and the singular thing was, that with its own native pollen, abortive on itself, I successfully crossed the fine double white-flowered Chinese C. Fortunei ; and a cross more prolific in the seeds it yielded I have not seen in the tribe before. I know not the parentage from whence this C. rubro-vielacea was derived, though I believe it to be a mongrel with none of the Fortunei blood in it; yet mark how kindly the latter took with it — another instance of remarkable sympathy. Although I have no record of it, I think I failed to get C. rubro-violacea to recipro- cate this cross. In all these instances of sympathy and antipathy, and es- pecially in this section of the natural order Ranunculacea, there is something apparently so inexplicable that I can only concur AND CROSS-BREEDING. 165 with what Danvin has observed in his paper on the existence of two forms in the genus Linum, where, in summing up the good gained by the inevitable crossing of the dimorphic flowers, and numerous other analogous facts, he says that these all lead to the conclusion that some " unknown law of nature is here dimly indicated to us." And this law, when discovered, may disclose more mysteries, tending, perhaps, to the wider diver- gence of species, with constitutions and habits better fitted for the climates and localities in which they may be cast, as well as for subserving the purposes they are intended to fulfil in the economy of nature. In looking at Rammculacecz, with their innumerable male and female organs (and the same thing occurs in the Myrtacea, most of the Rosacece, some of the Hypericacea, and in many other families and tribes), the idea was long ago suggested to me, that each separate row, from the outer to the inner circle of the stamens, might have some sepa- rate function, just as I believe that the long and short stamens have their separate functions ; and with the view of testing the matter, I had last summer begun experiments with these outer and inner stamens; but, other aims and objects interfering, I gave up the experiment after I had begun it on these Clematises. But to make success certain, it is my custom, as I have already stated, in crossing any of these polyandrous flowers, to take the entire bloom of one kind, and lightly to brush over, with all its anthers, the stigmas of the flower to be crossed, and leave nature to make her own selection. In referring to the Rubus tribe and its species, I am reminded of an intention I expressed in my former paper of perhaps returning to them afterwards. I again experimented upon them last summer. But though I tried various crosses among them, and recipro- cated the cross, I had no success in any, except between the R. biflorus and the R. Idaus, and that only where I made the latter the seed-bearer. And to make sure of either event — success or failure — I had the R. Idczus early potted and put under glass, emasculating every bloom I meant to cross ; and for more security I stripped off all other flowers — nay, more, I put the emasculated flowers under fine gauze bags, to ward off the invasion of insects. When ripe for crossing I removed the bag, and, on effecting the cross, I replaced it. In this way I succeeded in ripening three berries of the cross R. Idaus by R. biflorus, of which I sowed the seed between the 5th and 1 6th July, though as yet none have vegetated. But R. biflorus stubbornly rejected a reciprocal cross. Again I tried both of these on R. rupestris, and the latter on them ; and though R. 1 66 ARTIFICIAL FERTILISATION rupestris showed some sympathy with R. biflorus, in a slight tendency to form seeds, these came to nothing. In all these attempts I applied, as I have said, all the anthers of the male flower. I cannot quit this part of the subject without offering some additional suggestions to those who wish to act on any hints I have it in my power to give : — i st. If your desire be to hasten the flowering condition of plants, I recommend you to cross violently — i.e., where the allies are not too near akin, 'and above all, in the case of mongrels ; for nature, ere she gives up, ever makes a violent effort to reproduce. 2d. If you wish to make your hybrid flower more freely, as well as early, adopt the same advice. 3d. By following it, you will find that you have attained a further advantage. Your plant will remain longer in bloom, because most mongrels, especially those among herbaceous or soft-wooded plants, to which these suggestions apply, are im- potent to produce seed, or nearly so, and in such cases the blooms remain long upon the plant. I have another idea, not sufficiently tested, however, in reference to the first point among hard-wooded as well as soft-wooded plants, that all such as ripen their seeds more quickly than others (some among the Rhododendron tribe ripen seed in half the time that others take) will reach more quickly their flowering state. Lastly, as to fruits — on which, however, I have only partially tried my hand — I entertain tjie belief that we are on the eve of a revolution, and that by judicious and persevering crossing we may not only transfer the delicious aroma of one to another, and communicate hardier and more abundant bearing habits to the hybrid progeny, but further, especially in stone-fruits, such as Peaches, Plums, Apricots, &c., we may, in addition to these advantages, increase the size of the fruits and diminish the size of the stones ; and, among vines, get rid of, or greatly diminish, the number of the seeds. And all this I hold to arise from that law of nature by which she not merely strains her efforts to reproduce (to which, however, she has assigned limit), but extends it when these have failed to make provision for her creatures' want. These views gather strength from what has been already done ; and I may especially allude to what Mr Standish of Ascot has achieved among Grapes, of whose extraordinary results an interesting account is given at p. 135 of the 'Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society' for July 1866. In conclusion, permit me to observe that, while my aim has AND CROSS-BREEDING. l6/ been, in all the experiments I have brought before you, rather to achieve something useful and practical than to test the theories which Mr Darwin and others — especially the Con- tinental savants — have been so much engrossed with, I can- not refrain from making some remarks on the results and the conclusions which some of them have come to while prosecut- ing a series of crossing operations — namely, that such .crosses do and must eventuate in sterility. M. Naudin seems, like Wichura, as already observed, to have limited his experiments chiefly to herbaceous or soft-wooded plants ; and among such, especially among Calceolarias, I too have often found myself brought to the terminus of bitter and hopeless sterility. I remember one instance where I had reached a perfect monster for size in that tribe, but except in that particular it had no other desirable property. Determined, however, to improve it by crossing, I found on trial I could make nothing of it ; and on examination I found its stigma was a hollow tube, and that its anthers were hard masses, and contained not one particle of pollen. Man may run into such mistakes, but he cannot thence conclude that unviolated nature does so. Speaking from a general recollection, which does not admit of my speci- fying instances, I have often found among hybrid seedlings some of a vigour which, in that respect, were in advance of either parent. May not such often occur in nature ? and, as a naturally-selected parent becomes the progenitor of a hardier and more vigorous race (which having in it, according to Darwin's views, a tendency to diverge), may it not culminate in the long lapse of time into a distinct species, and even annihilate the weaker one which gave it being? So that, in nature's crossing, may not fertility and vigour take the place of sterility and weakness, into which she so generally dwindles when modified by man's device ? * * Those interested in hybridisation will find numerous experiments with Willows, &c., recorded in a German work, 'Die Bastardbelusch- tung im Pflanzenreich erlautert an den Bastarden der Weiden;' Von Max Wichura, mit Zwei Tapeln (4to— Breslau, 1865). An interesting abstract from this work, by the Rev. M. J. Berkeley, is published in the 'Jour. Royal Hort. Soc.' (new series), i. 57. 1 68 GENERAL REVIEW OF SOME OF THE MOST POPULAR GROUPS OF CULTIVATED PLANTS, WITH NOTES ON THEIR PROPAGATION AND NATURAL AFFINITIES. THE ACANTHUS FAMILY (Acanthacece). A group of herbaceous plants or shrubs, chiefly natives of warm countries, and represented in our gardens by species of Thunbergia, Meyenia, Hexacentris, Gymnostachyum, Ruellia, Goldfussia, Strobilanthes, Acanthus, Aphelandra, Thyrsacanthus, Graptophyllum, Cyrtanthera, Sericogr aphis, Justicia, Eranthe- mum, Libonia, and others scarcely less beautiful. Nearly all the hard-wooded species are easily propagated by inserting cuttings of the partially-hardened young growth in heat ; and owing to the erect and branchless character of their growth, many species of Justicia, Aphelandra, Thyrsacanthus, Grapto- phyllum, &c., are best struck afresh every autumn or spring, otherwise the plants get leggy and unmanageable. Aphelandra aurantiaca, and its brilliant scarlet form A. Roezlii, are best propagated by seeds sown on a pan of light sandy soil as soon as ripe, and placed on a genial bottom-heat of 70° to 75°. Seeds are freely produced by many species ; and in order to facilitate their production, artificial fertilisation is to be recommended. The Grecian and South European forms of Acanthus, remarkable for their glossy and handsome foliage, are propagated either by seeds, root-cuttings, or division. The pollen-grains of some Acanthads are very beautifully tuberculate, and look like burnished nuggets of fine gold when seen under a high magnifier. Acanthus. — This is a noble family of plants, some of the species being found in most gardens, where they are grown for the sake of their massive, glossy green, and picturesquely-cut foliage. A. spinosus and A. mollis are natives of the south of Europe ; and a tuft of the first-named species accidentally growing around a vase is said to have given Callimachus the THE ACANTHUS FAMILY. 169 idea of decorating the capitals of pillars with carved stone ornaments representing its foliage — hence its use in Corinthian architecture. Most of the species are propagated by seeds, or by dividing strong established clumps. Sow the seeds in a pan of moist earth and place them in a cool pit or frame to germinate. Root-cuttings succeed tolerably well in heat. Among herbaceous and border plants worth growing for the indoor decoration of apartments we may direct attention to the hybrid forms of Acanthus, such as A. candelabrum, A. hybridus, and A. longifolius. These have elegantly-cut foliage of a fresh green colour, and form excellent substitutes for the more tender Ferns and Palms. These and several other hybrids have been raised in French gardens, and retain their foliage much later than A. mollis and A. spinosns, from which they have in part been raised. A. latifolius is one of the freshest and most stately of these varieties, and is a seedling from A. mollis. Libonia. — A small genus of Brazilian stove or warm green- house shrubs — one species, L. floribunda, having become tolerably common in our gardens as a decorative winter-bloom- ing plant. Easily propagated by cuttings of the young wood or by seeds, which are obtainable by careful fecundation. Seeds should be sown as soon as ripe in a genial bottom-heat of 65° to 75°. They soon vegetate, and should then be placed on a shelf near the light and carefully watered, as they are liable to damp off. We have two remarkable hybrids (bigeners) which have been obtained by fertilising Libonia floribunda with pollen from Sericographis Ghiesbreghtiana, both well-known winter-flower- ing plants. M. Andre has followed Professor Oliver and Dr Masters in his method of naming these bigeners, and has de- scribed them under the compound generic name Sericobonia.* S. Penr/wsiensis, Ed. Andre (Libonia Penrhosiensis, Hort. Bull.), was raised at Penrhose Castle a year or two ago, and is a dwarf-growing plant of rather dense habit, having ovate, deep- green leaves and trifasciculate clusters -of Libonia-\\ke flowers. Externally, this hybrid, although the produce of the same parents, differs materially in habit from the following, although in the floral structure of both there is an evident mixture of the generic distinctions of the parent species. The dwarf habit, leathery foliage, and smaller and redder flowers, distinguish it at a glance. — (See 'L'lll. Hort.,' 1875, P- 64)- />. ignea, Lind. et Andre (see * L'lll. Hort./ 1875, P- 39)- — This is a taller-growing plant of more vigorous habit than the last, bearing large panicles of yellow tubular flowers suffused I/O GENERAL REVIEW. with orange and red ; and the ovate lance-shaped leaves with decurrent petioles afford a further distinctive mark. This plant was raised by Mr H. Rowland. It is interesting to observe that both these hybrid plants incline more to the male parent than to the female one (Libonia). Indeed, the evidence of the prepotence of the male parent is now wellnigh over- whelming; but a series of carefully-conducted reciprocal crosses is needed to set the question at rest, since, as pointed out by Dr Lindley long ago, much of this supposed sexual prepotence may be ascribed to constitutional vigour — that parent which has the strongest characteristics or fixity of character being able to influence the offspring most. We have here two bigeneric hybrid plants, both of better habit and of more value for de- corative purposes than either of their parents ; and it would be interesting to know whether they are capable of bearing fertile seeds or potent pollen, as in either case they might be again crossed with one of their parents, or perhaps even with another species or genus, as Thyrsacanthus, and a new race of fertile hybrids thus obtained. THE MAPLE FAMILY (Aceracea). A group of European,' Indian, American, and Japanese trees, all more or less ornamental, and now included in the genus Acer. They are readily distinguished by their palmate or 5-7-lobed leaves and samaroid fruit. Each winged fruit bears two seeds, the coats of which are very thin — almost membranous, in fact ; and the seeds are surrounded by a soft layer of silky hairs, which line the inner part of the pericarp. The seeds are nearly all embryo ; and, curiously enough, the radicle and folded cotyledons are quite green, although they are entirely destitute of light from the time the leathery peri- carp commences to harden. The seeds of Seakale also contain a large green embryo — a perfect plant with green seed-leaves, in fact ; but in this last case the covering of the seed is green and succulent, and the embryo is enveloped in a slightly viscid fluid. Seeds like these — indeed all others which have no albumen and large embryos, such as Leguminose plants, &c.— should be sown as soon as ripe where practicable, or at the latest the spring following their period of ripening. . Acer (Maples). — A noble group of ornamental, round-headed trees, very useful in producing landscape effects, their foliage assuming various tints of yellow, brown, and red in the autumn, while in the months of April and May the young foliage is of a THE MAPLE FAMILY. I/I very pale or tender yellowish-green tint. The Norway Maple, A. platanoides, and the Montpelier Maple, A. monspessulaniim, are very bright and attractive in the spring when covered with clusters of golden-green flowers ; and even the common wild Maple, A. campestre, is a lovely party-coloured tree when stained with the foliage of the waning year. The Negundo, or Ash- leaved Maple (A. Negundo}, forms a very attractive specimen ; while its variegated variety is one of the most attractive of all hardy 'trees, its snowy-splashed leaves contrasting most effec- tively with the deeper-toned foliage of the purple or copper- leaved Beech, or with the glossy deep-green Yews, Portugal Laurels, and other inhabitants of the shrubbery border. There are also some very attractive golden-leaved forms of the com- mon Maple; and these and the white-leaved Negundo are worked on their respective green-leaved types as a stock, for which purpose they are readily multiplied either from seeds, layers, or cuttings, the two former methods being preferable and most generally practised. The cut - leaved or purple Japanese Maples (A. dissectuni] are very attractive foliage-plants, although not thoroughly hardy, and may be readily in- creased by layering, budding, or grafting on the stem or roots of one of the commoner and strong-growing forms of the same species as a stock. Mr Rivers recommends budding on A. palmatum as a stock for this group. Nearly all the hardy species produce their " keys," or winged seeds, freely ; and these should be gathered in October and sown in prepared seed-beds in the open air at once. Many of the species will grow on the common Maple as a stock, and may either be flute or cleft grafted in the spring or budded in the early sum- mer. It is a curious fact that the recently-discovered A. gin- nala, a native of Amooria, does not succeed when grafted on A. tartaricum, which is nevertheless so closely allied to it that some botanists regard the two as forms of one species. It suc- ceeds perfectly on the common A. pseudo-platanus as a stock. The Sugar-Maple (A. saccharinuni) is utilised in America and Canada, its juice or sap, which is obtained in large quantities by tapping the trees in early spring, being evaporated for the sugar it contains. From two to four pounds of sugar are obtained from a full-sized tree every year ; for it is a singular fact that the operation does not appear to injure the trees, which are frequently tapped every spring for thirty or forty years in suc- cession. The old gnarled or knotted stems of A. campestre, A. saccharinum (Bird's-eye Maple wood of the cabinetmakers), and A. rubrurn (curled Maple wood) are highly prized for the manufacture of ornamental furniture. GENERAL REVIEW. THE COCKSCOMB FAMILY {Amarantacea). Herbaceous plants or annuals, rarely shrubs, principally natives of. tropical Asia and America, a few being found in Africa and New Holland. They are represented in our gardens by different species and varieties of Celosia, Ama- rantus, Hablitzia, Trichinium, Achyranthes, Iresine, Gom- phrena, Alternclnthera, and a few others less well known. Of these, Celosia pyramidalis, and the crested forms or " Cocks- combs " Amarantus (Love - lies - Bleeding and Prince's Feathers) and Gomphrena, seed freely, and the seed sown in heat in spring germinates readily like other tender annuals. Trichinium Manglesii is a pretty little plant from the Swan River, which also bears fertile seeds; but it is most rapidly increased by cutting up the root-stocks into short pieces, which are then planted in light soil and placed on a genial bottom -heat to incite their latent buds to break. Alter- nanthera and Iresine have of late years become extremely popular in " carpet bedding," and cuttings of the young growth strike root readily in heat during the spring months. Celosia pyramidalis is one of the most valuable of all autumn-blooming decorative plants, its elegant plumes being of all shades of crim- son, yellow, orange, carmine, magenta, lilac, lake and bright purple, the brilliancy of their colours being most remarkable. The varieties of this plant are generally raised from seeds, but the small lateral shoots may be taken off and struck in heat as cuttings either in summer or in the spring with excellent results: THE AMARYLLIS AND KNIGHT'S STAR LILY FAMILY (Amaryllidacea). Two of the most beautiful orders of endogenous plants are certainly Amaryllidacese and Liliaceae, which have very many points in common, but may be easily denned by the position of the ovary or seed-vessel, which is outside (in- ferior) the floral envelopes or flower -tube in Amaryllids, and inside (superior) the flower in all true Lilies. To this order belong many of the most lovely of all garden plants, including the Snowdrops and Narcissi of Europe, the Pancratinums and Crinums of the W. Indies, the gorgeous Hippeastrums of Brazil, and the many beautiful forms of HCE- manthus, Clivia, Cyrtanthns, &c., of the Cape flora, and the THE AMARYLLIS AND STAR LILY FAMILY. 173 stately massive-leaved Agaves of Mexico. Nearly all are bulbous plants, readily propagated by offsets, suckers, or seeds, which are very freely produced. Fourcroyas, a rather distinct section of Agaveoe, rarely seed, but produce large quantities of fleshy bulbils on their flower-stems, which soon form plants when placed on moist soil. Seeds germinate very readily if sown as soon as ripe in pans of moist rich earth and placed on a gentle bottom-heat of 65° to 70°. Valotta purpurea is one of the most brilliant decorative plants in the order, and is nearly hardy, being often grown in cottage windows under the popular name of Scarborough Lily. Seedlings from it have often been raised, but they are remarkably constant in character. This plant will not cross with Hippeastrum or Amaryllis, but might possibly be induced to do so with Cyrtanthus or Gastronema. It may not be impossible to hope for hybrids between Doryanthes and Fourcroya or Agave ; at any rate, if pollen can be procured the union is worth attempt- ing. Doryanthes excelsa is a noble scarlet-flowered Amaryllid from New Holland (see Bot. Mag., t. 1684-85). Eucharis is lovely enough at present, but one may be excused for desiring hybrids (if they can be procured) between that genus and some other of the Pancratiform Amaryllids. The hardy Crinums — that is, the crosses between C. capense and other species — might be improved in vigour by again crossing them with C. longiflorum, another hardy Cape species bearing handsome purple flowers ; and among the fifty or sixty species of Crinum already known, and at one time or other introduced to our gardens, there is ample room for intelligent hybridisation. What glorious masses of bright green leaves and fragrant Lily- like flowers these plants would give us if we boldly planted them out in the deep rich borders of our conservatories instead of starving them in pots ! The following are the principal cultivated genera in this beautiful group : Galanthns (Snowdrops), Leucojum (Snowflakes), Ads, Bravoa, Stern- bergia, Amaryllis, Zephyranthes , Hippeastrum, Valotta, Nerine, Brunsvigia, Griffinia, Crinum, Hcemanthus, Cyrtanthus, Gastronema, Eurydes, Calostemma, Urceolina, Coburgia, Steno- messon, Pancratium, Ismene, Narcissus, Alstrcemeria, Bomarea, Clivia, Doryanthes, Agave, and Fourcroya. Acis. — A small genus of dwarf-growing hardy Amaryllids nearly related to the Snowflakes (Leucojum). They are natives of Northern Africa and the South of Europe, and are represented in our gardens by A. rosea, A. autumnalis, and A. grandiflora. They are easily multiplied by dividing estab- lished clumps or masses ; or seeds which are freely produced GENERAL REVIEW. in warm sheltered situations grow freely if sown as soon as ripe in pots or pans of sandy soil, and protected in a pit or frame from which frost is excluded; for although the plants are hardy, the young seedlings are verjr tender in their earlier stages, and suffer much from damp or cold rains. Agave (American Aloes). — A noble and extensive genus of succulent Amaryllidaceous plants, natives of South America, a large proportion of the species being natives of Mexico. The common A. aniericana and its variegated-leaved forms are well- known representatives of this genus in gardens. In Mexico, Agaves are commonly planted in rows, so as to form impene- trable fences. A tough fibre is produced by the macerated leaves, and is largely used in rope and paper making. The expressed juice of the leaves is used in soap-making, and several varieties of intoxicating liquors are made of it by fer- mentation. About 100 species are known in our gardens, some seedling forms of these — as A. Vtrschaffeltii, A. Besserriana, and A. horrida, for example — being extremely variable. The best private collection in this country is that formed by J. T. Peacock, Esq., Sudbury House, Hammersmith, and the genus is well represented in the botanic collection at Kew. As a rule, the species are readily propagated by offsets, which are in many cases freely produced, especially after the parent plant has bloomed ; and in some cases offsets are produced on the flower-stem. Seeds are freely produced, and hybrids may be obtained by artificial fertilisation. As we have said, Agaves bear seed freely even in cultivation ; and these seedlings vary so much in vigour, and even in habit of growth, that it would be interesting to make a series of careful experiments to see whether the quantity of pollen placed on the stigma influences the vigour of the resulting seedlings in any way. When I was in the Royal Gardens at Kew, several Agaves of the spicate group produced flower - spikes, the flowers of which are arranged in pairs spirally around the central stem. The lower flowers open first ; and so far as my observation went, they are not fertilised by their own pollen, the style not being perfectly developed at the time its attendant anthers shed their pollen ; but after these have shed their pollen, and hang limp and lifeless, the stigma has attained its full length, the swollen apex is viscid, and it becomes fertilised by pollen which is shed by the flowers now open above. A most copious supply of pollen is afforded by these plants ; and although they do not need the agency of insects to assist in their nuptials, their aid is nevertheless generally forthcoming, even in a state of cultivation, owing to the ample feast of nectar THE AMARYLLIS AND STAR LILY FAMILY. 175 afforded by the tubular flowers. As we have said, the flowers open in gradual succession from the bottom of the flower-spikes upwards, and the section of the stem for five or six inches, where it is occupied by fully-expanded flowers, resembles a bottle-brush more than anything else, the anthers sticking out quite thickly in all directions ; and it is an amusing sight to see flies, bees, wasps, ants, and at night cockroaches (Blatta orientalis), struggling through the pollen-laden stamens in their attempts to obtain honey from the flower-tubes. Old plants may be renovated by cutting the plant off at the collar, after which set the decapitated plant on a pot or tube of fresh com- post, and it will soon throw out new roots. Seeds may be sown as soon as they are ripe in a pan of moist rich earth, after which place them on a shelf near the glass and water carefully. Seedling plants vary very much even if the parent plant has been fertilised with its own pollen. One or two garden hybrids have been obtained. A. Taylor ii. — This beautiful and distinct hybrid is the result of a cross between A. geminifiora and A. densiflora, and was obtained by Mr Taylor, who is so well known in connection with the celebrated collection of Cycadaceous plants at Lauder- dale House, Highgate. It was sent out by Mr B. S. Williams in 1874. A. perbella is another distinct hybrid the origin of which is known, it having been raised by M. Kerchove at Vaslau, near Ghent. It is the result of a cross between A. Xylacantha and A. univittata, and was sent out by M. de Smet. Alstroemeria. — A very showy genus of very variable orna- mental plants, having fascicled or bundled fleshy roots, reversed or resupinate leaves, and yellow, red, or greenish Gladiolus-like flowers. They are readily propagated by dividing the flesh- roots or crowns. Seeds are freely produced on warm rich soils, and germinate readily if sown as soon as ripe, or in the spring in light rich soil and placed in a gentle bottom-heat, or in a cool frame in April or May. Seedlings are remarkable for their great variety, and all the so-called species very closely resemble each other. They are natives of South America, and it would be interesting to know if they are variable in their na- tive habitats. About 1841-42, M. Van Houtte raised numerous seedling and hybrid varieties, some of the latter being raised from A. Hooker i fertilised with pollen from A. hczmantha. A. chilensis has produced some fine forms by being crossed with pollen of other varieties. A. Errenbaulti is a Continental hybrid, said to have been obtained by fertilising A. pelegrina with pollen from A. pulchra. This variety is beautifully spotted, 1/6 GENERAL REVIEW. and is further remarkable as its anthers contain no fertile pollen, although apparently well formed. A. h&mantha, A. aurea, A. pulchella, A. versicolor, A. Hcrokeri, and A. chilensis have produced numerous forms, and their representatives are now grown in our best gardens, they being perfectly hardy on warm well-drained soils. One of the oldest of the cultivated species is A. pelegrina. Linnaeus first received seeds of this plant from Peru, and it was grown at Kew so early as 1753. (See ' Bot. Mag./ t. 139). Amaryllis. — A showy genus of Cape bulbs, represented in our gardens by A. Belladonna, A. blanda, A. pallida, A. (Brunsvigia) grandiflora, A. Josephine, and others. The two last-named plants have produced fertile seeds crossed with A. blanda, although very distinct in habit. The habit of Amaryllis is to flower in autumn before the appearance of the leaves, and this is a great drawback, to remedy which a cross between Amaryllis and Valotta has been by some recom- mended, and attempted without success, in order to obtain if possible evergreen varieties, or varieties which would produce foliage synchronously with their flowers. This genus must not be confounded with Hipptastrum, a much more tractable and variable genus of allied plants from Brazil. All cultivators interested in these and allied bulbous plants should see the remarks on the hybridisation of this genus in Dean Herbert's ' Amaryllidacese,' p. 278. Orinum. — A large genus of remarkably stately bulbs, mostly natives of tropical Asia, South America, Australasia, and South Africa, and represented in our gardens by numerous species and varieties. One of the best-known plants in this group is C. amabile, which the late Dean Herbert believed to be a spontaneous hybrid between C. procerum and C. zeylanicum. C. capense and some of its forms are quite hardy, only needing a mulching during the winter to protect them from wet. In some gardens this is called C. longifolia. C. Mitchamice, is (or was ?) a very stately hybrid, also hardy, its parents being C. capense and C. australe. C. Herbertii, which bears blush-red striped flowers, is the offspring of C. scabrwn and C. capense. This last-named species is figured as an illustration to the late Dean Herbert's celebrated " Observations on the production of Hybrid Plants."— (See ' Trans. Hort. Soc.,' iii. 187.) The first hybrid Crinum appears to have been raised about 1813 in the greenhouse of the Earl of Carnarvon at Highclere. R. J. Gowen, Esq., was the raiser, and the plant was named C. Goweni, after him, when it first flowered in Dean Herbert's col- lection at Spofforth. It was the result of crossing C. capense THE AMARYLLIS AND STAR LILY FAMILY. 1 77 with pollen from C. zeylanicum. Soon afterwards several mules which had been raised at Mitcham by the Dean himself also bloomed at Spofforth, these having been obtained by crossing C. capense and C. canaliculatum. He also obtained one seed- ling from C. defixum fertilised with pollen of C. speciosum, and another from C. scabrum fertilised by C. canaliculatum, and a handsome white hybrid from C. brevifolium fertilised with pollen taken ffom a large form of C. erubescen's. Dean Herbert; writing in 1842, remarks: "When I first introduced and described a number of species of Crinum which had not been known before in Europe, I was greatly censured by some experienced botanists for asserting that plants which they held to be species at Amaryllis, were in fact variations of the genus Crinum, and it was even declared that Crinum was more nearly allied to Pancratium than to the species in question, I proved the justice of my botanical view of that point by obtaining not merely sterile mules but a fertile offspring between the common Cape Crinum, which was before erroneously called Amaryllis longifolia, and the great Crinum pedunculatum of New Holland. I have now in my garden a further seedling from such a mule, between the Crinum capense and Crinum canaliculatum, which is closely akin to pedunculatum, with ripe seeds upon it. Generally these hybrids become impregnated by the pollen of Crinum capense, of which a great bed stands near them, and the offspring being two-thirds capense, revert nearly to its aspect ; but the plant above mentioned did not revert, but exhibits an improved form of the mule, and is in fact a new fertile species. The freedom with which species of Crinum of the old Linnaean section and most of the section I added thereto interbreed, furnishes decisive proof that the faculty of intermixture is not confined to genera in which species have been rashly formed out of seminal varieties, but is found when the species were even erroneously considered to be of different genera," Nearly all the species of Crinum known to Dean Herbert were by him found to interbreed with tolerable freedom. One unintelligible impediment, however, existed, as he tells us (' Amaryllidacese,' p. 372), for some time. C. capense, which bred freely with every other species, refused to be fertilised by the tropical Cape Coast kinds — C. Broussonetianum, C. petiolatum, and C. specia- bile. A seedling was, however, at last obtained between the last named and C, capense. At the page above cited he remarks that, " in general, hybrid plants have been found to be exces- sively florid, but sometimes the contrary has been the case, and there appears to be some impediment to the perfection of their blossoms." At p. 351 he observes that a seed-pod from M 178 GENERAL REVIEW. Crinwn capense which had been fertilised with pollen from C. revolutum was well developed, every ovule producing a seedling plant, a result not to be obtained by fertilising it with its own pollen; while at p. 356 he further observes that all the hybrid Crinums raised between C. capense and tropical species, which are now very numerous, are hardy enough to stand out of doors against the front wall of a stove, where, if a mat is thrown over them in sharp frosts, they preserve most of their leaves, and from May to November continue to throw up a succession of flower- stems in great perfection. Crinum hybridum (C. erubescent x capense] — (see ' Bot." Mag.,' t. 2336) — was raised from a seed ripened in a pond at Spofforth in 1818. In 1874 I saw a splendid plant in the late Mr S. Rucker's garden at Wands- worth in full bloom, and in the Dublin Botanic Garden also. C. capense forms a noble object in autumn. — (See Herbert's ' Amaryllidaceae/ p. 272, for a list of hybrids and crosses, with their parentage, &c.) Hippeastrum (Knight's Star Lilies). — A group of very showy, and for the most part deciduous, South American and West Indian bulbs, generally grown in gardens under the name of Amaryllis, from which, however, they differ in being decidu- ous, and also in being more readily forced, a general charac- teristic, indeed, of nearly all deciduous bulbs. The best-known species are H. aulicum^ H. equestre, H. regium, which bear scarlet, crimson, or orange-red flowers with a greenish centre. H. vittatum (H. Harrisonii) is pure white striped with crimson. H. pardinum is creamy yellow, profusely speckled with ver- milion; and H. reticulatum, an evergreen species, has rosy flowers finely netted with bright red. The hybrids in this genus are innumerable, as all the species, or nearly all, inter- breed freely. One of the most brilliant and beautiful of all is the old H. Ackermanni-pulcherrimum. H. regina-vittatum is figured as an illustration to a valuable paper on Hybrid Hippeastrums in the Transactions of the Horticultural Society, v. 337. A numerous race of very showy hybrids has recently been raised by Messrs Veitch between H. pardinum and H, Leopoldi. The first hybrid Hippeastrum, according to Herbert, was H. Johnsoni, named after its raiser, a nurseryman, who fertilised H. vittatum with pollen from H. regium. Numerous seedlings were afterwards raised between H. Johnsoni and such kinds as H. psittacinum — a green and scarlet flowered plant introduced from Brazil in 1816 ; H. regium, the Mexican Lily, introduced in 1725 ; H. aulicum, green and red, also Brazilian, introduced in 1810 : while, more recently, numerous beautiful hybrids have THE AMARYLLIS AND STAR LILY FAMILY. 179 been obtained between the older varieties and H. pardimnn — a beautiful creamy-yellow, fully-expanded flower, spotted or speckled with vermilion. — (See ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 5645.) Little skill is required in crossing Hippeastrums, since nearly all the hybrid and cross-bred forms are fertile, and a batch of seed- lings is as diverse as Calceolarias in their colours, forms, and Hybrid Hippeastrums. markings. The numerous forms of H. bulbulosum — an orange- flowered Brazilian plant introduced in 1810 — are very bright and beautiful, — " fulgidum " (light orange), " ignescens " (fiery scarlet), and "refulgens" (orange scarlet) being perhaps the best. It is a singular fact that even what are supposed to be wild South American species vary very much from seed (even when not hybridised) in cultivation, and they have doubtless been intermixed in their native habitats. One of the oldest, most distinct, and hardiest of all the species is " Jacob's Lily " ( H. formcsissimuni), introduced before 1629, and which, accord- 180 GENERAL REVIEW. ing to Herbert, cannot be fertilised by pollen of the other kinds. This bears rich crimson flowers, and the flowers are quite different in shape to all the others. H. reticulatum is also a distinct variety, having flowers similar in shape and colour to those of Amaryllis Belladonna, with conspicuous net-like mark- ing on the segments, the deep-green oblong evergreen foliage having an ivory-white stripe down the centre. Both the last- named seem to be pure species, which might possibly repay careful hybridisation under favourable circumstances. Among recent cultivators who have raised improved forms of cross-bred Hippeastrums, I may name Messrs Veitch & Sons, who, I believe, have obtained the largest-flowered kinds in cultivation. In one batch of their seedlings. I saw flowers nine or ten inches across, widely expanded, the segments being fully three inches in width. These were for the most part crosses between \H. Ackermanni-pulcherrimum and H.pardinum. Messrs E. G. Henderson, of St John's Wood, have obtained a race of free-blooming and hardy varieties by crossing H. pardi- num with some of the older hybrids. Mr J. Anderson, of Mea- dowbank, also raises numerous seedling forms, his strain being remarkable for brilliant colour. Mr B. S. Williams has also introduced some fine cross-bred forms, one or two of the varieties having very handsome creamy-white flowers, which contrast most beautifully with the scarlet and crimson varieties. For a very full account of this genus, the reader interested is referred to Herbert's * Amaryllidaceae,' p. 135 ; and at p. 142 is a list of many of the earlier hybrids and mixed crosses, with parentage and other interesting notes. H. {Amaryllis) vittatum is figured in the ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 129, and is a distinct and beautiful white tubular-flowered form with crimson stripes. This is one of the most characteristic of all the earlier species. Some very beautiful hybrids have re- sulted from fertilising A. psittadna by pollen of the last-named plant ; as also by the fertilisation of A. vittata with pollen of A. pulverulenta and A. braziliensis, and the last again by pollen of A. acaulis. Hybrids have been produced by A. lojigifolia fecundated by pollen of A. formosissimum (St Jacob's Lily); and Crinum (Amaryllis) meldense is from A. longifolia fertilised with pollen from Crinum (Amaryllis) taitense. We have one or two double-flowered Amaryllids in cultivation, so that their further multiplication is merely a question of time. H. (Am- aryllis) fulgidum fl.-pl. (see 'Revue Hort.,' 1869, p. 411) is a glowing scarlet variety ; and a full double variety was sent out by Messrs E. G. Henderson, a year or two ago, under the name of H. (Amaryllis) Albertii. THE AMARYLLIS AND STAR LILY FAMILY. l8l Imantophyllum (Clivia). — A group of free-blooming ever- green Amaryllids from the Cape, represented in our gardens by three or four species, including /. miniatum, I. Aitoni, I. Gardeni, and a very ornamental production, 7. cyrtanthiflorum, which was raised by M. Van Houtte, of Ghent. It is a hybrid from /. miniatum fertilised with pollen from /. Aitoni (Clivia nobilis, Hort.) These plants are grown in some gardens under the name of Clivia, and are readily propagated either by divi- sion of strong clumps, or by seeds sown in a genial bottom- heat. Seedlings of /. miniatum are very variable, some of the forms being most profuse bloomers, and bearing large trusses of brilliant orange-yellow flowers. Narcissus.* — We have here a distinct and natural group of hardy bulbs, principally natives of Europe, and numbering about twenty species, all of which are readily propagated by offsets, and many of them by seeds, which are very freely pro- duced by the pure species under favourable conditions. Seeds should be sown as soon as ripe ; for if kept until they become hard and dry, they germinate very slowly, and the young seed- lings are weakly. For hybridising purposes pot the bulbs of the desired parents, and place them in the greenhouse or win- dow, so as to isolate them from other kinds. Some of the late- blooming varieties, as N. poeticus and N. Tazetta, may be forced if pollen is required for crossing N. Pseudo-Narcissus and its varieties, which bloom early. " The six anthers should be carefully taken out before the flower which is to bear the seed- blooms opens. This may be done through a slit in the tube ; and the yellow dust from another sort must be applied to the point of the style." After fertilisation is duly effected, and the seed-vessels begin to swell, plunge the pots in the open border in a sheltered position, carefully tie up the scapes, and watch the seed-pods when they commence to ripen, or the seeds will fall and be lost. Protect seed-pods carefully from mice and birds. When the pods show signs of bursting, cut the scapes, and keep them in water or moist earth until the seeds ripen, after which sow at once in pans or boxes of light sandy earth. Keep a sharp look-out for slugs, which will otherwise eat off every young plant as it appears. There are numerous natural hybrids in this genus ; and Dr Henon, who for many years made a special study of the French Narcissi, writes : " The station of Lattes, near Montpelier, is remarkable in that it offers many species mixed in the same meadow (poeticus, angustifolius, biflorus, Tazetta), as well as * For a general account of the Narcissus, see 'Card. Chron.' 1869, or * The Narcissus ; its History and Culture.' 1 82 GENERAL REVIEW. a considerable quantity of intermediate forms, varieties, cr hybrids. In 1840, along with MM. Dunal, Delile, and Bou- chet, I asserted that at this station might be seen all the pass- ages from poeticus to Tazetta, passing through biflorus, without any appreciable line of demarcation. This assertion was at the time strongly criticised ; but verification being made on the spot with M. Delile, it was established that the fact was beyond doubt." N. gracilis is by some considered as a hybrid between a yellow N. Tazetta and N. poeticus ; but its semi-cylindrical dark-green leaves point to N. odorus or N. Jonquilla, or even N. juncifolius, as one of the parents crossed with either N. biflorus or N. poeticus. N. intermedius has flowers of a yellow N. Tazetta, with leaves and scape like the Jonquil, and may possibly be a hybrid between the two groups. I find no evi- dence of N. Bulbocodium having been successfully hybridised with any other species; and its not having been used as a parent may be owing to its late-blooming habit. In the August number of the 'Botanical Register' for 1843, No. 38, several curious hybrids are figured, which were raised by the late Honourable and Very Reverend Dean Herbert, " from seed, at Spofforth, and are amongst those which have already flowered." It is there stated by Mr Herbert that many Narcissi which have been distinguished as species, and even made into fresh genera, are never known to bear seed, and they are hence regarded as mules. Mr Herbert has entirely verified this supposition in some of his hybrids, producing what have been regarded as separate species or genera from two other decided species. Fig. 5 (see ' Bot. Reg.,' cited above), he says, is the produce of the wild Yorkshire Daffodil (N. Pseudo- Narcissus] fertilised by pollen of N. poeticus, and is decidedly a variety of the plant called N. incomparabilis. Fig. 3 is the pro- duce of N. incomparabilis by the same N. poeticus — that is, two generations from the Daffodil by the poetic Narcissus — and in it the change is complete from the form- of the stamina in the Daffodil to that in the true Narcissus ; and it is evident that one cross more (or at least two further crosses) would out of the wild Daffodil produce the true Pheasant' s-eye Narcissus. Other very curious instances are brought forward, and Mr Herbert says: "It is desirable to call the attention of the humblest cultivators — of every labourer, indeed, or operative who has a spot of garden or a ledge in his window — to the infinite variety of Narcissi that may be thus raised, and most easily in pots, at his window, if not too much exposed to sun and wind, offering him a source of harmless and interesting amusement, and per- haps a little profit and celebrity." THE AMARYLLIS AND STAR LILY FAMILY. 183 'In .the 'Gardeners' Chronicle' for June 10, 1865, the late Mr W. Backhouse, of St John's, Walsingham, makes the fol- lowing pertinent remarks on hybrid Narcissi : — " The Daffodils Narcissus major, Pseudo-Narcissus minor, and moschatus, cross with one another, and they produce seeds as freely as the parents. The colours are not merely inter- mediate, but of all shades between the colours of the parent where these differ, as in moschatus. N. bicolor seeds badly, and is deficient in pollen ; but from crosses of the other Daffo- dils with it I have raised 'some of the largest and finest of the class. These also seed badly, and their produce has a ten- dency to revert to the Daffodil. The roots of N. bicolor are very large, and shaped somewhat differently from the others, and the crosses from it have the same peculiarity ; the colours of the seedlings vary from those of their parents through white with lemon cups to almost pure white. From the Daffodils crossed by N. angustifolius (N. poeticus) the kinds called fazti- dus by Dean Herbert are produced, and the cross is interme- diate between the parents when IV. major and N. Pseudo-Nar- cissus are used ; but with N. poeticus the variety is greater, and some with very finely-expanded cups occur. The variety also seems to be greater when some of the seedling varieties of the Daffodil are used. These crosses seed very sparingly, but- may occasionally be got to produce seed by a cross with either parent ; those with the Daffodil having shorter cups than N. major and moschatus, and those with N. poeticus or angusti- folius being intermediate, with generally a red edge to the cup. Seeds I have sown from plants not artificially impregnated pro- duce the same result, some showing the Daffodil and others the N. angustifolius type. The orange tints on some of these crosses vary in differmt seasons. On many the cup will one year be orange-tinted, and the next plain yellow. " The Daffodils crossed by N. Tazetta produce plants inter- mediate between the two in general, but sometimes the cup is not longer than in N. Tazetta ; the flowers on each stalk vary —two, four, and up to six occurring. These crosses vary in colour and size according to the nature of the parent Tazetta ; but the produce does not seed, except that last year one pod producing one seed occurred from, perhaps, a couple of hun- dred flowers. A warmer climate than mine might produce different results. No pollen is to be got from it to cross with the Daffodil parent. " The percentage of seedlings showing striking peculiarities is but small from any of these crosses ; and the colours only partially follow what might be expected from the parents. The 184 GENERAL REVIEW. cross from N. moschatus by N. angustifolius is not always white, and I have from N. fatidus (N. incomparabilis] by N. angustifolius some with green flowers." The following interesting details are from the late Dean Herbert's valuable paper in ' Jour. Hort. Soc.,' ii. i et seq. : " I have seedlings from N. Pseudo- Narcissus by a yellow Her- mione brevistyla, from N. minor by papyracea, cequilimba, and italica or States-general. All the breeders were forced near a month before the time of flowering, and were carefully deprived of their anthers some days before expansion by making an inci- sion in the tube and drawing them out at bottom, so that they did not approach the stigma ; and the non-access of the natural pollen was proved by the invariable failure of all the flowers touched with the pollen of certain plants, and the success of almost all touched with that of certain others. For instance, the failure was complete with pollen from Double Roman Her- mione, which seemed very dry ; of Soleil d'Or (doubtless because the bulbs have been raised by offsets for three or four centu- ries) ; of the large-anthered Queltias, except montana; of Bazel- man major and minor, which, I am satisfied, are crosses between Hermione brevistyla and Narcissus poeticus ; of N. gracilis and tenuior ; of Corbularia and Ganymedes : while it is remarkable that almost every Ajax flower touched with pollen of Hermione States-general has seeded. The application of pollen of Ajax lutetis or moschatus to Narcissus poeticus is almost sure of suc- cess. The constitution of the seedlings was very different. The seed of N. Pseudo-Narcissus crossed with N. luteus came up readily, and grew so fast and weak in the greenhouse in winter that it was necessary to put the pot out : that of the same Ajax which was impregnated by Hermione brei'istyla came up very slowly, much of the seed rotting; and the seedlings did not find the house too warm, and were twice as many months as the others were weeks in reaching the same stature, and proved so delicate that, having been planted out in May, all but one of the first batch, which was much injured, rotted by the cold and wet in the autumn. One drawback is, that the seed of Narcissi is very apt to lie two years in the ground, unless sown immediately ; and to rot, if it gets too much wet before it is ready to vegetate ; and that the snails are apt to destroy the seedlings if raised in the open border ; and that the hybrid seed, however good and fine, is more apt to suffer than the natural seed." Mr Herbert remarks that N. odorus never seeds in cultivation, nor yet in its native habitats, so far as he could learn ; and this circumstance, together with the light of other experiments, caused him to surmise that it was a hybrid THE AMARYLLIS AND STAR LILY FAMILY. 185 between N. Pseudo-Narcissus and N. Jonquilla. Some years later he writes that this opinion was verified : " Such plants having been raised both by myself and by Mr Trevor, Alcock, near Caermarthen, and having flowered, they have shown that the Linnaean N. odorus — the genus Philogyne — in all its varia- tions, is cross-bred between the common Daffodil and the Jon- quil." Some very beautiful seedling and hybrid Narcissi have been raised by Mr Edward Leeds of Manchester, many of which are very distinct. Among them are hybrids between N. Pseudo- Narcissus and N. incomparabilis, which possess the long corona of the first parent, and the more fully expanded and nar- rower segments of the latter. Hybrids between N. incompara- bilis and N. poeticus are also pretty, the variations in form and tint being very numerous. Hybrids between N. poeticus and N. Macleai closely resemble the latter; and some seedlings from these again have turned out very fine forms, fully three times the size of the typical N. Macleai, and some have very bright vermilion-tinted cups. Hybrids between N. incom- parabilis and N. montanus are intermediate in form, and very delicately coloured, having pale sulphur cups much frilled around the rim. Herbert gives the following particulars re- specting the fertility and influence of the last-named species : — " The pollen of N. montanus, whether it be a natural plant or not, is very fertile. I have flowered seedlings from N. minor by it, and very neat and pretty things they are. I have also flowered seedlings from N. poeticus by it, and they are remarkable, — having the widely-expanded limb of N. poeticus with the drooping posture and long cup of N. montanus, in one of them a little tinged with red. This is a strange circum- stance. A plant widely different from any other species ; cul- tivated above 200 years; not since found — as far as I can learn — where it was supposed to grow or elsewhere, except in gardens ; producing no seed by its own pollen usually, if ever, yet very ready to fertilise its neighbours, and to be fertilised by a cross-bred plant. If it be cross-bred, I should say that N. dubia and N. candidissimus (N. moschatus) are its probable parents. From N. Pseudo-Narcissus and N. minor I have many crosses by N. Tazetta, especially the variety called States-general by the Dutch. N. Pseudo-Narcissus by States- general produces a very handsome vigorous two-flowered yellow Diomedes (Haworth), with some little variety of shape and tint. " There is ample room for further experiments in this race of plants, from which much vernal beauty for our gardens and 1 86 GENERAL REVIEW. rooms may be obtained, and even the curious little autumnal Narcissus and the autumnal green Jonquil may be brought into action. But the great value of these experiments lies in the strong light they throw on the wide variation which the Al- mighty has permitted from His created type with licence to revert towards the abandoned form, and by intermixture to pro- duce new forms ; while in other races, which exhibit less diver- sity of form amongst the species, the variation seems fixed." Nerine. — We have here a very interesting genus of deciduous flowering bulbs, principally natives of the Cape, others coming from China and Japan. Among the species in our garden are N. corusca (scarlet), N.flexuosa (pink), N. pulchella (rosy lilac), N. rosea (rose), N. sarniensis, Guernsey Lily (scarlet), N. nndulata (pink), and N. venusta, scarlet. The well-known and deservedly popular N. Fothergillii appears to be little more than a seminal form of N. curvifolia major. They are readily propagated by division, offsets, or seeds sown in a gentle bottom-heat of 60° to 70° as soon as ripe, or early in the spring. Seedlings of N. undulata generally flower the third year from seed — others take longer ; and seedlings of N. curvifolia are often eight or nine years before they flower. Among the hybrids already raised may be mentioned those obtained at Spofforth prior to 1837 by the late Dean Herbert. * N. Mitchamice ( — N. versicolor) is the result of crossing N. curvifolia and N. undulata. This has umbellate scapes of rose and purple flowers, the filaments of the stamens being bright red, while it is said never to produce fertile seeds. — (See ' Herb. Am.,' pi. 45, f. i.) N. Haylocki is a hybrid between N. curvifolia and N. pulchella, the flowers similar in colour to the last, and it bears fertile seeds. Other hybrids obtained also by Herbert were : JV. claronis (N. pulchella x undulata), N. Parkerii (N. pulchella x humilis), N. Seymourii (N. humilis x undulata), and N. Spofforthice (N. venusta x undulata}. The Guernsey Lily is one of the oldest and most beauti- ful, and might possibly be much improved by hybridising with N. Fothergillii ; indeed JV. Plant ii is supposed to be a hybrid between the two last-named species. THE PERIWINKLE FAMILY (Apocynacea). A group of ornate plants represented in our gardens by the following genera : Allamanda, Taberncemontana, Vinca (Peri- winkle), Nerium (Oleander), Rhynchospermuin, Echites, Mande- * See Herbert's 'Amaryllidacese,' p. 283 et seq. THE PERIWINKLE FAMILY. 1 87 villea, and Dipladetiia. Almost all the species are highly poisonous. These plants are nearly all very beautiful, bearing large brightly-coloured tubular flowers, having a broad five- lobed limb, and they are principally found in the tropics of both hemispheres, our native Periwinkles being the most northern representatives. These plants very rarely bear fruit in cultivation, notwithstanding Lindley's assertion (see ' Veg. King.,' p. 599) that the pollen is "immediately applied to the stigma." I believe it will be found that insect agency is requisite in a state of nature to secure fertility, and artificial fertilisation is necessary in order to secure seeds of this group in cultivation. The style is constructed in a peculiar manner, and, like the same organ in Lobeliads and Composites, seems intended to brush the pollen from the anthers for the benefit of other flowers. Nearly all the species are readily increased from cuttings of the young growth, or by sowing the seeds in a gentle bottom-heat of 70° to 75° ; and the more delicate varieties of Dipladetiia and Allamanda may be grafted on the more robust species of their respective kinds as a stock, inarch- ing or splice-grafting being best. It would be interesting to know whether Dipladenia, Echites, and Mandevillea can be inter- grafted or hybridised with each other in any way. Allamanda. — A showy genus of tropical stove climbers or trailers, natives of South America, and represented in our gardens by six or eight species, all of great beauty. A. cathartica was the first species introduced to our gardens, this vigorous-habited species having been brought from Guiana in 1785 (see 'Bot. Mag.,' t. 388). A. Schottii, A. grandiflora, A. Hendersonii (A. Wardleana), and A. nob ills are the best ; and are readily propagated by cuttings of the young wood inserted in moist soil, and plunged in a genial bottom-heat of 75° to 80°, either in a close frame or under a bell-glass, as the leaves soon droop if left exposed to the atmosphere. The four kinds just named are sometimes grafted on young plants (struck from cuttings) of A. neriifolia, A. cathartica, or its ally A. Aubletii, and are said -to bloom more pro- fusely when so treated. The operation is best performed in the spring under a close propagating case. I have never seen seeds produced ; but this is doubtless owing to their requiring artificial fertilisation when in the cultivated state. They might doubtless be improved by judicious hybridisation. Allamanda Hendersonii : this is a distinct-habited plant of garden origin, and is supposed to be the result of a cross between A. cathartica and A. Schottii (see- ' Proceedings Royal Hort. Soc.,' iv.) A double-flowered Allamanda cathartica was 1 88 GENERAL REVIEW. obtained by Mr Hossack, of Alderley Park Gardens, Con- gleton, a year or two ago. The flower owes its " doubleness " to a substitution of petals for stamens, as is the case in the allied Oleander. We presume it is a " sport ; " and if it is so, it certainly should have been perpetuated by cuttings or otherwise. Dipladenia. — A showy genus of stove climbers from the Organ Mountains, Rio Janeiro, and Trinidad, bearing rosy salver-shaped flowers. They are readily increased by cuttings of the young side shoots, or breaks taken off in the spring with a rfeel of old wood and rooted in a gentle bottom-heat of 70° in a close case. The plants seed freely when artificially fertilised ; and seedlings vary in form, colour, and substance. The seeds should be sown as soon as ripe in a gentle bottom-heat of 65° to 75°, care being taken to give ample ventilation whenever the young plants appear above the soil. D. crassinoda is a strong grower, and may be used as a stock for the tender varieties. D. amabilis is a hybrid raised by Mr Tuke, Bramley, near Leeds, in 1862, and sent out by Messrs Backhouse in 1865. It was the result of a cross between D. crassinoda and D. splendens, the latter being the male parent. D. arnxna is another of Mr Tuke's hybrids, sent out about 1868, and is an improvement on D. splendens, obtained by crossing that species writh D. amabilis. Dipladenia Williamsii is another garden hybrid, intermediate between D. amabilis and D. splendens — partaking of the free -blooming qualities of the former, and the great substance and boldness of flowers possessed by the latter — sent out by Mr B. S. Williams in 1874. About 1869 a plant of D. amabilis, in the gardens of J. Waterhouse, Esq., Wellhead, Halifax, accidentally produced a solitary fruit ; and from the seeds it contained, his gardener, Mr Fenwick, succeeded in raising the garden variety known as D. insignis. In 1874 Mr W. Bull sent out another fine hybrid, or seedling variety, under the name of D. Brearleyana. This is a rich crimson-scarlet variety, and was raised by Mr Brearley, a nurseryman, of Halifax, Yorkshire. Nerium (Oleander). — A genus of poisonous plants of great beauty, represented in our gardens by the common Laurel Rose, N. Oleander, a native of the warmer parts of Asia, and largely grown as a decorative shrub in most Continental gardens. It is readily propagated by cuttings of the partly- hardened wood inserted in moist earth or in bottles of soft water (see Roses). Artificial fertilisation is necessary in order to obtain seeds, which germinate readily in a genial bottom- heat of 75° to 80°. For many years after this plant was intrc- THE HOLLY FAMILY. 189 duced, only the single and double rosy forms were known; but within the last ten or fifteen years it has been much improved by the French florists, who have given us white, buff, yellow, orange, salmon, rose, nankeen, and rosy-lilac varieties, which flower freely in a young and dwarf state, and these plants are now largely grown as decorative window- plants on the Continent. N. Jeanne d'Arc was one of the first of the pure-white varieties, and numerous other distinct seminal and cross-bred forms were raised by M. Mabire prior to 1862. According to the 'Revue Horticole,' M. Lambotte, an artist at La Muette, conceived the idea of grafting different varieties of Periwinkle on the Oleander, and successfully accomplished it. This is, however, not so sur- prising as it appears at first, for both genera belong to the Apocynaceae. It is even probable that the pretty Vinca rosea, from Madagascar, would succeed on the Oleander — which, indeed, it somewhat resembles in habit, and in the shape and colour of its flowers. The success of experiments like this one, even if not of any practical value from a utilitarian point of view, teaches us much on the natural affinities of genera and species. THE HOLLY FAMILY (Aquifoliacece). Evergreen trees and shrubs found in various parts of the world, especially at the Cape of Good Hope, West Indies, and South America, but principally represented in our gar- dens by the common Holly, flex aqulfolium, a plant pretty generally distributed throughout all the countries of Northern Europe. One South American species, I. paraguayensis, is of economic importance, its leaves being used as tea (see ' Jour, of Botany,' i. 30). /. latifolia, I. rotundifolia, I. opaca, and others, are well-known ornamental shrubs. The sports and seminal varieties of the common Holly are very numerous (See 'Gard. Chron.,' vols. 1874-75); and these differ greatly in habit, variegation, and in the colour of their fruit, there being both scarlet and yellow berried forms, as in the common Yew (Taxus}. Hollies are readily multiplied by cuttings of the hardened growth inserted in autumn on a north border, or by layers ; but the best and most successful plan of increasing the finer varieties, and any desirable break or sport, is to bud on the common Holly as a stock, either near the ground for bushes, or at a considerable height for standards. Hollies for stocks are best raised from seeds, which may be buried the first year and sown the second spring after they are gathered. I have 190 GENERAL REVIEW. inserted buds of variegated Hollies at nearly all seasons — except the dead of the winter — with success ; and in all cases the leaf at the base of the bud should be allowed to remain. Grafting may also be resorted to, but budding is preferable. M. Baltet recommends shield-budding in May or August, or oblique side-grafting from April to September, and remarks, — " Shield-budding is performed in the open air, with a pushing bud in May, with a dormant bud in August. Autumn grafts are best made under a cloche in the greenhouse, or under a cool frame. The leaf or leaves are left on the scion, and the air should be excluded from the grafted stock for about three months to insure the success of the graft. The operation succeeds perfectly well when the stock is potted at the time of grafting." I have often inserted buds of the variegated kinds on the branches of the green-leaved type, and these produce a pretty effect, the variegation appearing much more distinct when backed by the glossy dark-green foliage of the normal form of the species. THE AROID FAMILY (Aradacece). The most general and unsystematic observer must have noted that, in addition to the small groups of vegetables which are more or less locally distributed over the earth's surface, there are larger families having a more universal dis- tribution— such as Ferns, Orchids, Grasses or Corn-plants, Aroids, Palms, and Conifers. A few general remarks on each of these great groups will be given alphabetically under their respective heads. The true Aroids — as Caladium, Alocasia, Dieffenbachia, and Philodendron — have unisexual flowers borne at the base of a fleshy club-shaped spadix, and protected by a more or less convolute spathe, which in many cases is hooded. Anthurium, on the other hand, has bisexual or hermaphrodite flowers, and is by some botanists referred to Orontiacese on this account ; but for all practical purposes they may be spoken of here. Our figure (a, b] shows the arrangement of the floral and sexual organs in this group ; while the following general remarks on their fertilisation are from a very interesting article by M. Karl Koch, in the ' Gardeners' Chronicle,' 1875, P- 39^, 399? on some hybrid Philodendrons and Anthuriums obtained a few years ago by M. Kellermann of Vienna. The hybrids obtained by M. Kellermann were Philodendron Simsii x pmnatifidum, P. pinnatifidum x Selloum, P. Wendlandii x Selloum, and Anthurium leuconeurum x pedatoradiatum — all of which are fully described in the paper above cited. THE AROID FAMILY 191 " Respecting the fertilisation of Aroids, it should be observed that, as in many of the cereals, self-fertilisation does not take place, but the flowers of one spadix are impregnated by pollen from the flowers of another plant, or by pollen from the flowers of a different spadix of the same plant. The stigma of Aroids is susceptible while the pollen is still securely enclosed in the Arum maculaiitm, s/Knuitig the spathe(a) and the spadix (b). anther, and before it has reached perfect development. The length of time during which the stigma is capable of receiving the pollen varies according to the season, but, as a rule, only for the short period of at most four or five hours. Usually this occurs during the night, when the spathe begins to open, or more frequently when the heat of the spadix is most perceptible. It rarely continues sensitive for a longer period, as in the genus Caladium. The pollen never retains its power of impregnation for a very long period — as a rule, only two or three days. Like IQ2 GENERAL REVIEW. y most tropical plants in our hothouses, Aroids are seldom fertilised without aid ; and if good seed be desired, it is neces- sary to resort to artificial impregnation. "The susceptibility of the stigma appears to be of the longest duration in Caladiums (perhaps in all species of Caladiuni], hence the chances of fertilisation are proportionately greater. More significant is the fact that they never appear to intercross with one another; at least M. Kellermann never succeeded in effecting a cross between different species of Caladiums. Moreover, whilst Caladiums in general vary very little, or not at all, in the shape and colour of their leaves, one species exists which, even in the wild state, as first demonstrated by Wallis with the specimens he sent to Paris, gives birth to numerous varieties. We may therefore assume that in this case there is no necessity for fertilisation with the pollen from a variety with differently -coloured leaves, and that the pollen of the same variety, though of a different individual, is sufficient to give birth to a series of new varieties of the most diverse colours. Great praise is due to the Parisian druggist, M. Bleu, for what he has done in the way of raising new varieties of this class. Kellermann's hybrids have a decided horticultural value in addition to their botanical interest, for they belong to the most ornamental of plants with fine foliage, and they will thrive well in a dwelling-house. And then equally beautiful variegated forms of Caladium have been raised in Belgium, Germany, &c. Among others, Skopitz, of Petschka, in Bohemia, raised and sent out a long series of fine-foliaged varieties, which were in no respect inferior to those raised by M. Bleu. Unfortu- nately they are very little known abroad, though one of the chief ornaments of most Austrian gardens. " Three varieties of Caladium with coloured foliage were known long before Miquel described the green-leaved type under the name of C. surinamense — namely, C. pcecile, pellu- tidum, and picturatum. The next variety of remarkable beauty was raised at Schonbrunn, and published under the name of C. h&matostigma. Like C. surinamense and C. pellucidum, it was raised from seed, but in all cases the plants were fertilised with their own pollen. Therefore M. Kellermann is right in saying that Caladiums naturally possess a tendency to vary in the markings of their leaves. No better proof of this is required than that furnished by the green-leaved C. surinamense, whose seeds produce variegated varieties." As to Caladiums, it seems evident that many of the kinds formerly grown in our gardens as species were merely cultivated varieties. The first coloured or variegated Caladium cultivated in this THE ARALIA AND IVY FAMILY. 193 country appears to have been C. bicolor (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 820). It was introduced by Messrs Lee and Kennedy in 1773 from Madeira, being there cultivated as an ornamental plant. As is stated above, variegated seedling forms of Caladium have been raised in French and Austrian gardens ; and in this country M. Bause, when chief propagator at Chiswick in 1868-69, raised a race of very beautiful but tender, golden- leaved varieties, some having veins of the brightest carmine imaginable. M. Bause also succeeded in raising a hybrid Dieffenbachia, since named D. Bausei, the result of a cross effected between D. picta and D. Weirii. One of the most interesting points observed in connection with the fertilisation of Aroids is the generation of heat during the time the stigmas are in a fit state for fecundation or the application of pollen, and it is absolutely necessary that this time be selected for fertilising purposes. Mr Anderson-Henry, in his paper on " Hybridisation," notes the fact that crosses between remotely-allied species of plants may be most success- fully effected during those peculiar conditions of the atmosphere when the air is charged with electricity, ozone, and latent heat. This statement is doubly interesting when we couple it with the fact that in most Aroids heat is actually generated by the spadix when the stigma is in the receptive state ; and it is well known that tree-growth is made most rapidly during the warm, still, humid nights of May, when electricity is abundant in the atmosphere, as shown by weak flashes of lightning in quick succession, unaccompanied by thunder. Several hybrid Alocasias have been raised by Mr John Seden in the Chelsea Nursery, among which the following have been distributed : A intermedia is a hybrid obtained between A. longifolia and A. Veitchii. A. Chelsoni is an intermediate between A. macrorhiza and A. metallica ; A. Sedeni between A. Lowii and A. metallica ; while A. Veitchii, var. superba, is a hybrid between A. Lowii and A. Veitchii. THE ARALIA AND IVY FAMILY (Araliacea). Trees, shrubs, or herbaceous plants, nearly related to Umbellifers, but generally having fleshy fruits and ever- green glossy leaves. Panax, Adoxa, Aralia, Dimorphanthus, Sciadophyllum, Gunner a, and Hedera (Ivy), are the principal genera. Nearly all the species are natives of tropical or sub- tropical regions, but they are also represented in Europe, North America, and Japan. Several species cultivated in 194 GENERAL REVIEW. China and Japan have stimulative qualities : the leaf-stalks of the Rhubarb-like Gunnera scabra are farinaceous and edible ; while the delicate rice-paper used by Chinese artists is prepared from the pith of Aralia papyri/era. .Our native Ivy is, next to the Holly, one of the best examples of the variation in colour, size, form, and habit which may be induced or facilitated by cultivation. Gunnera may be increased by careful division from root-cuttings, or from seed when obtainable. Many Aralias are best increased by root-cuttings sown in moist compost on a genial bottom-heat : or grafting cuttings on pieces of root by cleft or splice grafting is successful ; and as the roots of some of the common species may be employed, this mode is often more to be recommended than cuttings of the root. The operation should be performed neatly, the root stock and scion firmly tied, air and wet being excluded by mastic or wax ; after which pot the cuttings so treated in light rich sandy compost, and plunge the pots in a close case or under a hand-light on a genial bottom-heat (or tan bed) of say 70° to 80°. In the ' Illustration Horticole ' is described an excellent method of propagation — and this is to select only the lateral, or, as it were, adventitious shoots which are formed on the main stem. These should be taken off young and at once placed in heat, just as we should treat ordinary soft-wooded cuttings. This simple system has been successfully employed by M. Cornells, head - gardener to Viscount Vigier, at Nice, in the propagation of Oreopanax dactylifolia and other difficult species. In order to facilitate the production of lateral shoots, or the development of latent buds, it is often necessary either to cut off the terminal growing point, or to remove it in a rooted state by ringing or girdling, and surrounding the cut part with soil or moss. The choicest variegated forms of Ivy may also be grafted on cuttings or seedlings of the common Hedera helix, or on those of the Irish Ivy as stock, cuttings and layers being also successful. Cuttings are best inserted on the shady side of a wall or fence in October or November, where they may be allowed to remain until the following autumn. THE HOYA AND STEPHANOTIS FAMILY (Asclepiadacece). The plants of this highly interesting order are readily known by their monopetalous flowers, superior ovary, and waxy pollen- masses similar to those of many Orchids. In our gardens they are represented by many species of Asdepias, A. cur as- THE HOYA AND STEPHANOTIS FAMILY. 195 savica and A. tuberosa being common examples. Another distinct group is the succulent - stemmed leafless "Carrion- flowers," or Stapeliads, the twining Stephanotis, the honey- distilling Hoyas, the shrubby Centrostemma, and the curious hooded or dome-flowered Ceropegias. Their fertilisation* de- pends to a great extent on insect agency, and Professor Riley has recommended horticulturists who are much troubled with bees to plant Asclepias cornuta (Silk-weed), of the nectar from which bees are passionately fond ; and in their visits to the flowers of this plant they become so laden with the viscid pollen - masses that they fall down and die in great numbers. From the 'Treasury of Botany/ p. 99, we learn that "the manner in which the ovules of these plants (Asclepiads) are fertilised by the pollen is among the most curious phenomena known in plants. Instead of the grains of pollen falling on a viscid stigmatic surface, and then pro- -ducing tubes of impregnation, the tubes are formed inside the pollen-bags, whence they ultimately find their way by a spontaneous emission, and reach the surface of the stigma without being projected upon it, conducted by some inherent vital power." — (See ' Lind. Med. Bot.,' 4th ed.) The tubular flowers of Stephanotis, like those of some Dogbanes, and those of Aristolochia clematitis, are set with rigid deflexed hairs inside the tube, the use of these being to entrap any flies which enter, and keep them prisoners until fertilisation has been effected, after which they lose their stiffness, and allow the insect to escape. Arauja (Physianthus) albens also entraps the humming-bird hawk-moth by a singular movement of the waxy pollen - masses. Asclepiads can be distinguished from Apocynads (Dogbanes) only by their Orchid-like or waxy pollen. The following are the principal cultivated genera : Asclepias, Stephanotis, Centrostemma, Hoya, Ceropegia, Brachystelma, Apteranthes, and Stapelia. Hoya (Honey or Wax Flowers). — A genus of scandent tropical Asclepiads, principally natives of Java, China, and New Holland, and represented in our gardens by H. carnosa, H. bella, H. Paxtoni, H. imperialis, and several others. There is a creamy variegated form of H. carnosa. All the species may be readily propagated either by stem or leaf cuttings, in heat, and covered with a bell-glass. H. carnosa and H. Paxtoni bear fruit rarely, a circumstance owing in all pro- bability to their flowers being accidentally fertilised by insect agency. Seeds grow freely sown in light sandy earth in a * See ' Trans. Linn. Soc.,' xvi. 685 and 715, for account of their sexual organs and methods of fertilisation. 196 GENERAL REVIEW. genial bottom-heat of 60° to 70°. No hybrids have been raised in gardens, but this might readily be done. Their pollen is in waxy masses, like that of most tropical Orchids, and will be found embedded in radiating slits or cavities of the fleshy column or disc in the centre of the flower. Fertilisation may be easily effected by smearing these glutinous masses on the viscid stigmatic surface, which can be seen through a lens. The drop of nectar or honey secreted on the stigma of Hoya is one of the best of all mediums in which to grow pollen-grains — i.e., cause them to emit their fecundating tubes on a slide for microscopic examination ; and this being so, it might be found of great service by hybridisers to quicken the pollen placed on the stigmata of other flowers. In many cases the natural secretion of limpid moisture on the stigma does not seem suited to the requirements of the foreign pollen applied in hybridising; and when this is observed to be the case, it is advisable to remove a drop of the secretion from the stigma or stigmas of the pollen-bearing parent, and place it on the stigmas to which the foreign pollen is to be applied. The mucus of Hoya seems congenial to the growth of nearly all pollen-grains ; but a series of experiments made with the nectar and pollen of different flowers is much wanted, and might throw much light on the subject of hybridisation and cross- breeding. Stapelia (Carrion - flowers). — This is a singular genus of succulent Cape plants, which numbers nearly a hundred species ; but a very small proportion are now to be found in ordinary gardens. They are branched, leafless plants, which seldom grow under cultivation more than a foot high, and which bear curious stellate, waxy flowers, that vary greatly both as to size and colour. A marked and well-known peculiarity connected with the flowers of these plants is their unpleasant, and in some cases even repulsive, odour. Another marked feature in their economy is their having waxy pollen-masses analogous to those of many Orchidaceous plants. The carrion - scent emitted by the flowers, by attracting flies, is doubtless sub- servient to the process of artificial fertilisation, without which the seeds of these plants could not be produced. It is very common, when these plants are in bloom, to see great blue flies busily engaged in depositing their eggs right down the centre of the flower ; and in doing so, they not unfrequently dislodge the pollen - masses, and thus unconsciously effect fertilisation. It is useless to attempt striking cuttings during the dull autumn or winter months, as the shoots do not then possess vital energy enough to emit roots, but damp off. Some THE ORANGE AND CITRON FAMILY. 197 of the speciae, as S. asterias, S. Plantii, S. hirsuta, S. hysfrix, and S. grandiflora, are very effective when in flower, and seldom fail to attract attention. Seed is freely produced by healthy plants, but artificial fecundation is necessary in order to induce the plants to fruit. The seeds are closely packed in slender spindle-shaped capsules five or six inches in length, and grow readily if sown as soon as ripe in a pan of light sandy soil, placed on a gentle bottom-heat until they vegetate ; after which elevate them near the glass, and water carefully, as they are very apt to damp off. I am not aware that hybrids have been raised in this genus, but it seems probable that this might easily be done ; and the results would be very interesting. The best collections in this country are at Kew ; and Mr Pea- cock's collections at Sudbury House, Hammersmith, and at the Alexandra Palace. It does not appear to be generally known that the Brachystelmas may be grafted on Stapelias, as stocks, or the weak and tender Stapelias may be worked on the more permanent and vigorous kinds. The operation is best per- formed in June or July, when the plants are in full growth and vigour. It should be noted that the stems of Stapelia seldom live longer than three or four years if allowed to bloom ; but employing them as stocks, which prevents their forming bloom- buds, increases their permanence. THE ORANGE AND CITRON FAMILY (Aurantiacea). A small group of fruit-bearing or ornamental trees, prin- cipally natives of the East Indies, and represented in our gar- dens by the Orange, Lemon, Citron, and Shaddock. Although nearly all the plants in the order are tropical, the Orange and Lemon have long been cultivated in South Europe, as well as at St Michael's and the East Indian Islands. Limonia laureola is said by Lindley to be the only plant in this group which is naturally found on the tops of cold and lofty moun- tains, where for several months it is covered with snow. It is found on the high hills in North India ; and a nearly-allied plant, L. trifoliata, is employed in China and Japan as a stock for tender and choice varieties of the sweet Orange, and more especially for Citrus japonica or " Kumquat," which this stock renders extremely fruitful. Like all other cultivated fruits, all the Orange family are extremely variable in earliness, size, col- our, and flavour — this being partly owing to their being propa- gated from seed, and partly owing to the sudden development of sports or bud variation. Good varieties are readily propa- 198 GENERAL REVIEW. gated by grafting either on the Limonia stock' or on seedlings of the common kinds. Seedling Lemons are found to be more vigorous, to grow faster, and to make better stocks than Oranges. Seeds taken from imported fruit grow freely if sown in moist earth and placed in a warm greenhouse or vinery ; and these may be splice, whip, or side grafted in a close case in heat at almost any time : preference, however, should be given to the early months of the year, when vegetation is most active. Young branches of Orange or Lemon trees in flower or fruit Flowering branch (a), fruit (b c), of an Orange / d, Ftower complete ; e, Pistil', f, Transverse section of ovary. may be readily grafted in a close case, as recommended for Gardenias. A gentle bottom-heat of 80° to 90° is necessary ; and the stocks should be placed in heat a week before grafting takes place, so as to facilitate the success of the operation. Side-grafting under the bark answers well, or splice-grafting if both stock and scion are young and slender. Cuttings of the young wood root freely in heat, and soon form blooming plants if potted in loam and sand and placed in a light airy plant- house. Nearly all the so-called species succeed as scion and stock, and cross-fertilisation has doubtless played an important part in producing the numberless varieties and races which exist in this family. THE BALSAM AND BEGONIA FAMILIES. 199 THE BALSAM FAMILY (Bakaminacea). A small group of thick-jointed herbaceous plants, nearly succulent in their character, and principally annuals, which seed freely in our gardens, and hence are easy of propagation. One of the finest of all the species introduced to our gardens is Impatiens cocdnea (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 1256), which is a most profuse bloomer, bearing its bright rosy flowers in the axils of the ovate-serrate leaves. The varieties of the garden Balsam originated from /. balsamina (Balsamina hortensis], one of the prettiest of half-hardy summer-blooming annuals. This plant may be readily increased by cuttings, which root freely in sawdust. Two or three white, rosy, and yellow flowered species are useful as winter-blooming stove-plants, and these might be much improved by judicious hybridis- ing. /. flaccida, I. Hookeri, and 7. latifolia (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 5625) are very useful and attractive decorative plants; but upwards of a hundred species of perennial Balsams, some of which are very beautiful, exist as weeds in Ceylon, the Western Ghauts, and on the Himalayas, the colours of their flowers varying from pure white, as spotless as that of a Phalaenopsis or St Bruno's Lily, through all the shades of peach, flesh, and rose to a deep rosy-purple bordering on crimson; others are yellow. Seeing what has been effected with /. balsamina, there seems here a wide and varied field of improvement. THE BEGONIA FAMILY (Begoniacea). This order is represented by many species of Begonia, an ornate genus of flowering and foliage stove or greenhouse plants, principally natives of South America and tropical Asia. B. insignis, B. fuchsioides, B. Dregei, B. nitida, B. Rex, B. Veitchii, B. Boliviensis, and the numerous half-hardy hybrids (which have originated from the two last-named species and the golden-flowered B. Pearcei\ are well-known examples. These plants are monoecious, and bear seed freely if cross-fertilised. In the 'Journal of the Linnaean Society,' 1871, xi. 472, is an interesting illustrated account of a species of Begonia from Brazil, in which " all the male flowers show a tendency to become hermaphrodite — one, two, or three of the central stamens being transformed more or less completely into pistils." Occasionally this tendency may also be observed among the tuberous-rooted varieties now so largely cultivated in our 200 GENERAL REVIEW. gardens. Darwin, in his ' Animals and Plants under Domesti- cation/ also mentions that B. frigida produces some herma- phrodite flowers with an inferior perianth. There is still a large unwqrked field in this genus. Seeds grow freely sown on a pan of sandy leaf-mould and peat, covered with a bell-glass or flat pane, and placed in a gentle bottom-heat of 65° to 75°. Cuttings of the erect-growing kinds — as B. insignis, B.fuchsioides, and others of similar habit — root freely in a close case or beneath a bell-glass ; and all the fleshy- leaved species and varieties are readily propagated in quantity by making cuttings of the old leaves by nicking the fleshy ribs or veins beneath, and then pegging down the leaf on a pan of sandy compost. Some cut the leaf into pieces and insert each section as a cutting. Some species of Begonia, especially B. bulbifera, B. diversifolia, B. discolor, B. monoptera, B. Marliana, B. parviflora, and some others, develop axillary buds; and while these buds, which are analogous to those of Liliiim bulbiferum, may be taken off and preserved throughout the winter in paper bags or sent to a distance, they also develop into plants much more rapidly than seeds, and simply require the same treatment. Colonel Trevor Clarke, F.R.H.S., has very kindly given me the following notes as to the parentage, &c., of the many hybrid Begonias he has raised during the last thirty years : — 1. B. acuminata x B. fuchsioides. — A useful autumn and winter flowering plant, with remarkably handsome habit of growth, now apparently gone out of cultivation. 2. B. cinnabarina x B. Clarkii. — A splendid plant, now lost. 3. B. cinnabarina x B. Veitchii. — A large showy plant. 4. B. cinnabarina x B. Pearcei. — Clear orange flowers; leaf of Pearcei. This is a very effective plant, well worth general culture. 5. B. Dregei x B. cinnabarina. — A very pretty little plant ; was tried out of doors successfully twenty years ago. 6. B. dipetala x B. cinnabarina. — Habit of dipetala, with red flowers ; too much overpowered by the foliage. 7. B. Dregei x B. insignis. — Useful for winter ; of no great beauty. 8. B. Dregei x B. Pearcei. — Vide No. 17. These two were very much alike, but inferior to No. 1 8. 9. B. Dregei x B. heracleafolia. — Curious, but of no beauty. (See No. 13.) 10. B. Dregei x B. Sutherlandii. — The well-known B. Weltomensis. This is one of the most beautiful of all Begonias. 11. B. discolor x B. cinnabarina. — A superb plant, but most difficult to grow. 12. B. Dregei x B. smaragdina. — A rather singular-looking thing, very handsome in foliage. 13. B. heracleafolia x B. Dregei. — The converse of No. 9 ; differed in being larger in all parts and more prostrate. 14. B. heracleafolia x B. cinnabarina. — Illustrative of a bad cross. THE BEGONIA FAMILY. 2OI Takes from the female parent ; stems adscendent at the base, but tall and unwieldy from the influence of the male *parent. The colour of the mother plant being dull, the resulting red blossoms were of a dull and unattractive character. 15. B. insigiiis x B. nitida. — A very elegant plant, flowering for months in succession. 16. B. insignis x B. cinnabarina. — A handsome plant worth repro- ducing. One seedling was a full double as to the male blossoms. Raised in 1841. 17. B. insignis x B. Pearcei. 1 8. B. insignis x B. nitida x B. Pearcei. — Of these crosses, which were much alike in general habit, the last was the best. It is a very beautiful plant. 19. B. insignis x B. manicata. — A large, singular, but rather un- gainly plant. 20. B. insignis x B. platanifolia. — Better than the last, but awkward in habit. 21. B. insignis x B. fuchsioides. — Nothing remarkable. 22. B. Martiana x B. cinnabarina. — Habit of B. Martiana ; bright red flowers : was delicate, and soon lost. 23. B. Martiana x B. Boliviensis. — A tall, rather striking plant, with pale-rosy flesh-coloured flowers. 24. B. nitida x B. cinnabarina. — Veiy like No. 16, but with some- what more robust habit. 25. B. prismatic a x B. species. — A large edition of B. prismatica. The peculiar shape of the capsule was lost in the cross. 26. B. Pearcei x B. cinnabarina. — Differed scarcely from No. 4. 27. B. Platanifolia x B. manicata. — A handsome plant, flowering with the leaves ; whereas in the mother-plant the flowers are produced before them. The " manica" or frill on the leaf-stem is obliterated by the cross. This is a case of the gain of one quality at the expense of another. 28. B. Richardsii x B. Sutherland 'ii.— A pretty plant, but inferior to B. Weltoniensis . 29. B. semperjlorens x B. fuchsioides. — Useful winter plant, with bright flowers, too sparingly produced. 30. B. fuchsioides x B. cinnabarina. — Only one plant raised; was very pretty, but delicate, and soon lost. 31. B. manicata x B. crassicaulis. — An improved manicata. The fringed "manica" is lost in this cross; but the plant flowers iviih the leaves, which in the case of B. crassicaulis are produced after the flowers. In the 'Gardeners' Journal,' 1847, P- 615, two hybrids are figured and described by the raiser, Mr P. N. Don, then of the United Nursery, King's Road, Chelsea. Speaking of Begonias, he says : "They are worthy of attention on account of their easy hybridisation ; and many beautiful varieties may be obtained by paying a little attention to the species that are to be crossed. The two following varieties (B. prolifera and B. hybrida) were raised from seed of B. manicata, crossed with B. cocdnea. A fact worthy of notice is, that from one seed-pod the species manicata and the two varieties here represented were all raised in great numbers — a proof that the pollen did not effect a change in the whole of the seeds, which is not easily accounted for, as the 202 GENERAL REVIEW. whole of the flowers (male) were taken off B. manicata before the time of crossing, arid continually removed as they ap- peared, until the pod began to swell, and no others were in the house at the time. The two varieties I have named Begonia hybrida and Begonia prolifera"* B. hybrida has creeping stems ; oblique, pale, glossy leaves, reddish brown underneath, with reddish hairs, and a tendency to bear frills, like the female parent. It bears large corymbs of pale flesh-coloured flowers, nearly all female and fertile. B. prolifera is of more erect habit, with narrower leaves, more deeply toothed than the last. The stem and leaves are covered with young plants mixed with glandular hairs. Flowers large rose, in pendent corymbs from the axils. B. hybrida multiflora is a free-flowering hybrid, the result of crossing B. fuchsioides with a pink-flowered plant of the B. insignis group. B. Digswelliensis is a beautiful hybrid raised by Mr W. Earley between B. odorata, as the female or seed-bearing parent, and B. fuchsioides, as the male or pollen parent. Mr Earley also informs me that B. phyllomaniaca (not of the ' Bot. Mag.') — (for which he received a first-class certificate at the International Horticultural Exhibition in 1866) was obtained from B. odorata fertilised with pollen of B. recinifolia. B. valida is a hybrid raised by M. J. B. A. Deleuil from seeds of B. longipila, fertilised with pollen from B. Boliviensis. The large oblique cordate leaves are of a deep lucid green colour ; the flowers rose, borne in an ample panicle. Several interesting hybrid Begonias have also been obtained by M. Stange. Some of these hybrids were gained by fertilising B. Rex with pollen from B. lazuli, while B. splendida produced fertile seeds when fecundated with the pollen of B. xanthina, B. annulata, or B. lariniata. Another Continental hybridist, M. Malet, obtained a numerous batch of seedlings — all sterile — by fertilising B. discolor, a hardy plant, with pollen of B. Rex, B. Dregei, B. xanthina-Reichenheimii, and B. nivosa. B. xanthina-marmorea, fertilised by its proper pollen, produced seven or eight distinct forms, B. pulcherrima being one of the best. B. rubro-venia, fertilised with pollen of B. xanthina, produced B. Gandavensis, B. marmorata, B. Icztevirens, and several other hybrids. M. Regel has noted that when a fertile hybrid is obtained between two species of Begonia or other plants, it is capable of producing numerous and variable forms, even if fertilised with its own pollen or with that of one of its parents. By using pollen from one of its parents, however, we often favour the reversion of the offspring to that parent; and this THE BEGONIA FAMILY. 2O3 is especially the case if we take pollen from the one that is strongest or most vigorous. A better plan is to cross the hybrid with pollen from a different species entirely, as this is founcl to add a fixity of character to the offspring. This fact is easily explained, since, when we unite the combined characteristics (evident and latent) of two species, it follows that that parent species in which the characteristics are most firmly fixed gives way the least in the process of hybridising, and the charac- teristics of the progeny incline most to that parent. Hence this inclination to revert to one of the parents may be overcome either by fertilising the hybrid progeny with pollen from what was in the first case the female or weakest parent, or by crossing with pollen from another species, which in nearly all cases is found to fix the wavering or reversional characters of the second generation from seed. Numerous hybrids of the B. Rex section were obtained by cross-fertilising that plant with B. xanthina, B. lazuli, B. splendida, B. Grijfithii, and others, and these were very popular in our gardens about 1856-60, but have been driven out of culture by the more brilliant and useful tuberous-rooted class. B. Model belongs to the " tuberous-rooted " group, and is a hybrid of the third generation, the result of in-and-in crossing carried on between B. Boliviensis and B. Pearcei in the first instance, and then with B. Veitchii, and afterwards with B. Sedeni. The result of this interbreeding was the production of B. Stella and B. Model, both certificated varieties, out of the same batch of seedlings. For a coloured figure of B. Model, see 'Florist,' 1875, p. 109, no. Numerous highly-coloured forms, including B. Vesuvius and others, have since been obtained by Messrs Veitch & Sons in this section. B. Boliviensis was introduced by Messrs Veitch & Sons from Bolivia, and has erect stems 2-3 feet high, and axillary, long- petalled, cinnabar-scarlet flowers (see 'Bot. Mag.,' t. 5657). B. Veitchii is a hardy species in sheltered positions, having been introduced (also by Messrs Veitch) from near Cuzco, on the Peruvian Andes. It is dwarfer and more compact in habit, bearing peduncles of orange-scarlet, broad-petalled, wax-like flowers (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 5663, and 'Florist,' 1868, No. I. p. i). B. Pearcei has rich velvety, deep-green leaves, mottled with lighter green, and bears axillary panicles of pure yellow flowers of good size and substance (see 'Bot. Mag.,' t. 5545). The three plants above named are interesting as being the parents of the comparatively new section of Begonias known as "Tuberous-rooted." B. Sedeni (see 'Florist,' 1869, p. 169) was one of the first hybrids obtained, its parents being B. 204 GENERAL REVIEW. Boliviensis and an unnamed species. Although a hybrid, it seeds freely, its progeny being very variable in colour ; indeed, I have seen red, magenta, carmine, rose-yellow, lilac, vermilion, and pure white forms produced from the same seed-pod. HYBRID AND CROSS-BRED TUBEROUS-ROOTED BEGONIAS. HYBRIDS. PARENTS. B. Sedeni, B. species x B. Boliviensis. B. intermedia, B. Veitchii x B. Boliviensis. B. Chelsoni, B. Sedeni x B. Boliviensis. B. Stella, B. Sedeni x B. Veitchii. B. Vesuvius, B. Sedeni x B. Clarki. B. Excelsior, B. cinnabarina x B. Chelsoni. B. Model, B. Pearcei x B. Sedeni. B. Acme, B. intermedia x B. Sedeni. B. Emperor, B. Clarki x B. Chelsoni. B. Dominii, B. Rex x B. argentea. B. Chambersii, B. Pearcei x B. Sedeni. B. octopetala, recently reintroduced into our gardens by M. Frcebel & Co. of Zurich, is the largest-flowered species in the genus, and may possibly be induced to hybridise with other species (see 'Flor. des Serres,' 1874, p. 25). The above species, and earlier 'hybrids, have been made the parents of innumerable very beautiful and richly-coloured forms, both in our own gardens and also in those on the Con- tinent. Hybrids between the glowing scarlet -flowered and compact-habited B. Frcebeli (a new Andean tuberous-rooted species sent by M. Roezl to MM. Froebel of Zurich, about 1874) and the large-flowered B. octopetala have been obtained by M. Froebel, so that we may expect a new race rivalling those hybrids now in cultivation. M. Schmidt, of Lyons, has obtained a race of free-flowering varieties, the result of cross-breeding between B. insiguis, a well-known perpetual bloomer, and some of the tuberous- rooted kinds. The colours of these hybrids vary from white salmon and pink to a rich carmine. Messrs Veitch & Son also obtained several seedlings between their new tuberous- rooted varieties and B. insignis, but they were discarded as not being superior to other kinds. B. hybrida, " Montblanc," is a hybrid between B. Pearcei and B. discolor (see ' Revue Hort.,' 1876, p. 67). B. Spinksii (Chiswicfc). — This is a hybrid between B. Pearcei and B. Boliviensis ; the leaves are like the former, and the flowers of the same shape as the latter, but of a yellow colour tinged with rose. B. ascotiensis is rarely seen in English gardens, although com- THE BEGONIA FAMILY. 2O5 monly grown as a decorative plant by the Parisian florists. It is a seedling raised at Ascot by the late Mr J. Standish. The following little account of its introduction to French gardens from the ' Revue Horticole ' may interest hybridists : " This Begonia, so common and turned to such good account with us, is scarcely known in England, although it originally came from there, M. Keteleer having a few years ago bought it of Mr Standish, of Ascot, for half-a-crown. Messrs Thibaut and Keteleer sold such plants as they raised of it at an equally reasonable rate ; and it was not until last year, when M. Duval was awarded a prize for some fine specimens of it, that its value became apparent. Plants of it, which at one time could be bought for a shilling or little more, now realise as much as twelve francs or half-a-sovereign." A race of hybrid fine-foliaged Begonias was raised a few years ago by M. Boulard from B. stibpeltata fertilised with pollen from the well-known B. Rex. M. Boulard also originated a variety named B. smaragdina venulosa, this being the result of a cross between B. smaragdina and B. dcedalea. These were distributed by MM. Thibaut and Keteleer, of Sceaux, in 1870. A hybrid Begonia named B. Marshalli was raised and ex- hibited by Mr Marshall at South Kensington a year or two ago ; and it is a little singular to note that Mr Dominy also had a hybrid at the same time exactly like it, the last being the result of a cross between B. Rex and B. argentea, and in some gardens this plant is grown as B. Dominiana. A double-flowered form of B. Sedeni made its appearance in one of the public gardens of Lyons in 1873, and has been suc- cessfully perpetuated. M. Victor Lemoine, of Nancy, originated a double-flowered form a few years ago. The male flowers only were double, each being the size of a florin, and of a bright scarlet colour. This has been described, in the 'Revue Horticole,' part iv., 1874, as B. monstrosa plena, and in the 'Garden,' vii. 323, as B. Lemoinei fl.-pl. The same raiser has since originated a fine race of double-flowered forms, and these will be a great gain from a decorative point of view, as the single varieties are rather fugitive. We have several times seen hermaphrodite flowers of B. Chelsoni formed by the fusion of a male and female flower ; and W. E. Gumbleton, Esq., has described a similar form of fasciation between two flowers of B. Emeraude (Van Houtte), in which a male and female flower having come into contact were fused into one immense bloom, with both stamens and pistils dis- tinctly visible in the centre, and the incipient seed-vessel fully developed at the back of one of the halves of the flower. 206 GENERAL REVIEW. In the Wellington Nurseries, St John's Wood, where many hundreds of hybrid Begonias are grown, we noticed a pretty double -flowered one, of a pale blush or pink colour, and ot good substance and form. We are informed that the plant in question bloomed for the first time in 1872, and that it has since then well sustained its character. A beautiful double-flowered Begonia of the Boliviensis- Veitchii group was exhibited at the Paris Horticultural Exhibition of 1875 by M. Lemoine, of Nancy. The plant was healthy and vigorous, and the flowers large, double, and of a bright orange- red colour. THE BERBERIS AND MAHONIA FAMILY (Berber idacecz). A small natural group of dwarf herbaceous perennials (Epitfttdium), or deciduous or evergreen shrubs (Berber is). The flowers are mostly yellow, borne in axillary clusters, and are remarkable as having sensitive or contractile stamens, which close around the style if irritated with a pin. The anthers discharge their pollen from two oblong apertures, each of which is closed by a little trap-door-like contrivance or valve, which seems designed to secure the pollen from the effects of damp. Nearly all the species fruit freely ; and some — as B. vulgaris, B. aquifolium, and B. asiatictis — are then highly ornamental. B. Darwinii is one of the best of the early-flowering species. It is interesting to notice that the stamens of Berberis are individually sensitive, just as are the leaves of the Sensitive plant and Dioncza. Berberis. — Nearly all the species are readily to be multiplied by seeds sown as soon as ripe either in open air or nursery-beds, or in boxes of light rich sandy earth in a pit or frame. Tender varieties are- best sown in boxes. Cuttings are successful inserted on a north border in the autumn, while the low- growing kinds are readily propagated by layers. The seedless form of B. vulgaris, which is much esteemed for preserving, must be propagated either by cuttings or by grafting, as suckers fail as a rule to reproduce the seedless form. It would be in- teresting to know the cause of the berries of some individuals being seedless, while others growing in the same soil, and ap- parently of the same age, produce fertile seeds only. Some Grapes, Cucumbers, Melons, and Passion-flowers furnish us with analogous cases ; and it seems probable that the cause is insufficient fertilisation, owing to debilitated pollen — a state of things not unfrequently brought about in cultivated plants THE BIRCH AND ALDER FAMILY. 2O7 by continually propagating from cuttings or offsets, while the nutrition of plants also affects their sexual fertility in a marked manner. B. (Bealii) japonica is one of the noblest of all the species in sheltered southern counties, or as a cool conservatory shrub ; and this might be improved by seminal variation and selection, or possibly by hybridising. We have many seminal forms of Berberis in our gardens, and one or two hybrids. At a meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society, October 2, 1872, Messrs Standish & Co. exhibited an interesting batch of seedlings from Berberis stenophylla — itself a reputed hybrid ; and these were of the most diverse character, no two being alike. The Hybrid Mahonia (B. fascicularis-hybrida) is a handsome shrub, 5-8 feet in height, bearing pinnate deep-green leaves, 5-7 leaflets, and producing a profusion of golden flowers in the spring. It is perfectly hardy, and very superior to any of the forms of M. aquifolia ; and is said to be a hybrid production raised between M. repens 3&A. fascicularis, in the nursery of Mr Rivers of Sawbridgeworth, in Hertfordshire. Its synonyms are Mahonia repens-fasricularis and M. aquifolia-fascicularis. Epimedium. — A genus of pretty little plants of easy culture bearing very attractive white, rose, or violet coloured flowers. They are distinguishable from Berberis by their flowers con- sisting of parts of four, there being four sepals, eight petals, and four stamens, the bilobed anthers of which are valvular, as in the last-named genus. E. alpinum is the only European species, the most showy kinds being natives of temperate Asia and Japan. Numerous very beautiful hybrids have been raised in Belgian gardens ; and among the best of these, E. atroroseum, E. rubrum, E. versicolor, E. lilacinum, E. sul- phureum, and others, were raised by that veteran hybridist M. Donkelaar. A pale-yellow-flowered hybrid has been raised by fertilising E. colchicum with pollen from E. macranthum. THE BIRCH AND ALDER FAMILY (Betulacecz). A small group of slender - growing trees or shrubs, re- presented in our woods and forests and gardens by different species and forms of Betula or Birch, and Alnus or Alder. Although generally natives of Europe, N. Asia, the Hima- layas, and N. America, they are also found in Peru and Columbia ; while in the Alpine regions they are the last trees found on the barren limits of eternal snow. Birch- wine is pre- 208 GENERAL REVIEW. pared from the sap of the Birch, obtained by tapping the trunks in the spring. Both Birch and Alders are easily propagated by seeds sown in the autumn as soon as ripe, or in the spring in shallow trenches in the open ground. Large branches or truncheons of the Alder root freely when driven into the earth to the depth of a foot or more, like Willows ; and propagated in this way, it grows vigorously, and is valuable for strengthening the banks of rapid-flowing rivers or streams. The ornamental golden-leaved Alders, and the purple, weeping, cut-leaved, and other cultivated forms of Birch, are readily reproduced by graft- ing on their respective types as a stock. In a recent number of the * Illustration Horticole,' M. Andre mentions having seen at a horticultural exhibition at Orleans a specimen of a Purple Birch. It originated as a chance seed- ling, was grafted on to the common Birch, and was thus ex- hibited. It has a weeping habit, and deep violet-purple leaves. THE TRUMPET-FLOWER FAMILY (Bignoniacecz). A very beautiful group of trees or shrubs, often of twin- ing or scandent habit, and represented in our gardens by Bignonia, Tecoma, Catalpa, Jacaranda, Amphicoma, Eccremo- carpus, and one or two other showy genera. Nearly all the species are easily multiplied by cuttings, layers, or seeds, careful artificial fertilisation being often necessary to obtain the latter. Eccremocarpus, however, seeds very freely, and the young plants often flower the first year. At Burghley, near the gardener's cottage, E. scaber has naturalised itself on an old stone wall, where it does not grow so luxuriantly as in warm soils ; but it is far more floriferous than I have seen it elsewhere, and it produces a large supply of fertile seeds. The scandent species of Bignonia and Tecoma may be multi- plied by simple or multiple layering ; and it would be inter- esting to know to what extent the species of different genera can be grafted on each other, as affording some indications of their natural affinity. We already know that Bignonia radicans may be grafted on Catalpa syringafolia as a stock. A correspondent of the ' Horticulteur FranQais' headed back some of the branches of a Catalpa, and inserted scions of the Bignonia by cleft - grafting, the result being that from the midst of the cool green Catalpa foliage emerged numerous flowering branches of the Bignonia. It would be interesting to experiment with other species of Bignonia and Eccremo- carpus on the Catalpa stock, and also worked on each other. THE WALLFLOWER AND CABBAGE FAMILY. 209 All the Bignonias and Tecomas are readily increased by grafting, or by cuttings of their own roots. Bignonia grandiflora (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 1398) is a noble plant, bearing large trusses of glowing orange-scarlet flowers. This species, B. venusta, and several other kinds which require a warm greenhouse temperature, may be propagated by grafting on roots of B. radicans or B. capreolata. This operation should be performed in a close heated case. Bignonias and Tecomas are so handsome 'that it is a wonder they have escaped the magical touch of the hybridiser, to whom we must look for varieties of dwarfer habit and more floriferous character. Grafting may possibly be found to improve some of the rampant-growing species if a weak or moderate-habited kind be selected as a stock; and the success of this operation will also indicate the affinity necessary to insure good results from hybridising. B. grandi- flora, var. rubra, is a seedling raised by M. Sahut of Mont- pelier, its presumed parents being B. grandiflora and B. atro- purpurea. It is one of the finest of all the Bignonias, and B. atropurpurea was the seed-parent. THE WALLFLOWER AND CABBAGE FAMILY (Brassicacece). This is a large and very natural group of plants, repre- sented in our gardens by innumerable forms of the com- mon wild Cabbage {Brassica oleracea), Radish (Raphanus sativus), Turnip (Brassica napa), to say nothing of showy herbaceous plants and alpines. There are few natural orders which produce fertile seeds so universally as these, and nearly all the species may be most readily increased from seeds sown either in the autumn as soon as they are ripe, or in the spring. Cuttings of most of the species root freely if covered with a hand-light or cloche, or inserted in pots and placed in a close frame. The following are among the best-known genera : Matlhiola (Stocks), Cheiranthns (Wallflowers), Nasturtium (Water - cress), Arabis, Cardamine, Lunaria (Honesty), Alyssum, Aubrietia, Draba, Cochlearia, Thlaspi, Iberis, Anastatica (Rose of Jericho), Sisymbrium, Capsella, lonopsidium, Lepidium, sEthionema, Brassica, Cr^w^(Seakale), Raphanus, and Schizopetalon. All the cultural forms of Brassica — such as the Cabbage, Colewort, Savoy, Brussels Sprout, Cauliflower or Broccoli, and Kales of all kinds — are extremely susceptible of cross-fertilisation ; and it is next to impossible to secure a pure strain of any variety unless it is isolated from all the other individuals of its species. To keep o 210 GENERAL REVIEW. a good strain from degenerating, change of soil and extreme dare in selecting typical or perfect seed-bearing plants are absolutely essential. Although the Cabbage is a native of England, it appears the cultivated or succulent-leaved hearting form was first brought to our gardens from Flanders ; and the Brussels Sprout, as indicated by its name, originated in the neighbourhood of Brussels, whence, until very recently, our main supply of the best seed was obtained. Brassica (Cabbage). — This is the most important of all the species in this group, and is a native of Britain, as also of other parts of Europe. The wild maritime plant is very different from some of its numerous forms and races ; but Professor Buckman found that seed obtained from the true wild Brassica oleracea from the rocky coast of Llandudno, N. Wales, gave very diverse progeny, with both red and green foliage when cultivated ; and the same author also found that when Rape and common white Turnips were grown together and allowed to seed, a proportion of the produce has been malformed Swedish Turnips, which became much improved in quality by careful cultivation. Nearly all the forms are treated as annuals for food purposes, and as biennials when seed is required. Seed is abundantly produced, but isolation is necessary to prevent deterioration by interbreeding. It is a singular fact that nearly all the forms of Cabbage and Kales are of better flavour after having experienced a sharp frost or two. For a valuable memoir on the races, varieties, and sub- varieties of the Wild Cabbage (Brassica oleracea), see ' Trans. Hort Soc.,' 1821-24, v. i, by M. A. P. de Candolle, who describes the following six races as its descendants : ist race, Brassica oleracea sylvestris, or Wild Cabbage; 2d race, B. oleracea acephala, Tall or Open-headed Cabbage; 3d race, B. oleracea bullata, Savoy or Blistered Cabbage ; 4th race, B. oleracea capitata, Round-headed Cabbage ; 5th race, B. oleracea caulo-rapa, Chou-rave or Turnip Cabbage ; 6th race, B. oleracea botrytis, Broccoli, Cauliflower, or Flowering Cabbage. The second species or type is B. campestris, or Field Cabbage, of which he describes the following races : ist race, B. campestris oleifera, Colza; 2d race, B. campestris palmaria, intermediate between the last and the 3d race, B. campestris napo Brassica, or Chon-navet. Third species or type, B. rapa, or Turnip : ist race, B. rapa depressa, Common Round Turnip; 2d race, B. rapa oblonga, Long Turnip; 3d race, B. rapa oleifera, Wild or Oil-giving Turnip. Fourth species or type, B. napus ; i st race, B. napus oleifera, or THE WALLFLOWER AND CABBAGE FAMILY. 211 Rape ; 2d race, B. napus esculenta, French Turnip. Fifth species or type, B. prczcox navette d'Ete, early French Field Cabbage. Sixth species or type, Raphanus sativus : ist race, R. sativus radicula rotunda, Round or Turnip Radish ; 2d race, R. sativus radicula oblofiga, Long Radish ; 3d race, R. sativus radicula oleifera, Slender Chinese Radish. The professor adds the following observations on the hybrid or cross-bred varieties of the preceding species : " There is no doubt that many of the plants which I have enumerated are cross-breds, accidentally produced and preserved by the care of the cultivator. The cultivated Cabbage, according to M. Sageret, presents a singular phenomenon — that of being incapable of receiving fecundation from any but its own species ; he tried in vain the pollen of Colza, as well as that from every other species of Brassica : he then found out that it had a natural tendency to fecundate several other species of Cabbage, and even the cultivated Black Radish ; but it could not, as before observed, be impregnated by any except its own varieties. The Brassica oleracea botrytis has not, however, undergone a trial with it. It appears that the cross-breds known in gardens are produced without any interference. The Colza, the Chou-navet, and the Ruta-baga appear from these experiments to be hybrid products of the Cabbage and Turnip taken in different degrees of culture and domestication ; they are none of them capable of crossing the true Cabbage, but may all become fruitful by its means. They can pro- duce among themselves other cross-races which bring their own seeds to perfection. The Colza, in particular, cannot be considered as the type of the cultivated Cabbage, as MM. Duchesne and Lamarck supposed ; but its manner of mixing in artificial breeds shows, as I have already observed, that it forms a type by itself. One might suppose that the Colza was originally produced from the Cabbage and the Navette ; Bras- sica campestris pabularia by the Cabbage and the Oblong Turnip ; the Napo Brassica by the Cabbage and the White Turnip; and the Ruta-baga by the Cabbage and the Yellow Turnip." M. Quetier made some interesting experiments in hybridising Raphanus caudatus with the common Garden Radish, and also with a variety of Cabbage (Chou de Vau- girara). — See ' Revue Horticole,' 1868, p. 376. Cheiranthus (Wallflower). — A favourite genus of hardy and fragrant flowers, represented in almost every cottage - garden by some form of C. cheiri, a native plant, common on old ruins in various parts of the country. In Shakespeare's time the 212 GENERAL REVIEW. hybrid or cross-bred nature of these plants and Stocks seems to have been known, since in the ' Winter's Tale ' we find the injunction — " Then make your garden rich in gilliflowers And do not call them bastards. " Parkinson (1629) figures and describes many varieties of Wall- flower, including the old double yellow and the large double red, neither of which appear to have undergone any material change in size and doubleness of flower during two centuries of cultivation. Besides these old varieties, however, the German florists have originated a very beautiful race of new forms ; and these double German Wallflowers are highly re- commended for their beauty and fragrance. Their culture is simple — merely to sow the seed in April in a light warm soil, or a gentle hotbed in the open air ; to transplant them to rich soil early in June ; and in October to pot, three in a pot, into lo-in. or u-in. pots, and place them in an orchard-house. In March they put forth their glorious spikes of flowers, often from 2 ft. to 3 ft. in length. These fine flowers have been obtained by the German florists ; and the variation in colour is very remarkable, some being dark brown, others purple, others grey, and others shades of yellow from straw to gold. Choice Wallflowers, and more particularly the fine double-flowered kinds, are readily propagated from cuttings of the lateral shoots during the summer months. Take these off carefully with a heel, and insert them at once in a cool shady border, covered with a thin layer of well-washed sand ; and after sprinkling them, place a hand-light or cloche over them until they com- mence growing, which they do as soon as roots are formed. Propagation from cuttings may at first sight appear tedious, but it will not be found so in practice. Besides, there are some advantages to be derived from it which are not so strictly within our reach when propagating from seed, — viz., the* certainty of commanding groups of this lovely flower, all double ; and the equal certainty of perpetuating any favourite or peculiar variety. Several other species deserve culture, such as C. alpinus, a dwarf form of Wallflower, C. ochroleucus, and C. linifolius. C. Marshalli is a very effective hybrid plant, although often referred to, even in botanical books, as a species. Its parents were the perennial C. alpinus, or C. ochroleucus, and the -brilliant orange-flowered annual Erysimum Peroffskianum. Mr A. Dean thus alludes to this hybrid in the * Gardeners' Chronicle : ' " Mr Allen, of Shepton Mallet, having recently THE WALLFLOWER AND CABBAGE FAMILY. 213 obtained from C. Marshalli seedlings that closely resemble the Erysimum Peroffskianum, it is doubly interesting to find that this hardy annual was one of its progenitors. An examina- tion of C. Marshalli shows that it differs from C. ochroleucus both in colour and form of foliage, and in the form of the flower-stalk, which latter, as it elongates, much resembles that of the Erysimum. And in the foliage and habit of growth it will be found that what divergence from C. ochroleucus there is, is evidently towards the foliage and habit of the Erysimum also. I have often tried to get seed from C. Marshalli, but without success, and have on several occasions used pollen from the flowers of the dwarf yellow Wallflower, but to no purpose. I am told that structurally the seed-organs of the flowers are perfect, but why no seed is produced is a mystery. It would seem, however, that the flowers are not devoid of pollen, as I have found natural crosses produced on the yellow Wallflower — one plant exhibited by me at South Kensington last spring showing the effects of the cross in a marked degree. It is worthy of remark that whilst the rich orange hue of the flowers of Marshalli renders it the most attractive kind, yet it is not so robust or by any means so freely propagated as is its old perennial parent." Mathiola. — A well-known group of sweet-scented plants of dwarf habit, commonly grown in gardens under the name of Gilliflowers or Stocks. There are several strains or races, such as the Brompton, Queen's, Intermediate, Wallflower- leaved, East Lothian, Pyramidal, and others. These races have partly descended from M. anmia, and some of these strains have been improved by crossing or hybridising with M. incana, a perennial species. M. maderensi-incana is a hybrid, as indicated by its trivial name, and its pollen being always fertile it seeds freely. Stocks are, as a rule, propagated by seeds; but in order to perpetuate double Stocks, says the 'Florist,' it is recom- mended, when the varieties are in full bloom, to take off as cuttings the lateral shoots beneath the flowers (before they show bloom), and to prepare and plant them like those of other soft-wooded plants, placing them in a cold frame, and shading them until roots have pushed out freely. In this way it is said that plants more symmetrical in shape, and blooming more profusely than those generally raised from seed, are produced. At Erfurt, whence comes the main supply of German Stock seeds, about 600,000 flower-pots are annually planted with about 3,600,000 of these plants, for the purpose of obtaining seeds. These pots, placed in a single row, would 214 GENERAL REVIEW. reach nearly 50 miles ! In the year 1863, 150,000 pots were planted with 1,550,000 Gilliflowers for seed, and these brought in an income of nearly 50,000 thalers. The production of the Gilliflower, in 16 varieties and over 200 colours, established the horticultural fame of Erfurt. The Erfurt seed-growers grow their seed-bearing Stocks in pots placed on shelves in dry airy houses ; and only just sufficient water is given to prevent the plants from flagging. So treated, the seeds are less numerous, but plumper and better ripened ; and about 70 per cent of double flowers is the average obtained. Some growers also thin out the capsules, or remove the tops of the inflorescence when six or eight capsules are formed. A cor- respondent of the 'Garden' (vol. viii., 1875, P- I23) says: " Three years ago I had Mauve Beauty, and accidentally allowed the seed to stand ungathered through the winter ; and in the spring finding a few capsules left, I gathered them, sowing the seed in March as usual. I have since adopted this plan, and my difficulty has been to get single flowers for seed, fully nine-tenths being double." A correspondent of the 'Gardeners' Chronicle,' 1853, p. 406, obtained a cross between the Red Giant Stock and the Purple Queen, the first being the seed-parent. The seedlings came purple like the pollen-parent, and are described by Dr Lindley as being " extremely handsome, perfectly double, and a most beautiful purple." The raiser remarks that "the affinity be- tween purple and scarlet in some flowers is curious, they being apparently forms of the same colouring matter — witness the Zinnia. Geraniums, crossed byfu/gidum, produce both purple and scarlet broods." THE PINE-APPLE FAMILY (Bromeliacece). A very distinct natural order of plants, containing many ornamental species, the only plant of economic interest be- ing the Pine-apple (Ananas sativus), a native of the West Indies, and now much cultivated at St Michael's, Azores, whence the fruit is largely imported to this country. Nearly all the species agree in their vasiform habit of growth, some having striped, blotched, or irregularly barred or netted leaves, while others bear gorgeous panicles of scarlet, blue, purple, or crimson flowers. One of the species, Tillandsia usneoides, or Long Moss, hangs from the trees in swampy N. American forests ; and, like many of the S. American species, it is epiphytal. T. argentea is one of the smallest and rarest of all THE PINE-APPLE FAMILY. 21 5 the decorative species. Their diversity of character and per- sistent foliage, added to the brilliance of their flowers, ought to make these plants much more popular than they now are in our gardens. Many of the species seed freely, and are readily propagated by sowing on pans of fine sandy earth, after which place the pans in a close case on a genial bottom-heat of about 75°. The species of Bilbergia rarely perfect seeds in our hot- houses unless carefully fertilised ; and this is true of many other Bromeliads. B. zebrina has ripened seeds in Con- tinental gardeps, as also has B. vittata in the Luxembourg garden. One fruit, we are told (see * Belg. Hort.,' 1875, P- I20)> was obtained by fertilising flowers of B. vittata with pollen from other flowers on the same plant, which had been kept in a paper in the pocket for three days ; and two other fruits on the same plant were produced by fertilising the stigmas with pollen from B. pallescens, this pollen having also been preserved in the same manner. It is interesting to observe that flowers impregnated with pollen in a fresh state did not produce fruit — indeed, the preservation of the pollen in this case had a beneficial influence ; and hybridisers should bear this little fact in mind, especially when operating on Brom- eliads. Nearly all the plants in this group have a tendency to throw up offsets after flowering ; and these may be taken off and struck in heat as cuttings, or they may be allowed to remain on the parent stock until they naturally throw out roots, after which they can be removed and potted in the usual way. I may here allude to an ingenious method practised in order to induce plants to produce their suckers. A short poker or iron bar is heated red-hot, and plunged down the centre of the plant, but only just far enough to stop the central growth ; and as a natural consequence, the vital force of the plant is then diverted to the production of lateral shoots and suckers, which are taken off and propagated in the ordinary way. The Pine-apple was originally discovered and described by Jean de Lery in his voyage to Brazil in 1555, and was first brought to this country by Lord Garland in 1690, and soon after it was cultivated by Rose, gardener to Charles II. Like most . other cultivated plants it is highly variable, the variation being in many cases merely cultural, while some of the forms now grown in our gardens are seminal varieties ; and doubtless this fruit might still be much improved by crossing distinct forms, and carefully selecting the resulting offspring. As a rule, how- ever, Pines, if left to themselves — i.e., if not cross-fertilised — rarely produce fertile seeds, this sterility having been favoured in our gardens during the past two centuries, owing to the 2l6 GENERAL REVIEW. almost invariable method of propagating from offsets or suckers. We scarcely want fertile seeds in the case of our fruit-bearing plants, the chief object in cultivating these being to favour the development of the fleshy or pulpy covering, as in the Pine, Pear, and stone-fruits, where we strive to obtain small stones and a large proportion of edible pulp. Miller, while noting that seeds of the Pine are but rarely produced in Europe, remarks that if seeds were procured and sown, the varieties of Pine-apples would soon be as numerous as Apples and Pears. Miller himself sowed seeds and found them to produce varieties of different degrees of vigour and excellence. Mr J. Fleming, of Cliveden, writing to the 'Florist,' 1868, p. 134, makes the following interesting observations on this subject : "The great drawback to the usefulness of the variegated Pine-apple as a decorative plant is the presence of the saw- like spines on the leaves, which render it dangerous indoors. In order to try and remedy this, I made an attempt in the spring of 1865 to cross the smooth-leaved Cayenne, with the pollen of the variegated variety, but whether any cross took place is doubtful ; I think not, though every flower operated upon set a seed. The fruit proved a very fine one. To make all certain, I took it to Berry Hill, where Mr Rogers assisted in searching out the seeds. It was some time before we could make certain of them, not having seen any before. In this instance they were kidney-shaped, a little larger than a millet- seed, brown in colour ; and, through a glass, were seen to be irregularly veined all over, making the dark surface appear like specks of rich velvet. The seeds, if not too ripe when the fruit is cut, are enclosed in small ear-like cells, covered by closing up the bract, which is no doubt provided by nature to protect the seed from birds, &c., as this bract 'does not com- monly grow downwards until the flowering is over. " We found in all over fifty seeds, every one of which vege- tated freely ; but although the plants all differed in some way, not one of them showed any light variegation. I left a few seeds with Mr Rogers, who is a very successful Pine-grower. He was the first to ripen a fruit — in about eighteen months. It weighed four pounds, and was pronounced by Dr Hogg to be very handsome in shape, but deficient in flavour. The latter may improve ; it would not, I think, be possible to improve on the habit. There are about one in five smooth -leaved. Several have fruited since, but none so remarkable either in shape or habit." In the 'Transactions of the Horticultural Society,' 1835 (2d ser.), i. i, is a valuable account of 52 varieties then THE PINE-APPLE FAMILY. ^) 2 1/ growing in the Chiswick Garden, from which we learn that large numbers of seedling Pines were raised at Blith- field, the seat of Lord Bagot ; others by Mr Thos. A. Knight (Knight's Downton Havannah being one of the best). The well-known Montserrat is believed to have been raised from seed at Slingborough. Buck's Seedling Globe Pine was raised at Elford, in Staffordshire, in 1819. The Enville, a kind still grown, was raised from seed at the Earl of Stamford and Warrington's seat of that name, but at what date is uncer- tain. Large quantities of Pines were raised from imported seeds in the gardens at Welbeck by Speechly. Of late years numbers of seedling Pine-apples have been 2l8 GENERAL REVIEW. raised at Lambton Castle (see 'Gardener/ 1876, p. 80). Out of the first batch of 30 seedlings the best was that here figured, and which has been named the Lambton Castle Pine-apple. Mr Hunter fertilises artificially, and recommends that the fruit should be allowed to partially decay, in order to give time for the plumping up of the seeds. THE CACTUS FAMILY (Cactaceee). This order consists of succulent spinose shrubs, for the most part natives of South America, where some of the columnar species of Cereus, as C. peruvianus and C. giganteus, attain a height of from 20 to 30 feet. The number of known genera is said to be eighteen, and about 600 species are known. Two species only are of economic interest, — viz., Opuntia coch- inellifera (Nopal plant), largely cultivated in the Mexican States as the food-plant of the cochineal insect (Coccus cacti}, well known as affording a beautiful crimson dye ; and O. vulgaris, or Prickly Pear, which is cultivated for its grateful sub-acid, gooseberry-like fruits in barren rocky parts of North Africa and Southern Europe. We have no work in English devoted to these interesting plants as yet ; but M. Labouret's ' Mono- graphic des Cactees ' is handy for reference, and contains a full account of most of the species. Cacti are easily propagated as a rule ; and the following general directions are by Mr J. Croucher, who is well known as one of the most intelligent cultivators of these and other allied plants : — " Propagation. — The genera Rhipsalis, Phyllocactus, Cereus, and Opuntia are easily increased by cuttings, which should be taken off in May, and laid in the sun till rooted, when they should be potted and watered carefully, though Rhipsalis and Phyllocactus may be potted at once, and kept dry about four- teen days, when they will be rooted, and may be watered ; Echinocactus and Mammillaria must be increased by offsets." All the finer kinds of Mammillarias — as M. crucigera, M. scopa, M. scopa Candida, M. scopa cristata, M. declivis, and others — may be grafted on Cereus Napoleonis, C. tortuosus, or C. serpentinus, as stocks. When grafted, they are cleaner and better than when on their own roots. Echinocereus pectiniferus, E. pectiniferus cristatus, and others, may be worked on C. peruvianus ; and the larger Echinocacti do well on the strong- growing columnar forms of Cereus, two or three stems being used where one is not sufficient. " Echinocacti require their tops to be cut off, which must be exposed to the sun THE CACTUS FAMILY. 2 19 until rooted ; the old plant will throw out young ones, which may be taken off the next season. As a rule, the Echinocacti are slow in throwing offsets, and care must be taken not to let the plants get any water until they show signs of doing so ; patience is a virtue in great demand in the propagation of this section of the order. The slender-growing species are often grafted on stronger and faster growers, though care must be taken not to select for a stock one as celebrated for vigour as the scion is for want of it, or your labour will be Seedling Echinocacti. » in vain. As a stock for the smaller-growing Echinocacti, Cereus tortuosus or C. colubrinus is the best ; for the larger, C. peruvi- anus and C. gemmatus. In grafting, care must be taken to cut the two ends rather convex than concave, as they are apt to shrink a little, which would cause a separation, and so spoil the graft ; the scion must be tied firmly to the stock, taking care that the edges meet, or at least one of them. The best plan to insure against accidents is to put three sticks into the pot, and tie them together above the plant, thus causing a continual pres- sure from above." Cereus flagelliformis, or " Rat's-tail " Cereus, does well grafted on one of the slender-growing columnar species or Pereskia aculeata as a stock, and flowers more freely when so treated. " In grafting Opuntia clavarioides you may cut a cuneiform notch in the stock, and cut the scion to fit tightly ; keep them firm with a stick on each side and a thorn run through the graft. Some of the smaller species of Cereus, as C. tuberosus, may be made pointed, with a corresponding hole in the stock — in all cases taking care not to disturb the plant when once grafted. When the operation is finished, the plants must then be put into a close frame, and laid on their sides until united, which they will do in about six weeks, when they may be placed upright, and gradually hardened off. Most of the species may be raised from seed, which should be sown as soon as collected, if pos- sible, and put into a temperature of 60°. The young plants grow very slowly at first. When potted off they should be^placed near the light. It is best to let them remain in the seed-pot until the following season, as they are very apt to damp if they are 220 GENERAL REVIEW. potted off too soon. Seed collected abroad should be left in the pulp, which, being its natural protector, prevents the air acting on it, and drying it up ; packed in a small tin box, it may be sent any distance without losing its vitality. The best flowering varieties are Cereus speciosissimus, and its varieties, as C. Ackermanni, C. Jenkinsoni, C. splendens, and others ; these are the forms most commonly grown in cottage - windows. The genera Phyllocactus and Cereus contain many fine- flowering varieties. " Hybridisation may be performed with ease, as the stamens and pistils are so very distinct, and the pollen produced in abundance. It may be preserved for some time if kept in a bottle hermetically sealed. I have not met with any successful attempt to cross Mammillaria with Echinocactus, or Opuntia with Cereus, though I know of no cause why they may not be, as the differences in the flowers are not differences of structure, but merely degrees of development, — such as a greater or lesser number of stamens or petal* ; or in the absence in some, and lengths in others, of the tube of the corolla, excepting that it may be that the pollen-tubes might be too strong for the dis- tance they have to grow from the apex of the stigma, or vice versa." It may be well to point out here the fact that most of the large-flowered scandent species of Cereus, as 'C. grandiflorus, C. (restrains) hamatus, and C. Macdonaldice, together with some of the columnar species, are night-flowering plants ; and it will be necessary to watch the flowers closely to catch the stigma at its receptive period, as well as to prevent self-impregnation. Possibly it may be necessary to cut open the flowers before they expand, in order to make sure that the receptive surface is in a pure or virgin state. Cereus speciosissimus is one of the most brilliant-flowered species in the genus, and has already been used in hybridising with C. oxypetalus, Phyllocactus Acker- manni, and others. Many seedling or hybrid forms of Phyllo- cactus and Cereus speciosissimus have been raised in gardens ; and among these C. splendens and P. Gordoniana are grown at Kew, and arc remarkably ornamental in June when in bloom. The first-named has widely-expanded crimson-scarlet flowers, while the latter plant bears flowers of a soft rose colour. About 1870, Col. Charleton, of Farm Hill, Braddan, Isle of Man, bloomed a series of very beautiful hybrids, obtained by him as the result of crossing Cereus speciosissimus with Phyllocactus crenatus — a white-flowered species. Some of these seedlings were very handsome, bearing large flowers, the colours of which varied from white through all shades of peach, rose, and rosy- THE CACTUS FAMILY. 221 pink, to a brilliant scarlet, with that wonderful flush. of metallic purple which characterises C. speciosissimus. In hybridising large-flowered varieties with smaller kinds, care should be taken to select pollen from the smallest or shortest anthers ; and in crossing small - flowered with large kinds, select the longest anthers. The Phyllocacti, Cereus speciosissimus, and others in the same group, and the valuable winter-blooming Epiphyl- lums, flower so readily and so copiously, that we can but wonder that they are so little cultivated ; while there is yet a noble and wide field of labour for the intelligent hybridist in this order. Some of the Mammillarias vary very much in habit and colour, even when raised from seed, self-fertilised or fecundated with their own pollen ; and there is no limit to the varieties and forms which cross- breeding may yet afford. Echino- cactus Ottonis produces seeds very freely, as also do nearly all the Ma- millarias. Cereus Maynardi is the name of a hybrid raised in this country in 1845 by Mr E. Kenny, gardener to Mr Maynard, and is said to have been the result of a cross between the white - flowered Cereus grandiflorus as the male parent and C. speciosissimus. The flowers are described as pale rose-flushed, with purple in the centre ; and the flowers remain open as long as those of the female parent, which it resembled in habit. Is this plant in cultivation, or is it lost? In 1832 a hybrid from C. speciosissimus made its appearance on the Continent, and this was named C. Guillardeti by M. Jaques, presumably after the raiser. Mr R. Errington obtained a beautiful Cereus with large full flowers of a delicate rosy colour, each petal tinged with purple in the centre (see 'Gardeners' Chronicle,' 1844, P- 733)- This was thought to be a hybrid between Cereus longissimus crossed with C. truncatus. About 1848, several beautiful hybrids were obtained by M. Grisard, who fertilised Cereus Acker?nanni (itself a hybrid) with pollen from the "Rat's-tail" ( Cereus flagelliformis). These were more or less cylindrical in habit, the stems being deeply fluted, the flutes or angles thus formed being more or less crenulate, as in the female parent. The flowers were very diverse in form — some tubular, others inclined more or less to the rotate form of the Seedling Opuntia, three montlt& old. 222 GENERAL REVIEW. female parent — and the colours different shades of rose and rosy crimson. Opuntias seed very freely, and their seeds ger- minate readily in heat. It would be interesting to attempt to raise hybrids between Opuntia and Cereus, or Opuntia and Echinocactus or Mammillaria. Some of the finer kinds of scandent-habited Cereus, as C. (hamatus] rostratus, C. Mac- donaldice, C. grandiflorus, and the columnar species, which flower at long intervals, might be crossed advantageously with C. speciosissinms, or other kinds which flower annually. A very pretty effect may be produced wherever the strong-growing scandent species of Cereus are cultivated, by grafting on the stems small plants of Echinocactus scopa and its crested varie- ties, or some of the pretty silvery-spined Mammillarias. A very fine hybrid between Cereus grandiflorus and C. specio- sissimus was obtained by Messrs Davis of Wavertree, near Liverpool, previous to 1844, the individual blooms being ten inches in diameter, and of a soft rosy colour. Herbert, in his ' Amaryllidacese,' p. 345 and 339, in speaking of hybrids, says : " Amongst the Cacti or Cerei, the prickly angular Cereus speciosissimus, the flexible C. flagelliformis or Whip-plant, and the unarmed C. phyllanthocides, are nearly the most dis- similar ; yet they have produced mixed offspring, which readily bears eatable fruit of intermediate appearance and flavour. The fruit of C. speciosissimus is large, green, oblong, and well flavoured ; that of C. phyllanthocides is small, purple, and very inferior ; while the hybrid from the former has fruit of a medium size and taste. The cross from the former by C. flagelliformis has a short angular fruit, quite unlike that of the mother plant. The fertility of these crosses, and readiness to vary the appearance and taste of the fruit, though derived from such dissimilar parents, is one of the most striking results of our experiments. Cereus grandiflorus is also said to have crossed with (7. speciosissimus at ColvilPs ; and C. Ackermanni (itself a hybrid) has bred with both C. phyllanthocides and C. speciosissimus at Spofforth ; and I have been told that some of them have been also crossed with the very dissimilar Epiphyllum truncatum" Mr Macintosh, nurseryman, Hammersmith, raised a beautiful new seedling Phyllocactus, a cross between the creamy-white P. crenatus and the scarlet P. Ackermanni. The flowers are of good size, the inner petals peach-coloured and the outer ones crimson-scarlet. In habit it appears to be intermediate between its parents, some of the shoots being crenated, others like those of Ackermanni. This plant first flowered in 1873. Epiphyllums are a showy genus of dwarf-growing Cactaceous THE CACTUS FAMILY. 223 plants, represented in our gardens by E. truncatum, an orange- scarlet-flowered species introduced from Brazil in 1818 (for a figure of £. truncatum as originally introduced, see * Bot. Mag.,' t. 2562), and the more elegant-habited E. Russellianum (also from Brazil), introduced in 1839. Seeds are freely produced in small gooseberry-like fruits. The latter, however, are rarely produced unless the flowers are artificially fertilised, which is readily done, as the stigma is large and the pollen copious. Sow the seeds as soon as ripe in a well-drained pan of light sandy earth, having previously separated them from the pulpy fruit by rubbing in a fine dry cloth or towel. Placed in a genial bottom-heat of 60° to 70°, they germinate in a few weeks, and should then be placed on a sunny shelf in a dry airy atmo- sphere, as they are extremely liable to damp off if left in the moist propagating case. The late Mr Wilbraham Buckley of Tooting, sometime manager to Messrs Rollison & Sons, gives the following con- cise account of the improvements effected in this genus by himself and others (see 'Florist,' 1868, i. 13, 14). Speaking of E. Russellianum, he observes : " This latter, although re- corded as a variety of E. truncatum, is certainly a distinct species ; for while the varieties of E. truncatum usually flower in November and December, the natural blooming period for E. Russellianum is the month of May. "The late Mr Kemp of Mawbey House, Stockwell, tried hard to obtain a hybrid between Epiphyllum truncatum and Cereus speciosissimus, but could never succeed. He did, how- ever, raise one good variety of E. truncatum named magnificum. Mr Bruce, also, the talented gardener at Collier's Wood, Mer- ton, tried in vain to produce a hybrid between the E. trunca- tum. section and Phyllocactus speciosus and others, although he obtained some beautiful hybrids in other sections. It may therefore be concluded that E. truncatum will not hybridise with the large-flowered species. More recently, some very beautiful hybrids were raised at the Tooting Nursery between E. Russellianum and E. truncatum, having the symmetrical form of the first, and flowering two months later than the last. The advantage gained by this cross was important, inasmuch as it extended the blooming time quite through the winter, to say nothing of the superiority of form which was secured. " These varieties of E. Russellianum were : E. R. rubrum* flower double the size of E. Rtissellianum, and of a bright rosy red; E. R. cupreum* not so large as the last, of a coppery tinge, slightly suffused with purple ; E. R. superbum* in which the purple of E. Russellianum and the reddish tinge .of E. 224 GENERAL REVIEW. truncatum are beautifully blended. Added to these, a very pretty hybrid of the Russellianum section was raised by Mr Snow, gardener to Earl De Grey, called E. R. Snowii. No further addition appears to have been made up to che present time to this section. " In the following list I have enumerated and briefly de- scribed the best and most showy seminal varieties of the E. truncatum section : E. truncatum ma jus* larger than the species, and of a deep rose colour; albo-lateritia* petals silky white, margined with brick red ; amabile, white and purple ; aurantiacum, reddish orange ; bicolor, white and rose edged ; coccineum* deep scarlet; cruentum* dark purplish red; mag- nificum, large, bright rose and white ; purpureum* deep purple, nearly self-coloured ; roseum* bright rose ; rubro-tinctum, white and purplish red; Ruckerianum, purplish red, tinged with violet; splendent f deep rose; spectabile, white, with purplish margin ; spectab'ile - carminatum, white, with reddish margin ; satmoneum, salmony red; tricolor, deep reddish purple and white ; violaceum, silvery white, with light purple margin ; vio- laceum grandiflorum, like the last, but larger ; violaceum super- bum, deep purple and white." Those marked with an asterisk were raised from seed by Mr Buckley in the Tooting Nursery. Mr T. Brown, of the Exotic Nursery, Tooting, has also raised some very fine seedling Epiphyllums. Seedlings flower the third or fourth year ; and it would be an interesting experiment for amateurs, and others having time at their disposal, to endeavour to obtain a hybrid between E. truncatum and Cereus flagelliformis ; and it is more than probable that a distinct and useful progeny would be the result. In order to accomplish this, the former would need re- tarding, as C. flagelliformis does not usually flower till late in the spring or in the early summer months. Epiphyllums root freely from cuttings of the stem or leaf; and the cuttings may either be a single leaf or a portion of a plant three or four inches in length. They are also easily propagated by grafting on Pereskia aculeata or its allies, or on Cereus speciosissimus as a stock.t The texture of both stock and scion being of a cellular or' fleshy consistence, they unite very readily. Pereskia cuttings root easily; and when 12-15 inches in height, and as thick as a pencil, they are fit for working. Some operators head off the stock and split it with a sharp knife, so "\- When Epiphyllums are grafted on the succulent stems of Cereus or other Cacti as stocks, not only do the cellular tissues of stock and scion unite, but the scions frequently root into the tissues of the stock, and so derive additional nutriment. THE CACTUS FAMILY. 225 as to form a cleft an inch or rather more in length, into which a small piece of the Epiphyllum, cut wedge-fashion at the base, is inserted as a scion and secured with bast. An old leaf of good substance, with one or two young ones at its apex, makes a capital-graft. Others cut off the top of the stock in a wedge- shaped manner, and split the base of the scion to fit over it saddle-fashion. Both methods are equally successful. The Cereus speciosissimus makes the stoutest and best stock for large specimens ; and if planted out and trained up rafters or the back wall of a warm conservatory, and grafted all over with different-coloured varieties of Epiphyllums, the effect obtained is very pleasing. To insert grafts in the Cereus stock, a sharp budding-knife is plunged in the side so as to make a clean incision, into which a scion, cut wedge-shaped at the base, is inserted and secured with a spine of the Cereus ; or a slender splinter cut off a deal label answers just as well, no tying being required, — the plants being placed in a close case for a week or two until a junction is effected. Scions take well on any of the Opuntias or " Indian Figs," as well .as on all the Phyllocactus, columnar and scandent Cereus, and even on Echinocactus and Echinopsis ; but for all practical purposes Cereus speciosissimus, and Pereskia aculeata, are good stocks. A writer in the 'Deutsche Garten-Zeitung ' for March 1876, recommends Pereskia calandrinicefolia as the best stock for Epiphyllums, and adds that the German florists in the neigh- bourhood of Diisseldorf have used it exclusively for several years. It is as easily propagated as P. aculeata, and makes a stronger growth ; it is thus better able to support the heavy succulent growth of the Epiphyllums grafted upon it than P. aculeata. In short, this stock answers every purpose for which the Cereus speciosissimus is used, and being more woody, it is not so liable to rot off if neglected. It is by no means settled which is actually the best stock for Epiphyllums — i.e., whether Cereus speciosissimus or the Peres- kias ; and Mr D. E. Fish thus writes on this subject in the 'Florist,3 1869, p. 256:— "Grafted plants- are the most popular, and the ease with which they will take on almost any stock has also favoured the practice of grafting, while it probably may have prevented us discovering the best possible stock. I believe they will grow on any Cactus, but I have chiefly used only two stocks. The Cereus speciosissimus, while one of our grandest Cactuses in itself, seems formed by nature for a support to all the weak members of its glorious family. It is distinguished by three of the most vital characteristics of a good stock— it is strong, it 226 GENERAL REVIEW. grows freely, and it is long-lived. It seems made to carry a burden. It will support almost any weight of Epiphyllum at any desired height with evident ease and conscious dignity. And then it grows with the freedom of a weed and the vigour of a giant ; and who ever heard of its dying ? It can scarcely be destroyed, unless by frost ; and it will endure a temperature as low as 40° Fahr. with impunity, which, is 5° lower than the Epiphyllum likes to be' subjected to. The strength of this noble Cereus enables it to scorn the help of artificial props. Worked on the top of this Cereus, the Epiphyllums form beautiful standard or umbrella plants; inserted all the way up the stems, they can be made into nice, narrow pyramids. There is one objection to this stock — more theoretical, however, than practical. Its natural period of blooming is four or six months later than that of the Epiphyllum. Still it never seems unwilling to be forced into growth at the demand of the scion, nor, as far as I have observed, has it ever refused to supply food to meet the wants of its adopted children. " Still, for my large plants I prefer a different stock, which lacks all the robustness and the strength of this grand Cereus. This is the Pereskia or Peirescia aculeata. It roots and grows freely, and unless for stocks, is of no use whatever. The Epiphyllum takes readily upon it, although not so freely as on the Cereus. The Pereskia has but little strength in itself; its merit lies in its pliability. I have also seen it used for a dwarf standard ; but the plants require other support, and it is not equal to the Cereus for such purposes." THE CHIMONANTHUS FAMILY (Calycanthacece). A small group of hardy deciduous shrubs, natives of North America and Japan, and represented in gardens by Chimonanthus fragrans, and its varieties "grandiflora" and "praecox," and by one or two species of Calycanthus. The flowers of all the species are peculiarly fragrant, and the bark of Calycanthus floridus is used as a substitute for cinnamon in North America. Cuttings of these plants do not strike root freely, and it is best to trust to layers — or better still, to seeds when they are obtainable. It would be exceedingly interesting to know -if Chimonanthus will succeed grafted on Calycanthus, or vice versa; or whether these plant's could not be more readily multiplied by herbaceous cuttings made in heat or by grafting on the roots, a method which is easily tested and very suc- cessful in the case of Ipomceas, Aralias, Conifers, and many THE BELL-FLOWER FAMILY. 22/ other plants which are difficult to increase by cuttings. In order to obtain seeds of the Calycanthns or the Chimonanthus , artificial fertilisation is necessary; and advantage should be taken of a fine sunny day for this purpose. It is curious to notice that the flowers of this plant, like those of Orchids and other plants requiring insect agency to insure fertilisation, are of a wax-like consistence, and endure for a long time in a fresh state. THE BELL-FLOWER FAMILY (CampanulacecB). A large family of herbaceous plants or low shrubs, often characterised by a milky juice. They are chiefly known in temperate parts of the world, especially North Asia, Europe, and North America. The principal genera are Jasione, Canarina, Platycodon, Wahlenbergia, Roellia, Michauxia, Campanula, Specularia, Trachelium, Adenophora, and one or two others. One of the curious points about Bellworts is the style, which is club-shaped, and, like those of Composites and Lobeliads, clothed with stiff, sub-erect hairs, the object of which is, doubtless, to brush out the pollen from the anthers. Lindley (see ' Veg. King.,' p. 690) observes that Adolphe Brong- niart has studied these hairs ; and this acute observer found that they were retractile, like the tentacula of snails or the hairs of some annelides, and not deciduous, as had previously been supposed. " It appears," says Lindley, " that at the time of the expansion of the flower, the hairs which had previously projected and swept out the pollen from the anthers are drawn back into certain cavities lying at their base, the upper half sheathing itself into the lower half as it is by degrees withdrawn " (see 'Ann. des. Sc. Nat.' (2 ser.), 12, 244; and 'Ann. Nat. Hist.,' viii. p. 86). This is another of the numerous con- trivances designed to facilitate occasional cross - fertilisation ; and whenever these natural means of securing cross-fertilisa- tion are observed, the hybridiser is pretty certain to meet with success. Campanula Houttei is one of the best of all hybrid Cam- panulas, but I cannot discover its parentage. C. Hendersoni is said to be the result of a cross between C. turbinata and C. alliarifolia. C. Smithii is doubtless a natural hybrid, it having originated as a chance seedling in a frame where C. fragilis and C. pumila alba had been grown (see ' Florist,' 1875, p. 209, for coloured figure, &c.) Numerous fine seminal single and semi-double forms of C. (Platycodoti) grandiflora have been raised -in 228 GENERAL REVIEW. Continental gardens, the colour varying from white to dark- blue (see ' L'Horticulture Beige,' 1875, p. 241). THE HOP AND HEMP FAMILY (Cannabinacece). A small order of herbaceous plants, mostly natives of temperate parts of the" Old World, and represented in our gardens and fiejds by the common Hemp -(Cannabis sativa\ a well-known fibre - producing plant — and the Hop plant (Humulus lupulus), a graceful climbing plant, from the bracts and seeds of which Hops used by brewers are prepared. Hemp is an annual plant very easily raised from seeds sown in heat in March, or in the open air in May or June. Hops are readily multiplied by division. The plants in this order bear male and female flowers on separate individuals, so that Common Hop {male and female). both sexes must be grown in close proximity if fertile seeds are desired. In rare instances, however, the common Hop plant produces male and female flowers together, being then monoe- cious instead of dioecious, as is normally the case ; and it has been suggested that by saving seed from these monoecious plants, a race bearing male and female flowers together might be obtained. The following interesting allusion to this subject is from a recent number of the ' Gardeners' Chronicle : ' — " I enclose a specimen of the male Hop with apparently female flowers at the tips of the branches. " There are other male plants in the same ground, but I have not seen any other instance of this peculiarity. The THE HONEYSUCKLE FAMILY. whole Hop hill grows in the same way. If we obtain seed, might not it be possible to select a strain of Hops which are uniformly monoecious on the same plant? [Certainly.] " The Hop ground is in Boughton Monchelsea, facing south,1 very warm, and of strong rich soil. We are the more interested in this specimen, as many years ago a similar instance was brought under our notice by Mr Masters of Canterbury, and which formed the subject of an interesting notice from his pen in our volume Tor 1852, p. 597. The case is interesting with reference to the doctrine of parthenogenesis. The Ccele- bogyne, asserted to produce seeds without the formation of male blooms, has now frequently been seen to produce flowers of both sexes. We saw an instance of this lately in the herbarium of Professor Baillon of Paris." THE HONEYSUCKLE FAMILY (Caprifoliacece). A small order of beautiful and interesting hardy plants, represented in our pleasure-grounds and gardens by Abelia, Linncea, Leycesteria, Caprifolium, Lonicera (Honeysuckle), Viburnum (Guelder Rose), Sambucus (Elder). Nearly all the species are more or less fragrant, and are for the most part readily propagated either by herbaceous or hard-wooded cuttings, or by seeds when procurable, as in Sambucus, Viburnum, and Lonicera. The vitality of Elder-berry seeds is very great, as they germinate freely, even after having been boiled for wine-making purposes ; and this is one of our native plants which, like the Currant and Gooseberry, is largely distributed by birds. Linncea borealis is readily increased by division, and Leycesteria and Abelia by layers or cuttings — herbaceous cuttings in a close case in spring, and hard- wooded cuttings on a north border or under a hand-light in autumn. ' Lonicera (Woodbines or Honeysuckles). — A well-known genus of shrubs, often scandent or twining, and bearing showy and often fragrant flowers. Our native Z. periclymenum is one of the most deliciously fragrant of all plants. Loniceras are readily propagated either by seeds, cuttings, or layers. Seeds are freely produced by Z. etrusca, L. caprifolium, the common Woodbine, and others; and these might be used as seed- bearing parents, and considerable improvement effected by crossing them with pollen from Z. japonica, L. flexuosa, L. sempervirens (one of the finest of all hardy Honeysuckles), Z. pubescens, and others. Mr Ingram, when at Frogmore, raised 230 GENERAL REVIEW. several pretty seedling woodbines, and among others Lonicera japonica hybrida, a hybrid — its parents being L.japonica and L. flexuosa. L. brachypoda aurea-reticulata produces fruit now and then in our gardens, and by using pollen from this plant to fertilise the evergreen species as Z. sempervirens, &c., a race of golden-variegated varieties might possibly be obtained. The Chamaecerasus group have already been improved by hybridising, and numerous forms of L. (Chamcecerasus) tartarica have been raised in Continental gardens by M. Prevost and others ; and L. alpina, L. xylosteon, and one or two other species, might be used for crossing with these. Many seminal varieties of Lonicera tartar- ica (see ' Revue Hort.,' 1868, p. 392) have been obtained by M. Billiard of Fontenay-aux-Roses, and the following four vari- eties are figured in the work just cited : L. tartarica speciosa, bearing large rosy flowers ; L. tartarica elegans, flesh colour ; L. tartarica bicolor, white and rosy lilac; L. tartarica gracilis , white. In addition to those named, M. Billiard has raised numerous other seedlings scarcely less attractive. Viburnum (Gueldres Rose, Laurestinus). — A rather ex- tensive group of shrubs, natives of Europe, temperate Asia, and N. America, — two species, V, lantana, the " Wayfaring tree," and V. opulus, or " Gueldres Rose," being natives of Britain. V. tinus, or Laurus tinus, as it was formerly called by botanists, whence its now popular name, is one of the most handsome of our winter-flowering shrubs, and is a native of S. Europe, and in Corsica it forms extensive woods. The Gueldres Rose, or " Snowball tree," as it is popularly called, and several other kinds, owe the beauty of their blossoms to an abortive development analogous to that in the conspicuous flowers of Hydrangeas ; and if some inquiring mind can hit on the primary cause of this production of enlarged and infertile florets in these groups, we may possibly be enabled to add numerous other showy plants to our gardens. One of the finest species is V. macrocephalum, which rivals the Hydrangeas in size and beauty. These plants may be propagated by cuttings of the young wood in autumn, or by layers, and by seed when it is produced. Seedlings of V. lantana when a year old form excellent stocks for the other kinds. Graft by splice-grafting or veneering on or below the neck of the stock under glass. V. macrocephalum succeeds well on the Laures- tinus as a stock, cleft-grafting in this case being most suc- cessful. THE CARNATION FAMILY. 231 THE CARNATION FAMILY (Caryophyllacece). A large group of herbaceous plants having opposite leaves and tumid or swollen joints, and represented in our gardens by Pinks, Carnations, Sweet -Williams, and a few other popular flowers, mostly hardy. Even the species which are found near the equator grow at such high altitudes as to be hardy in northern latitudes. As a rule, all the plants in this group seed most profusely, and their propagation by seeds, cuttings, layers, or division, is very easy. The principal genera found in gardens are Alsine, Arenaria, Stellaria^ Cerastium, Dianthus (Pinks), Saponaria, Gypsophila, Silene, Viscaria, Agrostemma (Corn-cockle), Lychnis, Cucubalus, and others. Artificial fertilisation and hybridisation is very easy in this group, hence the great variety of Pinks, Cloves, Carnations, and Sweet-Williams in our gardens ; and even in a state of nature hybrids are found. Thus numerous hybrids intermediate between Dianthus monspessulanus and D. Seguieri are found on the mountains of Auvergne. D. sinensis (D. Heddewigii, Hort.) and D. barbatus, together with D. caryophyllus, are also in an extreme state of seminal variability, partly induced by cultivation, and the tendency further augmented by hybridism and cross-breeding. It is a common occurrence to see different- coloured flowers in the same inflorescence of D. barbatus, these being cases of reversion to one or other of the characters possessed by the former parents of the individual. About 1834 M. Pepin, a Continental florist, obtained hybrids between Lychnis (Agrostemma] flos-jovis and L. coronaria, the flowers being large, and produced in large corymbose clusters. The genus Linum is sometimes included here, and these being mostly annuals, are freely multiplied by seeds. Z. trigynum, a showy yellow-flowered greenhouse shrub, is readily propagated by cuttings. Dianthus (Pinks). — A very popular genus of, for the most part, hardy perennials, of which our garden Pinks, Carnations, and Sweet-Williams, are well known and deliciously fragrant examples. D. sinensis, or Chinese Pink, is an annual of which there are innumerable varieties, easily propagated by sowing seeds in autumn in a pit or frame, or in the open beds or borders in April. The Carnation and the common garden Pink are both supposed to have originated from D. caryophyllus, or Clove-scented Pink ; but it is difficult to say with any degree of certainty exactly what plants were the parents of these old garden flowers, since they have been 232 GENERAL REVIEW. admired and cultivated by English florists during the past three centuries. Pinks and Carnations are among the oldest of all florists' flowers ; and faithful old Parkinson, at page 12 of his ' Paradisus,' in discoursing on them under the head of what he calls English Flowers, observes : " But what shall I say of the Queen of delight and of flowers, Carnations and Gilloflowers, whose bravery, variety, " and sweet smell joyned togeather, tyeth every one's affection with great ernesstness both to like and to have them ? Those that were known and enjoyed in former times with much acceptation are now for the most part lesse accounted of, except a very few ; for now there are so many other varieties of later invention that troubleth the other both in number, beauty, and worth." Among the varieties which he quaintly says " troubleth the others " are the Red and Grey Halo — the old Carnation differing from them both — the Granpere, the Dover, the Oxford, the White Carna- tion or Delicate, and many others. " But there is another sort of great delight and variety called the Orange Tawny Gillo- flower, which for the most part hath risen from seed, and doth give seed in a more plentiful manner than any of the former sorts, and likewise by the sowing of the seed there hath been gained so many varieties of that excellent worth and respect that it can hardly be expressed or beleeved." These last were in all probability Picotees, or Yellow-grounded Carnations. " Pinks, likewise, both single and double, are of much variety, all of them very sweet, coming near the Gilloflowers, Sweet- Williams, and Sweet-Johns, both single and double, both white, red, and spotted, as they are kinds of wilde Pinks, so far their grace and beauty help to furnish a garden." For excellent old woodcut figures and quaint descriptions of Carnations and Pinks cultivated in 1629, see Parkinson's ' Paradisus in Sole,' p. 306-317. Seeds. — New varieties are raised from seeds, which are freely produced by healthy plants. If a ' double Pink or Car- nation flower be examined, the feather-like tips of the stigma will be seen in the centre of the flower, and these should be fertilised by pollen taken from a single or semi- double variety of good habit and colour. If the seed-bearing plants are out of doors, fertilise the first two or three blooms, which are always the finest, having previously thinned out all the other flower-stems and the superfluous buds on those left to bloom. By doing this the seed will be finer, and also ripen much earlier. In wet, cold localities, the seed-bearing plants may be grown in pots plunged in ashes or cocoa-nut fibre in a THE CARNATION FAMILY. 233 cold frame, the lights being drawn off except at nights or in cold, wet weather; for one of the principal difficulties ex- perienced in raising the seeds of Pinks and Carnations is their proneness to be affected by damp. Sow the seeds in August as soon as ripe, or in the following May, in pans of well- drained light rich sandy compost, barely covering the seeds with earth, and giving them a slight bottom-heat of about 65°, which induces them to grow quicker and all at once. Prick off the seedlings into boxes when an inch or so high, and when large enough plant out in deeply-dug, well-manured nursery beds, the soil of which on the surface should be finely pulverised, so as to allow the young seedlings to root freely and make a strong growth before winter. The following is Mr Ball's advice to raisers of Pinks, Carnations, and Picotees : " It is very essential to have a few good, healthy, strong- growing selected varieties of the very best kinds, choosing those that produce but moderately full or rather thin flowers, as these generally produce most seed, and the newer the varieties selected the better, as recent seedlings of all florists' flowers generally produce seed in greater abundance than the older varieties. The plants may be either grown in pots or in the open ground, but pot-culture is preferable. As soon as the flowers begin to expand they should be protected from the rain, either by putting them into a greenhouse or by plac- ing glasses over them ; but give them plenty of air, and allow them to have the sun, as plants bloomed under a covering in the shade produce little or no seed, neither do those that are entirely exposed to the weather, because the occasional showers of rain and the night dews keep the base of the petals continually moist, which, as a consequence, leads to mouldiness and decay. It is a good plan, when the bloom is over, to extract the decayed petals, taking particular care in doing so not to injure the two stigmas or arms of the style, which appear like horns projected from the seed-vessel. The plants should not be layered until the seed becomes ripened, because this operation will most certainly reduce, if not quite destroy, the seed crop. The seed generally becomes ripe about the end of August. Care should be taken not to gather it until it is quite ripe, and it should be kept in the seed-vessel or pericarp until the time to sow it, which is about the first week in May. Herbert (see 'Herb. Am./ p. 356, 366) says: "lam not aware at what period the beautiful Mule Pink, which is common in our gardens, made its first appearance, nor through whom or in what manner it was obtained, but it was probably the 234 GENERAL REVIEW. produce of an accidental intermixture of a florists' Pink with a crimson Sweet-William." In Carnations the seedlings have a great disposition to follow the colour of the seed-bearing parent. An old garden form named Fairchild's Mule is supposed to be the result of a cross between a Dianthus superbus and D. caryophyllus (see Darwin, 'Loves of the Plants/ p. 216). For figures of the earlier-introduced species of Dianthus, see the earlier numbers of the ' Botanical Magazine.' Layers. — The best florists' or exhibition varieties of Pinks and Carnations are generally propagated by layers, July or the beginning of August being the best time. Layering is a simple operation, and a sure one if neatly performed. Take a basket of fine sandy earth, a sharp budding-knife, and a quantity of small pegs made of an old birch broom or dried stalks of the common Brake Fern. Select the best-developed shoots for layerings, and stroking up the leaves in the left hand, just remove their tips with the knife, and then trim off the lower leaves. Select that part of the shoot below the terminal tuft of leaves, and make a transverse but sloping cut about half-way through a joint ; then bend down the shoot to the surface of the bed, and secure it with one of your little pegs ; then cover it with soil from the basket, leaving the ends of the shoots only free, and the operation is complete. Where several shoots are layered on the same plant or " stool," the earthing-up process may be left until the slitting and pegging operations are finished. When layering is performed early — say in July — the plants (layers) become well rooted and ready for potting off or plant- ing out before winter. Shortening the tuft of leaves serves no useful purpose except that it enables the cultivator to see the future growth of the layered branch, and so judge of the root formation going on below the soil. Pipings or Cuttings. — This method of propagation is gene- rally adopted for " Tree Carnations," now so largely cultivated as cool greenhouse plants in most gardens, as well as for the ordinary varieties of Cloves, Picotees, and Pinks. In Messrs Low's nursery at Clapton, where hundreds of Tree Carnations are propagated every year, the common practice is to pull off the ends of the shoots and insert them at once in pans of light earth, sand, and leaf-mould, placed in a moist atmosphere on a gentle bottom-heat ; and, so treated, failures are very rare. Hardy Pinks and Carnations may be treated in the same way, or the shoots may be cut below the third or fourth joint with a sharp knife. Have ready pans of light compost, well drained and covered with a layer of sand, into which prick the cuttings, THE CARNATION FAMILY. 235 or pipings as they are technically called, after which settle the sand and earth about them by watering through a fine-rosed can, afterwards placing the pans on a gentle bottom-heat of 5o°-6o.° in an ordinary pit or frame. Pipings put in on a layer of sand on a shaded open border and covered with a common hand-glass strike well, although not so quickly as those on bottom-heat. Pipings or cuttings may be taken off in July or August. Pinks are ready still earlier. The Sweet- William (D. barbatus) has been much improved of late years, and is among Pinks what the Auricula is among the Primroses, its flowers being borne in globose heads. It bears seeds very abundantly without artificial fecundation, and these, if saved from a good strain, give excellent results. This plant is also readily propagated either from cuttings in June or July, or by division in autumn or spring. Cuttings strike freely in a cool shady border covered with a common hand-light. The Sweet-William is supposed to have originated from D. pseud- armeria, a hardy, purple-flowered perennial, native of dry stony places in Tauria (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 2288). Many of the Alpine Pinks or hardy mountain species of Dianthus seed freely, and the seeds grow well sown in pans of moist peat and loam, mixed with grit and lumps of sandstone. A cool shaded frame suits them best. The quickest and readiest plan of pro- pagating nearly all the hardy species is, however, by careful division, either in spring or immediately after flowering. To get the Sweet- William in fine form, fresh seedlings should be raised every year : the seed should be sown in the open ground thinly, early in May ; by so doing it germinates rapidly under the influence of the summer's increasing heat, and compara- tively large plants are thus ready for planting out in the autumn. If, however, the seed be sown in a box or pan, or in any con- fined space, the seedlings should be planted out into some vacant piece of ground as soon as they are large enough to be moved with safety, and then they may be transferred to their permanent places at leisure in autumn. Diant/ms barbato-superbus is cited by Dr Clos (see ' Belgique Horticole,' 1873, P- 254) as a hybrid between Dianthus super- bus and the Sweet- William ; and the Montpellier Pink (D. monspessulanus) and the Chinese Pink (D. sinensis] have also produced hybrid offspring in Continental gardens. Hybrids have also been produced between D. Seguierii and D. monspes- sulanus; and the common Sweet-William and the old Clove Pink cross pretty freely. By crossing D. (sinensis) Heddewigii with some of the Clove Pinks, Sweet- Williams, or with some of the beautiful Alpine species, we might originate new races of 236 GENERAL REVIEW. florists' varieties and very desirable ornamental plants. It has often been thought that the relative size of the pollen-grains determined to some extent the degree of facility with which hybrids in the same genus might be produced ; and Gaertner, in alluding to this subject, remarks that the pollen of D. caryo- phyllus fructifies D. superbus, although the pollen of the latter is much smaller than that of the former ; but he adds that D. barbatus and caryophyllus unite imperfectly, whereas D. bar- bato-sinensis easily hybridises with D. caryophyllus $ , D. sinensis being in this case the intermediate member. It was observed before that the difference of the number of seeds is proportionate to the degree of elective affinity. Gsertner avails himself of this as a means of estimating this degree in the several species. It may not be uninteresting to give a table of the affinities of a single species, though we can- not enter upon various questions which arise as to the propriety of this mode of estimation. Taking, therefore, normal impreg- nation as unity, we have — ? Dianthus barbatus y cuttings of the partially-hardened young wood in bottom-heat, or by seeds sown in a temperature of 7o°-8o° : Coprosma, Ceph- aelis (Ipecacuanha), Coffea, Pavetta, Ixora, Nertera, Pentas, Rondolelia, Bouvardia, Liiciilia, Cinchona, Higginsia, Coccosyp- selum, Randia, Gardenia, Musscznda, Burchellia, and many others. Bouvardia. — A genus of dwarf-growing and free-blooming Mexican shrubs, much grown in gardens for cut flowers during winter. B. triphylla, a scarlet -flowered, summer-blooming plant, was the first species introduced to this country, having been cultivated since 1794; and this was followed by B. ver si- color (1814), B. longiflora (1827), B. splendens (1834), and B. angustifolia (1838). All the species or varieties are readily propagated by inserting herbaceous or partly-hardened cuttings of the young growth in spring, or by cutting the thicker portions of the roots into lengths of an inch, and sowing them in pans of light earth like seeds. Placed on a genial bottom-heat of 70°- 80°, they soon emit roots and develop adventitious buds. Seeds are readily obtainable from well-grown plants ; but this method is rarely worth adopting, unless the object is to raise new and improved varieties, in which case the flowers must be carefully hybridised. Mr Baird of the Wellington Nursery, a skilful hybridist, gives the following history of the hybrids and sports raised in this genus : "In 1855, the late Mr Parsons, of Brighton, was very successful in raising some beautiful hybrids between B. longi- flora and B. leiantha, using the latter as the male and the former as the female parent. The following four were in com- merce in 1857 — viz., Rosalinda, Laura, Oriana, and Hogarth. Of these the last is by far the best, being bright scarlet. Laura is at times inclined to sport in colour ; for example, last year I had flowers of it the exact counterpart of those of Hogarth ; while some trusses of others have been pink, scarlet, and other shades of these colours. In 1869, a very fine sport from B. Hogarth, named B. elegans, was imported from America — a remarkably robust and free-growing kind, its trusses and individual florets being nearly double the size of those of Hogarth, while in colour it is bright scarlet. In the autumn of the year just named both Hogarth and B. longiflora were crossed with B. jasminiflora, and from the former was obtained Queen of Roses, the first Bouvardia with coloured flowers that were sweet-scented. In THE PERUVIAN BARK FAMILY. 239 1871 I had both B. Humboldtii and B. jasminiflora in bloom. I therefore crossed B. jasminiflora with the pollen of B. Hum- boldtii, and the result was about twenty seedlings, from among which the two following were selected for distribution in 1873 — viz., B. Humboldtii corymbiflora and B. jasminiflora longi- petala. I also, at the same time, fertilised B. elegans with B. jasminiflora, the result being umbellata carnea, umbellata alba, and candidissima, all of which were good, and were sent out in 1873. B' longiflora flammea, also obtained from this cross, is one of the very brightest of its colour, which is salmon-tinted scarlet ; but occasionally some of its petals will sport to pink, especially if grown in too cool a temperature. From the cross just named was also obtained B. Bridal Wreath, a fine hybrid, having the vigorous branching habit of B. jasminiflora, with finer flowers and much larger trusses ; likewise B. alba odorata, a dwarf, compact kind, with flowers of great substance in the form of very short tubes, and, as the name implies, very odor- ous. The flowers, too, are very persistent, often remaining on the plant till quite dead ; they are of pearly whiteness, resem- bling white marble. The four varieties just described were 'sent out' in 1872. In that year B. Davisonii, a beautiful white sport from Hogarth, and exactly like it in growth, was introduced from America. B. Maiden Blush, a soft, rosy, blush sport from B. Davisonii, was obtained in 1873, and sent out the year following. B. bicolor, a seedling from B. flava, crossed with B. elegans, has a habit like that of the latter, and very distinct-looking purple flowers with rosy-pink lobes, slightly tipped with white, and a centre or eye also of that colour ; this variety was sent out in 1874." B. jasminiflora flavescens is a hybrid raised by M. V. Lemoine of Nancy, and sent out in 1875. It is a seedling from B. jasminiflora fertilised with pollen of B. flava, and bears clear canary-yellow flowers in umbels like those of the seed parent. Bud-variation is of very frequent occurrence in the case of Bouvardias, and, as one would naturally expect, it is rarely observable except in hybrid or cross-bred seedling forms, and then the dissociation of the hybrid or mixed characters is often only partial ; and the result of this is a new variety, different from the hybrid and its two parents. The following lucid remarks on this subject are from the 'Social Science Review' for 1872: "Any plant produced from seed requiring for its development the contact of the pollen-tube with the ovule or germinal vesicle, must be held to have mixed characters, and more markedly so in the case of unisexual flowers, either monoecious or dioecious. From this point of 240 GENERAL REVIEW. view a case lately recorded by Mr Meehan becomes very sig- nificant. That gentleman relates that he obtained cuttings from Bouvardia.leiantha, a dioecious plant, producing its male and female flowers on different individuals. It is not stated whether the cuttings were taken from a male or female plant ; but it is stated that some of these cuttings produced male, others female, plants, and yet all were taken from a plant of one sex only. So, too, it is well known that certain unisexual trees will in some seasons produce male flowers only, in other seasons female flowers only, and vice versa. But dissociation of mixed characters will not account for all the cases of bud- variation. Very often we have no evidence at all of previous hybridisation or crossing ; or even when such has existed, the form produced is not like that of either of the supposed pro- genitors. Such cases as the Fern-leaved Beech do not seem' explicable by either hypothesis. The Sugar-cane, which rarely if ever flowers, and hence offers no opportunity for hybridisa- tion, nevertheless produces new varieties by means of bud- variation. Potato-tubers, again, vary greatly often on the same plant, but these may be the result of former crossing. A case related by Mr Meehan, in the Sweet Potato {Convolvulus batatas), is, however, not open to this objection. The plant in question, it appears, never flowers in the Northern States of America, and yet it has been known to produce tubers of two distinct varieties — the ' Red Bermuda ' and the ' White Bra- zilian ' — on the same root." Cephaelis. — A genus of Brazilian plants represented in our botanic gardens by C. ipecacuanha, a medicinal shrub; and, like Cinchona, to which it is botanically related, it may prove to be a valuable plant, well worth culture in some parts of N. India. Its properties are emetic, and it acts on the skin and bronchial passages. Propagated by cuttings in a high moist temperature, or by girdling the branches and surrounding the cut parts with soil or damp moss. As it is a plant of extremely slow growth, it cannot be increased in quantity by either of these methods ; and Mr M'Nab, of the Edinburgh Botanic Garden, very cleverly succeeded in propagating the plant from pieces of its charac- teristic necklace-like or annulated roots, which he took from the established plant in August, and cut them into transverse sections, after which they were placed in a horizontal position in a prepared cutting-pot. Placed on a genial bottom-heat, covered with a bell-glass, and occasionally sprinkled with tepid water, these root-cuttings produced roots and leaf-buds in a few weeks, and the result was a batch of fresh healthy young plants, without any injury to the plant from which the pieces of THE PERUVIAN BARK FAMILY. 241 moniliform roots were taken. The plants raised were sent out to India, and arrived in excellent condition, and it is now plenti- ful, and may prove second only to the Cinchona in medical im- portance. Facts like these speak volumes in favour of skilful propagation. A new method of propagating Ipecacuanha has been devised in India by Mr Jaffray, and promises to be of great value. It simply consists in striking the leaves up- right in pots. These produce roots, and the most superficial of these eventually produce buds. It is possible that this and many other rare and valuable plants might be readily imported in quantity by bringing over the roots or rhizomes in ,cases of moist earth. This plan of importation is worth more attention in the case of such thick-rooted plants as do not readily pro- duce fertile seeds, or which produce seeds which only germinate when sown directly they are ripe, as in the case of the Mango and other plants. Cinchona (Peruvian Barks). — A highly important group of Peruvian plants, of late years much cultivated at Darjeeling, on the Neilgherries, and other hill stations in India, where the extract of Peruvian Bark or Quinine is especially valuable as a febrifuge and tonic to European residents. The most valuable kinds appear to be C. micrantha, C. succirubra, C. Calisaya, C. officinalis, and their varieties Bonplandiana, Uritusinga, and many others. Cinchonas are readily propagated from cuttings of the partially-hardened young growth, or grafting such cut- tings on bits of root in a genial bottom-heat is also successful. Imported seeds germinate readily in heat. In their native country (Peru), and also in the Indian Cinchona plantations, nearly all the species seed freely, and many accidental hybrids are said to have originated in cultivation where the different kinds are mixed in the same plantation. From an interesting paper in the ' Journal of the Linnsean Society,' 1870, p. 475, we learn that the Cinchonae have long been known to produce dimorphic flowers; and this is well known to the Peruvian Spaniards, by whom the plants are named macho or hembra, according as the male or female blossoms are prominent on the branches of any single tree. This dimorphism seems to be a special provision to secure cross - fertilisation, as has been shown by Darwin and other observers in the parallel cases of Primula, Oxalis, and many other plants. In the Cinchona plantations of Madras, nearly all the most valuable kinds are grown together ; they fruit freely, and numerous seedlings are raised to supply vacancies. Among these seedlings, the author of the paper above cited (J. Broughton, F.C.S.) noted a plant of great beauty which had the general habit and luxuriance Q 242 GENERAL REVIEW. of C. sucrirubra with the lovely purple tints and velvety appear- ance characteristic of the " Grey Barks." On analysis, its bark — which was lighter in colour than that of C. succirubra — yielded 1.45 per cent of nearly pure cinchonine, instead of about 3.00 per cent of alkaloid — mainly consisting of quinine and cinch onidine, as in C. succirubra of the same age. This plant was picked up under a tree of C. micrantha as a natural seed- ling, while close by were trees of C. sucrirubra, which flower at the same time. Another supposed hybrid variety was found Fruiting branch and flowers of Cinchona Calisaya. intermediate between the last-named species and C. offirinalis. Other varieties are appearing among the seedling trees, and these are either hybrids or cases of extreme seminal variation, some twenty of them being quite distinct from the earlier intro- duced kinds. Some of the Indian plantations were stocked by plants raised on the spot from imported seeds ; and bearing in mind the dimorphic character of the flowers, it is possible the seeds of these might have been cross-fertilised with pollen from other allied forms in their native woods. The different species THE PERUVIAN BARK FAMILY. 243 are found to yield extracts varying in quality; and possibly sys- tematic cross-fertilisation or grafting might be the means of improving or augmenting the valuable principles secreted by these plants. Coffea. — The most useful and interesting plant in this genus is C. arabica, from the two-seeded berries of which coffee is prepared by roasting and grinding. This plant is a native of Abyssinia, whence it was long ago introduced to Arabia by the Arabs, and cultivated in Yemen ; and for two centuries Arabia supplied all the coffee in commerce. About the end of the seventeenth century the Dutch succeeded in transporting it to Batavia, whence a solitary plant found its 'way to the Botanic Garden at Amsterdam, and in 1714 a plant was given to Louis XIV. It is a disputed point whether the French or the Dutch first introduced it to the western hemisphere. One account says the French introduced the culture of this plant into Martinique in 1717, while another historian asserts that the Dutch had previously taken it to Surinam. In either case, it is certain that we are indebted to the progeny of the solitary specimen which had been propagated from the Amster- dam garden for all the coffee now brought from Brazil and the W. Indies. This is, however, only one instance in which in- telligent propagation in our botanic gardens at home has bene- fited the colonies to an almost incredible extent. Kew has been the intermediate resting-place for most of the Cinchona plants introduced by that indefatigable traveller, Mr R. Cross, from Peru to India ; while in the Edinburgh Botanic Garden the Ipecacuanha plant ( Cephaelis] has been increased for ex- port to India in a very intelligent manner ; and at the time I write, Mr Bull has a fine batch of seedlings of Liberian coffee, which has a larger berry, and is said to be otherwise superior to the ordinary kind. Coffee is readily propagated by sowing the seeds or berries in a genial bottom -heat of 7o°-8o°. Cuttings will root in a close case, but not so quickly as if grafted on thick bits of root well furnished with fibres at the lower end. Wherever this shrub is largely grown, seed is the method generally adopted. Gardenia (Cape Jasmine). — A favourite genus of West Indian and African flowering stove - shrubs, represented in our gardens by G. radicans, G. florida, G. intermedia, G. Stanleyana, G. citriodora, and one or two others, the double- flowered .forms of G. radicans and G. florida being most generally grown for the sake of their pure-white deliciously- perfumed flowers. All the species are readily propagated by cuttings of the ripened wood, or by herbaceous cuttings in 244 GENERAL REVIEW. spring. Seed may be obtained from well-grown plants of the single - flowered kinds, but cross - fertilisation is necessary. Imported seeds may be sown in light sandy soil in a bottom- heat of 70° to 80°; but if the object is merely to reproduce the plants, then cuttings are in every way preferable. Small flowering-plants of G. radicans, G. florida, or G. Fortunei may easily be obtained by taking off the branches of a large plant after the flower-buds are set, and striking them separately in small pots, in the gentle bottom-heat of a close propagating case. Every branch will root readily in a week or two, and they may then be removed to a warm stove, and placed near the light to open their flowers. Ixora. — A showy genus of stove - shrubs, principally E. Indian, readily propagated by cuttings of the young wood inserted in sandy soil, and plunged in a bottom-heat of 70° to 80°. Seeds may be obtained from nearly all the species by fertilising the flowers, although not unfrequently seeds are produced without artificial assistance. Mr Fraser of Lea Bridge has raised some very beautiful orange-flowered varieties from seed, /. Fraseri (1874) being one of the best. Messrs Cole & Son, Withington, Cheshire, also raised a fine pure white-flowered hybrid (/. alba x I. cocdnea) a few years ago, which was distributed in English gardens under the name of /. Colei (1870). There seems every reason to believe that this genus will be much improved, as seedling plants vary much in habit and colour. /. Williamsii, I. amabilis (L floribunda-nana), and /. Prince of Orange, are also seminal varieties, raised about 1873-74 by Mr Fraser. In speaking of these new varieties, the ' Florist ' says : " It is something new to treat the Ixora as an annual. Nevertheless, Mr Fraser gets seedlings to bloom freely at about one year old, the plants yielding many new tints of colour, no two coming exactly alike. This method of growing dwarf, bushy, free-flowering examples of the Ixora, is worthy of adoption in establishments where plants of this kind are in demand for decorative or for market purposes." Ixora coccinea was introduced in 1690, but having been lost it was again propagated from imported seeds in 1775 (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 169). Ixoras maybe grafted in a warm humid case with facility, either by whip, splice, or veneer grafting, and this plan is very useful in renovating exhibition specimens. Rogeria. — A small gr'oup of herbaceous plants or shrubs, represented in our gardens by Rogeria gratissima and one or two other less well known species, principally natives of the African continent. Rogeria may be propagated either by THE SPIDER-WORT AND ASTER FAMILIES. 245 seeds or by cuttings of the young growth in heat. R. hybrids is a garden hybrid obtained in Belgian gardens, sent out by Mr W. Bull, and useful for the sake of its pink fragrant flowers. Parents not precisely known. THE SPIDER- WORT FAMILY (Commelynacece). A small family of erect or scandent and mostly evergreen tropical herbs, represented in our gardens by various species of Tradescantia, Commelyna, Cyanotis and Dichorisandra. The hermaphrodite, triquetrous flowers are commonly white, blue, or purple in colour, and are generally distinguishable by the beautiful silky hairs which clothe the filaments. They are chiefly natives of the East and West Indies, New Holland, and Africa, a few occurring in North America, but none in Europe or North Asia. They are readily multiplied by seeds whenever obtainable, and these should be sown as soon as ripe on pans of well-pressed light sandy compost, after which cover with a green pane of glass or a sheet of brown paper, and place on a gentle bottom- heat to germinate. Division is practicable in the case of Tradescantias and Dichorisandras, while cuttings of the young and partially - hardened growth root freely in a close case. The hardy Spider -worts are readily multiplied by careful division. THE ASTER FAMILY (Composite). The largest of all the great orders into which botanists divide plants, nearly 9000 species being known, and these are distributed over nearly the whole surface of the earth. It is interesting to observe the curious structure and growth of the bilobed style in nearly all Composites. If the disc- florets of a single Dahlia (see fig. p. 254) or a Daisy be examined, it will be seen that the five anthers are syngenesious — that is, joined together at their margins in such a manner as to form a short tube ; and owing to the slower or later development of the style, it is concealed below these anthers until they are ready to discharge their pollen, and just at this time it com- mences its upward growth through the tubes formed by the anthers, its two lobes being firmly adpressed so as to prevent any pollen lodging on their inner faces (stigmatic surface). The top of the style thus presents a knobbed or club-shaped appear- ance, and is set with stiff, sub-erect, short hairs or bristles, the 246 GENERAL REVIEW. apparent use of which is to brush the pollen from the introrse anther-cells, and to carry it upwards out of the flower-tube, after which it is blown by the wind or carried by insects on to the receptive stigmas of the older outer flowers of the same disc, while the stigmas which have thus assisted their older brethren are themselves fertilised in like manner by the development of the inner flowers. A close examination of a Daisy or Sun-flower, or any other single-flowered Composite, will show the process going on in "all its stages. Some plants which bear their flowers in spikes also develop the sexual organs in each flower unequally, the anthers shedding their pollen before their attendant stigma is receptive, so that it is left to be fertilised by the pollen which falls or is carried by insects from flowers higher up the spike (see Agave). Many Composites are naturally hybridised, as is shown in the genus Carduus ; and in gardens we have hybrid races of Zinnias, while the cross-bred and seminal forms of Dahlia, Chrysan- themum, and Aster are innumerable. Here again we see that the flowers of Composites, although hermaphrodite and arranged contiguously, are practically monoecious ; and wherever this is the case with hermaphrodites, as a rule we find hybridism to be comparatively easy. This order affords many ornamental plants, especially annual and herbaceous Asters, Chrysan- themums, Zinnias, Marigolds, &c.; while from a culinary point of view the- order is interesting, as affording such plants as Artichokes, Lettuce, Salsify, Scorzonera, Skirrets, Endive, Succory, and other vegetables. Many species are used medicinally, as the common Chamomile ; and some few are acrid or poisonous. Perhaps no order is more productive of perfect seeds than this, if we except Graminecz (grasses and cereals), and this has doubtless enabled them to increase and multiply to the present enormous extent. There is scarcely a single species which cannot be readily increased by seeds sown either as soon as ripe or in the spring. Those which do not seed or rather flower freely, may be propagated by cuttings or division. The woolly-leaved Composites are best and most readily multiplied from seeds : if cuttings have to be resorted to, however, insert them in a dry medium, and place them on an airy shelf fully exposed to the sun, as they are apt to damp off, as is well known to be the case with the silvery- leaved Centaureas of the C. (ragnsind) candidissima group. The same remark applies to the fleshy-leaved or succulent species, such as Kleinia, Othonna, Mikania, Senecio, Mesembryanthemum, and others. One of the most beautiful Composite plants we have seen for the purpose of table decora- THE ASTER FAMILY. 247 tion is a hybrid Sonchus, raised between Sonchus laciniatus and S. gummifer, in the garden of W. Wilson Saunders, Esq. These Sonchuses, grown to a single stem, and furnished down to the pot with their elegantly-cut drooping leaves, which are almost transparent under artificial light, form admirable objects for the purpose above mentioned. Ageratum. — A genus of South American Composites, the best known species being A. mexicanum, which has been exten- sively employed as a pale-blue or lavender-coloured bedding plant. Cuttings of the young shoots strike freely in heat, either in spring or autumn. Seed is frequently produced, especially on pot-plants grown indoors, and it germinates readily treated like Cineraria. Several dwarf-growing varieties have been obtained from seeds or sports. Asters. — A large genus of herbaceous plants, popularly known as " Michaelmas Daisies," and very ornamental during the late autumn months. The most showy kinds are A. novcE-anglice, and its rosy and purple flowered varieties, A. cassiarabicus, A. turbinellus, and A. versicolor. There are few late-flowering hardy plants which would repay a little extra trouble and attention on the part of the hybridiser better than these. One of the best of all the late-flowering species is the white and lilac flowered A. versicolor — a fresh small plant, little over a foot in height, and yet as showy in its way as the large- growing kinds, some of which attain a height of from six to eight feet in deep rich soils. To obtain ripe seed from the very late kinds, it would be necessary to pot them, and remove them to a dry sunny greenhouse ; and as a compact-habited seed- bearing parent, A. versicolor would undoubtedly be the best dwarf kind. This might be crossed reciprocally with A. nova- anglicz, and its varieties pulchellus or roseus or A. turbinellus ; and the result, if we mistake not, would be a hybrid race far better and more ornamental than nine-tenths of the species or forms now grown. Indeed it is questionable whether this plant would not rival the Chrysanthemum in a few years as a pot-plant for winter-flowering, if cross-breeding were intelligently carried out. Even seeds, collected from the best forms, might produce many improved varieties, for these flowers are much visited during sunny weather by bees, flies, and other insects, and doubtless cross-fecundation is, through these, accidentally effected. At any rate, here is an open field for some intelligent cross-breeder to try experiments, which may be easily con- ducted, even by a beginner. Two or three hundred kinds from North America, China, and North India are named in books as species, but most of these 248 GENERAL REVIEW. are merely natural seminal varieties. They all seed freely, and are readily propagated by cuttings of the young growth during the summer months, inserted in pans and placed in a close frame, or pricked into a thin layer of sand on a north border and covered with a hand-light. The China Aster is A. (Calli- stemma) hortensis, and is readily multiplied from spring-sown seeds in heat, planting out after all danger from frost is past. There are two distinct strains or races; the " French," in which ray florets only are developed — and the " German," or "Quilled," in which the florets of the disc form a rounded, cushion-like mass. The late Mr Betteridge, a well-known florist, improved the " Quilled " varieties considerably. Chrysanthemum. — A well-known and beautiful genus of decorative plants^ introduced to this country from China, where they have long been cultivated, as also in Japan, whence Mr Fortune introduced the long-quilled Japanese varieties now so popular. Two species — C. leucanthemum, the " Ox-eye Daisy " of our meadows, and C. segetum, or "Corn Marigold" — are common weeds in this country. The Chrysanthemum, C. indi- cum (or Pyrethrum sinense of some botanists), was much im- proved by the late Mr Salter of the Versailles Nursery, Ham- mersmith, as also by Mr Forsyth of Stoke Newington, and other cultivators. There are three or four sections, as " Large- flowered," "Small-flowered," "Anemone-flowered," and "Ja- panese." Several other species have been introduced, as ,C. grandiflorum from the Canaries, C. pinnatifidum from Madeira, C. fruticosum, with elegantly-cut glaucous foliage and white daisy-like flowers, and others ; and it is a little singular that hybridisers should never have effected a cross between some of these and the Chinese or Indian species. The original form of C. indicum does not appear to be grown in our gardens ; but the Chinese and Japanese have doubtless grown and improved its varieties for ages before we obtained some of their garden forms. Naturally the Chrysanthenum has a leggy habit, and is apt to become bare at the bottom ; and although we can over- come these drawbacks by a systematic course of good culture, it is none the less desirable that a cross should be effected between this and some better-habited plant. Cuttings taken off in spring strike readily in a close frame, or even in the open air in May, if inserted on a shady border and covered with a hand-glass. Chinese gardeners graft some Chrysanthemums on a species of Artemisia as a stock ; and, so treated, they are said to grow more vigorously and flower better than on their own roots. It would be interesting to know the exact species of Artemisia employed; but doubtless some of the strong- THE ASTER FAMILY. 249 growing species known to us would answer equally well. Seeds, as in the case of Dahlias, should be saved from plants from which the flowers have been thinned. A dry sunny plant- house is best in which to grow the seed-bearing plants, as of all flowers this is most apt to suffer from dampness in the atmosphere. Seeds should be sown in February in pans of light earth, covered with a pane or bell-glass, and placed in a genial heat of about 65°. Like most other Composite seeds, they germi- nate readily, and should then be placed on a shelf near the light. Prick off into pans an inch or more apart, as soon as they can be handled ; and if afterwards potted in well-manured sandy loam, and placed in the open air in June, they will flower the first year. Cineraria. — A genus of winter and spring blooming de- corative plants, which have long been popular in our gardens. Hybrid Cinerarias. Cineraria cruenta (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 406) was introduced from the Canaries in 1777, and from this plant we may date our greenhouse Cinerarias, it having been the parent together with 250 GENERAL REVIEW. C. aurita, an old slender-habited plant like a purple Groundsel (see ; Bot. Mag.,' t. 1786). C. lanata is a large-flowered rosy species from Africa (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 53), and is doubtless one of the parents of our present cross-bred races. Cinerarias are readily propagated by seeds, which germinate very freely, and self-sown seedlings often appear abundantly on the pot-tops. Seedlings of excellent quality may be perpetuated from offsets. Several species of Cineraria have yellow flowers ; and a race of golden-blossomed hybrids of neat habit .would be invaluable for contrasting with the purple, rosy, blue, or white kinds. Double-flowered Cinerarias were introduced to our gardens from Germany in 1874, and Mr Moore thus alludes to them in the ' Florist : ' " Double-flowered Cinerarias are not absolute novelties, for we remember having seen exhibited in London, in 1 86 1, by Mr Kendall of Stoke Newington, a variety called C. rosea plena, to which a commendation was then awarded, and which was a very pretty, compact-growing, double flowered variety, with the flower-heads of a magenta rose. Whether that was lost or not, or did not perpetuate itself, we do not know, but it was not seen again in public ; nor has a double-flowered Cineraria appeared since that time, so far as we are aware, till this year (1874)." Dahlia (Georgina). — A well-known genus represented in our gardens by the varieties of two Mexican species — D.frnstranea and D. superflua. A correspondent of the ' Garden' (1874) gives the following interesting history of the Dahlia : " The first mention of the plants occurs in Hernandez, who published a history of Mexico in 1651, and who figured two separate species. Menonville, who was employed by the French minister to steal the cochineal insect from the Spaniards, was the second to notice its exist- ence. The first scientific description was given by the Abbe Cavanilles from a specimen which flowered at Madrid in 1790, who named the plant after his friend Andrew Dahl, the Swedish botanist. The Dahlia was sent to Europe from the Botanic Gardens of Mexico to the Royal Gardens, Madrid, where it first flowered in 1789, from whence it was introduced to Eng- land by the Marchioness of Bute in the same year ; but this single plant speedily perished, and it did not again appear in this country till the old single variety cocdnea was flowered by Eraser, at Chelsea, in 1803, and figured in Curtis's ' Botanical Magazine,' plate 762. This plant also perished. Meantime Cavanilles sent specimens of the three varieties then known to the Jardin des Plantes, in 1802, where they were successfully cultivated; and numerous varieties were produced in France THE ASTER FAMILY. 251 between that date and 1814, when, on the return of peace, the improved flower created a great sensation among English visi- tors to Paris, which led to large importations of the root during the ensuing winter. Lady Holland sent seeds, not roots, from Madrid in May 1804. The first plant flowered at Holland House in September following, and was figured in Andrews's ' Botany.' The seeds ripened in 1805, and were generally dis- tributed in 1806. The original plants at Madrid do not appear to have yielded many varieties — not more than three are men- tioned. Humboldt, however, who found the plant growing in sandy meadows 5000 feet above the sea, sent home fresh seed from Mexico in 1804 to Paris and Berlin, from which the numerous varieties subsequently obtained were derived. The first double flower was produced at Berlin in 1809; and even so late as 1818 Sabine was told of a double white, but 'doubted its existence.' It is interesting to remark that De Candolle expressed his opinion that we should never see a blue Dahlia, on the ground that blue and yellow, being the fundamental types of colour in flowers, mutually exclude each other." There is a race of very pretty little small-flowered or Pompon varieties, and some of the small single-flowered scarlet varieties are very beautiful. D. imperialis (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 5813), a large tall-growing species, was introduced to this country about 1867-68, and first bloomed in the Royal Horticultural Society's Gardens at Chiswick in 1869-70. Nearly all the species and varieties are tuberous-rooted, and are readily propagated by herbaceous cuttings, division, or by herbaceous grafting on tubers of common kinds. Old tubers placed in a genial bottom-heat in spring yield plenty of cuttings, which, when taken off with a heel in February or March, when 4 or 5 inches in length, root freely. They may be potted in any light com- post, and should be plunged in a bottom-heat of 75° or 80°. When well rooted they should be hardened off preparatory to planting out after all danger from frost is over. Grafting is useful where it is desirable to give seedlings or delicate varie- ties a good start by working them on a rooted piece of the tuber of some common variety. A slice of the fleshy bark is taken off each side of the cutting-like scion or graft, and a corresponding slit or cleft having been made in the stock, the two are fitted together as shown in the illustration on next page ; and, after being firmly bound, the two are potted in warm soil, and plunged in a gentle bottom-heat, until a union is effected. The lower point or heel of the scion is left exposed, and not unfrequently emits roots itself, after a union with the stock has been effected. D. imperialis was grafted by the late Mr 252 GENERAL REVIEW. Salter on some of the small-growing varieties ; and this stock had a dwarfing effect, the plants so treated having flowered in a much smaller state than others grown on their own roots. New varieties are only to be obtained from seeds saved from good sorts. The following is Mr Keynes's advice, as given in the ' Gardeners' Chronicle,' October 16, 1875, p. 495 : " Towards the end of summer, when the raisers of seed- ling Dahlias are turning their attention to the harvesting of seed, it is well to recall a caution given some years ago, that Dahlia Grafting. ' so surely as the grower leaves many blooms on a plant, so surely will those blooms fail to produce seed.' The invariable rule is to cut the plants pretty much to pieces about the middle of September by freely thinning them out, for by this date the Dahlia shows are over. Only the buds that are coining into flower are left, and as an invariable rule these yield seed in abundance. It would appear that the earlier blooms of the Dahlia do not as a rule produce seed, and the moment (so states Mr Keynes) a plant begins to seed, its flowers cease to THE ASTER FAMILY. 253 be so perfect. Fine blooms and the production of seed cannot go together. The stoppage of growth in the plants by keeping them thinned out is said to largely determine the production of seed. At the middle of October, or when the season is so far advanced as to risk any danger from the frost, the seed-pods are cut away with a stem some 6 or 8 inches long, and the practice is to tie them up in bundles, a half-a-dozen or so to- gether, and hang them up in a dry loft or greenhouse, and use fire to finally dry the pods, should the weather be continuously damp and wet.* As soon as dry enough, the seeds are rubbed roughly out of the pod, put into paper bags, and hung up in a dry place, and cleaned at leisure for sowing in early spring." Sow the seeds in February in well-drained pots or pans of rich sandy earth in heat, and prick them off into pots when sufficiently large. After all danger from spring frosts is over, plant the young seedlings out in beds of light rich earth, where they will grow rapidly, and flower the first or second year. Select the best flowers, and throw away the bad ones, or keep the tubers for stocks on which to graft new kinds in the spring. Dahlia (Georgina) coccinea (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 762 ; see also t. 1885, a and b) appears to have been one of the first of the cultivated kinds, and bears single flowers of a bright scarlet colour, the disc-florets being golden yellow. This is now in cultivation as a showy border plant, and is supposed to be the original kind whence our improved florists' varieties were ob- tained; but there are scarcely any modern forms that at all approach it in brilliancy of colour, if we except " Charles Back- house." It flowers late in the autumn, seeds freely, produces a copious supply of potent pollen, and ought to be invaluable to the hybridiser in improving the colour of existing varieties. It is questionable whether this is a genuine species, for I find the florets of the ray very irregularly developed, some being quite sterile owing to the suppresssion of the stigmas, while in some flowers I find the stigmas partly normal and partly petal- oid. Hybrids between this brilliant old plant and D. imperialis, a tall-growing species, with snowy, long-petalled, bell-shaped flowers, ought to give a most gorgeous race of varieties quite distinct from those now in cultivation, and far more elegant in form and brilliant in colour, especially for conservatory decora- tion during winter, or for culture in the open air. Attention * The stems may be cut on the approach of frost, and placed in bottles of water in a warm, dry, and sunny vinery, where the seeds will ripen better than if left in the open air ; or, perhaps, flowering shoots when in bud might be rooted by circumvallation, or as cuttings, and removed to a dry sunny house to flower and ripen their seeds. 254 GENERAL REVIEW. Dahlia cocciuea. THE ASTER FAMILY. 255 ought to be paid to the Dahlia as an indoor plant, for which it would rival the Chrysanthemum, and its colours are much brighter. In the open air in our climate the Dahlia is cut down by the frost just as it attains its full perfection; but by striking cuttings, or grafting late in the season, we might obtain dwarf plants in pots for winter blooming in a sunny greenhouse, either for decorative, hybridising, or seed-saving purposes. A new species (D. grarilis), discovered in Mexico by M. Roezl in 1873, deserves the attention of the intelligent hybrid- iser. It appears that the brilliant single flowers are similar to those of D. coccinea; but the whole plant is much more elegant in habit, and has finely-cut foliage like Cosmos bipinnatus, not simply pinnate as in D. coccinea. It is to be sent out this year (1876) by M. Lemoine of Nancy. D. Decaisneana is another elegant species similar in habit to D. coccinea ; but the ray flowers are deep lilac-purple, with a yellow disc. To show the estimation in which new Dahlias of superior quality were held thirty years ago, we may remark that for the entire stock of a large-flowered, dark-shaded red variety raised by C. Sainsbury, Esq. of Swainswick, near Bath, Messrs W. G. Drummond of the same place paid the raiser 100 guineas. This variety was named " Beeswing," and was sent out in 1845 at half a guinea per plant. Lactuca. — A genus represented in our gardens by the numer- ous forms of Lettuce produced by culture, seminal variation, and selection. In 1874, M. Naudin obtained a hybrid be- tween Lactuca virosa and the cultivated variety of L. sativa known as the " Dutch Cos." " The hybrid of the first generation was fertile, and from its seeds issued a progeny exceedingly variable, but in which the characteristics of the two species were mixed in varying degrees. Twenty of these were reserved for future study. Of these twenty no two were alike. At the same time, while there was so much variation, so strange an intermixture of the characters of both parents, there was no new character produced — nothing which might not be met with in one or other of its parents. The variation, great as it was, was confined within limits which were never overstepped. If we may be permitted the compari- son, M. Naudin's protean Lettuces were like the coloured frag- ments in a kaleidoscope — never twice alike, although always consisting of the same elements." — See 'Gardeners' Chronicle,' 1875* P- 748. Senecio {Groundsels}. — A genus of free-growing annual or perennial plants, principally natives of temperate countries, and represented in our gardens by several species. S. elegans (see 256 GENERAL REVIEW. ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 238) is one of the oldest exotic species, and was introduced to our gardens about the year 1700, and its double- flowered variety is still occasionally grown as a flower-garden plant. It is a native of the Cape, and may be propagated from cuttings, or occasionally from seeds which are produced by semi-double-flowered individuals. S. mikanoides, or "German Ivy," is a fresh, green-leaved, scandent species, also from the Cape, and it is much used in North Europe and in America as a room or window ornament. S. macroglossus is also a Cape species, with glossy ivy-like foliage, and large eight-rayed pale- yellow flowers fully two inches in diameter (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 6149). By far the noblest species in cultivation, however, is Senecio pulcher (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 5959), which grows from two to four feet in height, bearing large purple-rayed flowers nearly three inches in diameter, each having a clear yellow disc. The intelligent hybridiser will do well to keep his attention fixed on this noble Composite, as seminal variation and superior culture may be potent enough to originate new forms of it, especially if aided by cross-fertilisation or hybridism. It is a half-hardy species from South Brazil, and flowers late in the autumn, just before the frosts. Grown in pots in a warm sunny greenhouse or conservatory, its flowers rival in size and brilliancy those of the Chrysanthemum. Root-cuttings grow freely. Tragopogon (Salsify). — A well-known genus of Composites, principally natives of Europe and the temperate parts of Asia. T. porrifolius is the common Salsify, a biennial, native of Eng- land and Europe. Readily propagated from seeds, this crop requires two years to complete its growth. Linnaeus obtained a hybrid ( T. hybriduni) between T. pratense and T. porrifolius in 1759. He fertilised the flowers of T. pratense with his own hand (after having emasculated its own flowers) with the pollen of T. porrifolius ; and from the seeds which resulted from this cross, T. hybridum was raised — this plant being intermediate, and bearing purple flowers, the florets being yellow at the base. Zinnia. — A showy genus of Mexican annuals, represented in our gardens by numerous forms of Z. elegans, and more recently by a hybrid race between Z. elegans and Z. Ghiesbreghtii, a yellow-flowered plant known in gardens under the names of Z. Haageana, Z. aurea, or Z. mexicana. All are readily propa- gated by seeds sown in heat in March, or in the open air in May. These plants have been much improved in French and German gardens. M. Leon Lille, Cours-Mourand a Lyon, hybridised Z. Ghiesbreghtii with pollen of Z. elegans in 1864, and the twenty or thirty fertile seeds obtained by this union produced about twenty plants, only one of which was- remark- THE PINE AND FIR FAMILY. 257 able. This was vigorous, of good habit, and bore a profusion of rich orange flowers, the ray florets tipped with scarlet. In habit and foliage this hybrid resembled the female parent, and the influence of the male parent was shown by the size and colour of the flowers. During the summer and autumn this new seedling flowered freely ; but only a few fertile seeds were obtainable, and these, sown in 1867, produced seventeen plants, all distinct from each other — some, however, resembling the male, and others the female parent. Four of these were very distinct, and more beautiful in form and colour than either parent, and these were selected as seed-bearers; and in 1868 a numerous progeny was obtained, and ten or twelve of the best are far superior to anything seen in this genus before, the flowers being large, finely shaped, and of variable and very beautiful colours. In 1875 Messrs Haage & Schmidt, the celebrated seed- growers of Erfurt, Prussia, sent out a new double hybrid Zinnia obtained by crossing the above-named species. This new hybrid is named Z. Darwinii, and four of the most distinct forms have been selected for distribution — viz., Z. Darwinii major, bearing large, double, self-coloured flowers, two inches across ; Z. Darwinii vittata, bearing striped flowers ; Z. Dar- winii, bearing double cone-shaped flowers ; and Z. pyramidalis vittata. In colour the flowers of all these varieties vary much, the principal shades being orange, yellow, scarlet, crimson, rosy-purple, white, yellow with white, purple, or crimson flakes, &c. This race is quite distinct from the numerous beautiful seminal forms of Z. elegans (see 'Gard. Chron.,' 1875, p. 782). THE PINE AND FIR FAMILY (Conifers). This is an important family of evergreen or deciduous trees, represented in northern or temperate countries by Abies (Firs), Pinus (Pines), Cedrus (Cedars), Juniperus (Juni- pers), Taxus (Yews), and others; while in Australasia and South America these hardy kinds are replaced by Araucaria, Eutassa, Dammara, Dacrydium, and Podocarpus. From an eco- nomic point of view many species are valuable as furnishing timber, resin, oil, pitch, and turpentine ; while as ornamental trees or shrubs they add considerable beauty to our garden landscapes. The fibres of coniferous woods are curiously pitted, and form interesting microscopic objects. Among the finest ornamental kinds found in gardens, we may name Abies 258 GENERAL REVIEW. Douglas ii, A. pinsapo, A. nobilis, Araucaria excels a, A. imbri- cata, Cedrus deodara, C. atlantica^ C. libani, Pinus picea, P. pinaster, P. longifolia, and many others ; Taxodium sempervirens, T. distichum, Wellingtonia gigantea, Salisburia adiantifolia, and very many others, all more or less beautiful. Conifers are readily multiplied by cuttings, layers, or seeds; while the golden or variegated forms of Taxus, Cupressus, Thujopsis, &c., are generally reproduced by grafting on stocks of their respective green-leaved or normal kinds. Seedlings form the best stocks, but where they are not handy, cuttings may be substituted. The common Larch (Larix europaa) forms a good stock for the Deodara and Cedar, as also does Cedrus atlantica. Every one who raises Conifers from either home-grown or imported seeds is well aware of the diversity of colour and habit which the seedling plants assume. This is particularly observable in Lawson's Cypress; but Abies, Wellingtonias, Araucarias, and Piceas show the variation in a scarcely less marked degree ; and many of the most beautiful forms of Yew, Abies, Cupressus, and Thuja have been originally either natural variations selected from the seed-bed, or sports perpetuated by grafting the variegated branches on a plant of the green or normal form of the species as a stock. Up to the present time, I believe I am right in saying that we have no hybrid Conifers — that is, no garden hybrids raised by artificial fertilisation ; for there can be but little doubt that Conifers, being mostly gre- garious and furnished with such ample supplies of easily-wafted pollen, are often cross-fertilised or even hybridised in a state of nature : and another point in favour of this cross-fertilising process having long taken place is, that imported seeds produce such a diversity of offspring. There appears to be no valid reason why we should not raise hybrid Coniferae in our gardens, now that we have so many fertile or cone-bearing specimens of the rarer and more beautiful kinds ; and I strongly urge those who have the opportunity, to make experiments in this direc- tion. By crossing the more beautiful and tender kinds with hardier species, we might obtain hardier races ; and if of addi- tional beauty of leafage or habit, so much the better. Again, some rare Conifers produce ample supplies of pollen before they bear fertile cones, and by using this pollen to fertilise older cone-bearing trees belonging to the same or an allied genus, good results might be obtained. No matter, however, whether success or failure is the result, the careful artificial fecundation and cross-fertilisation or hybridisation of Conifers is well worth attention from cultivators, as it appears to be as yet an untrodden path to horticulturists. THE PINE AND FIR FAMILY. 259 The fertilisation of Taxus and Cupressus is very interesting. It appears that a drop of clear mucilage is exuded from the orifice at the top of the ovule or young seed of these plants. The pollen-grains fall on to this mucilage, which retains them, and both mucilage and pollen -tubes are absorbed into the interior of the ovule. According to M. A. de Candolle, Vaucher long since pointed out this fact ; and his ' Histoire Physiologique des Plantes d'Europe' contains much valuable information of peculiar interest to the intelligent propagator and hybridiser. The Red Cedar (jfuniperus virgmiana] has several times been observed to have fertilised the female organs of the American Arborvitae (.Thuja occidentalis), the issue from which is that curious whipcord-branched plant called in gardens Thuja filiformis. This hybrid was produced for the first time accidentally in Messrs Loddige's nursery at Hackney, and has since been raised in a similar manner in French gardens (see 'Card. Chron.,' 1844, P- 587). Herbert remarks : " There is every reason to believe that Thuja and Cupressus have bred together ; and those who look to the small difference between them will become satisfied that they form two sections of one genus." Retinosporas come mostly from Japan ; but one or two of them, or what pass for such, are known to have originated from seed of the American Arborvitae. M. Carriere, in the ' Revue Horticole,' after a long study of them, comes to the conclusion that all the species of Retinospora fall into two series, and have been derived — one set from the American Arborvitae, the other from the Chinese or Japanese Arborvitae (Biota orientalis), The Fir-trees belong to a well-known family of graceful-hab- ited Conifers, very valuable in ornamental or landscape garden- ing, and useful as timber-trees, and as the source of turpentine in all its forms. All the kinds of Abies are best propagated by means of seed. The fully-matured cones should be gathered during the winter season, and exposed either to sun-heat or to the gentle warmth of an oven or kiln — this treatment being requisite in order to readily separate the seeds from the cones. The Firs give out their seeds very easily and quickly — much more readily than the Cluster and Stone Pines, which require the gentle application of heat for several weeks, or even months, ere their seeds can be separated from the close-scaled cones. The method of extracting the seeds from Cedar and other Coni- fer cones by splitting is tedious, and often injurious to the seeds. M. Delepine, of Angers, states that the plan he adopts is much simpler and better. About February the cones are buried at a 260 GENERAL REVIEW. depth of two feet underground in sand ; they remain thus for a month or two, after which the cones scale easily without force, and the seeds are then picked out and sown immediately, and being swelled, they germinate at once. In the case of all Coni- ferae., seeds undoubtedly afford the best mode of reproduction whenever they can be obtained ; but in the case of rare and new varieties, grafting and cuttings have perforce to be resorted to as auxiliary, and in some cases the quicker modes. The cones of Cedars are very resinous when newly gathered, and ought to be left a year before the seeds are separated, much of the resin having during that period passed away J3y evaporation. The following experiments on the germination of Conifer seeds were made by Mr J. Alexander, and are recorded in the * Transac- tions of the Scottish Arboricultural Society:' "In the year 1870, twenty cones were gathered from each of ten different trees, whose ages were approximately ascertained by counting the concentric circles in other trees felled beside them. The cones were carefully opened, and all the seeds of the ten diffe- rent sorts sown in separate beds, when the following was the result : — " The seeds of twenty cones from a tree 300 years old produced 10 plants. 250 .1 .1 13 u 200 ii u 50 u 150 ii n 74 n 125 n .. 106 ii 100 years old produced 196 plants. 50 n n 104 n 15 „ • „ 46 ,. IO u n 40 n It thus appears from these observations that cones should only be gathered from trees over 50 and under 125 years old." The same experiment was again tried in 1871 with other trees, when the result was much the same as in 1870. In a paper on " Gathering the Cones of Resinous Trees," printed in the 'Gardeners' Chronicle,' 1872, p. 1557, Mr Ellison maintains by illustrative examples that the premature gathering of the seed tends to weakness in the plants. Foreign seed, he remarks, from the native forests, is invaluable when imported in fresh-gathered cones, secured from the trees at the con- clusion of the alpine winter ; but is not worth having if they have been gathered prematurely. Curiously enough, other seeds have been found to be much improved if left on the plants all winter ; and this is notably the case with stock-seed. The latter end of March, if mild, or the beginning of April, is the best time to sow all Conifer seeds ; and it is an excellent plan to place the seeds in a bag and soak the bag in water, for a day or two, taking care to dry the seeds in the sun before THE PINE AND FIR FAMILY. 26 1 sowing. The rarer sorts are generally sown in pots, pans, or boxes of rich moist earth ; and the protection of a pit or frame is given them until they have advanced in growth sufficient to be pricked out in lines in the nursery-beds. The more common and hardier kinds are, however, sown at once in nursery or seed beds a yard or 4 feet in width. The richer and more friable the soil the better ; and the depth at which the drills should be drawn must be regulated by the size of the seeds, say from half an inch to i inch, which in the case of the larger and stronger kinds will be amply sufficient. If these seed-beds are sheltered by hedges of Yew, Juniper, Privet, or Beech, so much the better. The seedlings may be lifted about a year after they are sown, or in the April following, and pricked out in lines 6 or 8 inches apart, leaving a space of about an inch between each seedling plant ; and plants so treated will be found to have made considerably more progress than those left thickly in the seed-beds for two years, an old- fashioned plan still largely practised. As a rule, seedling Conifers should be lifted every year they are in the seed- beds, or until they are either sold or planted out in per- manent positions in the woods or pleasure-grounds. If seeds are not obtainable, the next best mode of propagating Conifers generally is by cuttings, which should be selected from the side shoots when the sap is in full motion. They should con- sist of last year's growth branchlets, say 4 to 6 inches in length, with a heel of the old wood, which causes them to root better. Retinospora, Taxus, Thujas, Thujopsis, Wellingtonia, Cedrus, Cephalotaxus, Cryptomeria, Dacrydium, Podocarpus, Cypress, Libocedrus, Torreya, and many other well-known Conifers, are readily multiplied by cuttings like those already described. The usual practice is to insert the cuttings or slips in pots, pans, or boxes of light sandy compost, and place them in a cool and shady frame at the back of a north wall or with a northern aspect. The more tender species and varieties, how- ever, strike quicker and with more certainty if pricked into pots of small crocks having about an inch of sandy soil at the top. These, if placed in a genial heat of 75° to 80°, will have emitted clusters of white fibrous roots in about a fortnight or three weeks; but they must be carefully hardened off and potted singly, after which they may be placed in a cold frame and finally planted out in the ordinary way. Seed is un- doubtedly the best method of propagating all Conifers when it is obtainable ; and cuttings are better, as a rule, than grafted specimens, as the latter often throw out lateral leaders instead of terminal or erect ones, and these spoil the symmetry of the 262 GENERAL REVIEW. specimen. Where the central leaders of Conifers do not start away freely, the- lateral branches, especially those which grow faster than their neighbours, should be shortened in about October. This throws fresh vigour into ' the leader and preserves the symmetry of the tree. Many propagators who bud Roses or graft fruit-trees with every success, flinch at operating on Conifers, and this without any apparent reason except that the plants are a little different in appearance ; and this mode of propagation is but rarely resorted to except in trade collections. All Conifers, if riot too resinous, may be grafted as easily as a Plum or a Pear. Scions or grafts are Conifer Graft (Films) prepared. selected from the last summer's growth, and are grafted on stocks of the same or nearly allied species all through the winter months in a genial heat, the stocks being seedlings or cuttings grown in . small pots for the purpose. Terminal grafting is practised in the spring, taking the scions from the tips of the main branches when in a herbaceous state. The scions may be i yz to 2 inches in length, and should be inserted on the apex of a seedling or rooted cutting of an allied hardier or less valuable species as a stock. This operation is best performed in a heated close case; or if in the open beds, THE PINE AND FIR FAMILY. 263 cloches must be used. If in the open air, however, the opera- tion must be deferred until the sap commences to move in the spring. Nearly all the species and varieties of Picea and Pinus are best propagated from grafts when seeds are not to be had. The Silver Fir, Abies (Picea} pectinata, is an excellent stock for all the finer varieties. The numerous species of Pinus grow well on stocks of the different types which they most nearly resemble. For example, those species and varieties which resemble the common Scotch Pine (Pinus sylvestris) Conifer Graft (Pinus) inserted. grow well on that species as a stock, but still better on P. austriaca ; while P, monticola or P. Lambertiana and their allies do better on P. excelsa or on the Weymouth Pine (P. strobus). P. Pinaster is a good stock for P. Lemoniana and allied kinds. Cupressus Lawsoniana, which is readily propa- gated from seed, and is of clean habit, forms an excellent stock for the dwarf, dense, or variegated forms of Lawson's Cypress. Keteleeria Fortunei, — This plant when first intro- duced bore female flowers only, but in 1875 male flowers were also borne on the original specimen in the possession of 264 GENERAL REVIEW. Messrs Rovelli of Pallanza, so we may now expect perfect seeds for the first time in Europe. Nearly all the Abies or Firs take kindly to the common Spruce as a stock ; while Biotas and Thujas, as a rule, succeed well on the Chinese Arborvitse. In the 'Revue Horticole/ 1867, M. Briot states that Libocedrus tetragona succeeds as a scion on Saxegothaa ; and its habit, in consequence, becomes changed into a wide- spreading head instead of forming a narrow cylindrical column. Chamcecyparis obtusa pygmcea, grafted on C. JBoursieri, grows erect; while if worked on Biota or Thuja, or if propagated from cuttings, the plants spread horizontally on the ground. Pseudolarix Kczmpferi is best propagated by grafting scions on its own roots, moderately thick pieces well furnished with fibres giving the best results. This mode might be used with advantage in the case of other rare Conifers which are difficult to propagate by cuttings. Salisburia being a dioecious Conifer, grafting here, as in the Aucuba, serves to unite the two sexes on the same plant, and thus insure its fertility. S. biloba, from cuttings or seed, forms a good stock — cleft-grafting in March in the open air, or side-grafting in August under glass, being alike successful. Grafting is largely practised in most of the trade collections of Coniferas, especially for the multiplication of variegated or distinct varieties of any species. Some cultivators object to grafted specimens of Coniferae ; but while acknowledging seedlings to be preferable as a rule, one cannot gainsay the evidence afforded by the fine grafted speci- mens worked by Mr Fowler at Castle Kennedy, and other well-known cultivators of these ornamental plants and trees. Stocks for Conifers. — The following list of Conifers will not only be of assistance to the propagator, but also shows the natural affinity of the best known types of Conifers at a glance : — Scions or Grafts. Stocks. Araucarias A. imbricata or A. excelsa. Cedar Cedrus atlantica or Larch. Chamaecyparis Thuja sinensis, T. canadensis, or T. occidentalis. Retinospora Biota orientalis or T. occidentalis. Thujopsis Biota orientalis or the last-named Thuja. Cryptomeria Cryptomeria japonica. Cypress Cupressus pyramidalis or Biota. Juniper Juniper virginiana. Salisburia Salisburia biloba from seed. Yew, variegated Yew seedlings, the Irish yew being preferable. Cephalotaxus Cephalotaxus. Torreya Torreya seedlings or cuttings. Libocedrus Thuja sinensis (seed). Larch European or American Larch (seed). THE PINE AND FIR FAMILY. 265 Pine P. excelsa, P. laricio, P. austriaca, and P. sylves- tris, according to the type of the scion. Fir Abies, Picea, or Thuja, according to the type. Thuja Thuja canadensis or T. occidentalis. Biota B. orientalis or T. sinensis. Taxodium .....' T. distichum. The Araucarias form a group of stately evergreen Conifers, natives of Chili, Norfolk Island, and Brazil. A. imbricata, the " Chilian Pine " or " Monkey Puzzle," is hardy, and a noble ornament to our gardens. All the species are readily raised from imported seeds, which should be sown in well-drained pots of rich fibrous loam, and placed in a pit or moderately warm plant-house to germinate. Although generally considered dioecious, A. imbricata not unfrequently bears male catkins and female cones on the same tree, or even on the same branch. This has been observed at Bicton, and also in the Earl of Shannon's Pinetum at Castle Martyr, near Cork, in the spring of 1867. Like other Conifers, Araucarias may be propagated either by cuttings or by grafting. A. imbricata, A. excelsa, and A. Cunninghamii may be propagated from seeds for stocks. In order to obtain cuttings, the leader and principal side branches should be headed in, the portions removed being inserted in sandy well-drained compost, on a genial bottom- heat, in a pit or frame where plenty of air is admitted to coun- teract damp. Removing the leader and side shoots causes young growth to appear in the upper axils of the decapitated trees, and these can be used either for cuttings or scions. M. Baltet recommends side - grafting with an oblique cleft, or veneering (in February and August, under glass) close to the ground, as the best methods ; but neither grafted nor cutting plants are so satisfactory as seedlings — that is, supposing seeds obtainable. A. imbricata varies very much in habit when raised from seed, some forms having a dense habit of growth, the branches being produced in close whorls and furnished with lateral branchlets, while other forms are lax in habit, with simple branches. There is a very good series of forms in the Edinburgh Botanic Garden, and also at Elvaston; but the variety in habit assumed by seedlings may be seen in any good tree nursery where these plants are grown in quantity. M. Neuman succeeded in raising plants of Araucaria Cunning- hamii from root-cuttings; and it is possible — nay, even most probable — that nearly all Conifers could be increased in the same manner. In the case of the Araucaria root-cuttings, they were cut into lengths of two to three inches, their diameter being half to three-quarters of an inch. They require time to 266 GENERAL REVIEW. strike, and the best plan is to place the cut roots in pots or pans, and set them in a cool place for a month or six weeks, keeping the soil moist meanwhile, so that they lose not sub- stance by evaporation, and at the end of that time place them on a genial bottom-heat of 60° to 75°. Miscellaneous Sports. — The descendants of the " Grisly Giant" of the Mariposa Grove (Wdlingtonia gigantea] are readily propagated by seeds, which are sometimes produced on specimens in English gardens, but more generally they are imported from California. W. gigantea aurea is a beautiful golden-variegated seedling form which appears to have originated in the gardens at Car- raghmore, Ireland. It is a constant and beautiful addition to golden Conifers. At Chatsworth, near the Great Conservatory, a distinct weeping variety of a soft glaucous colour may be seen, and is so ornamental that it deserves propagating either by cuttings or grafts. A very fine form of Abies Douglasii originated at Castle Kennedy about 1872. It is a silver-variegated form of the Douglas Fir, and has been named and exhibited under the name of A. Douglasii Stairii. It is said to be one of the brightest and most distinct of all variegated Conifers, and may be grafted on the green type. There are numerous golden- variegated forms of the common Yew ( Taxus baccata\ nearly all having originated from bud-sports. The original tree of the "Golden Yew" is in the Dublin Botanic Garden. The fasti- giate kinds are supposed to be seminal varieties selected from the seed-beds for their distinct habit. A correspondent writing to the ' Gardeners' Chronicle ' (see 1872, p. 606) states that the Irish Yew is represented only by female plants, and that he had raised five hundred plants from seed of it fertilised by pollen from the common Yew, the seed- lings being intermediate, but none were really so upright and fastigiate as in the type. T. fastigiata cheshuntensis is said to be a seedling from the common Irish Yew ; and there are also silvery and golden leaved varieties. The Irish Yew is doubtless a chance seedling from the common Yew, and was found in 1 780 on a mountain near Benoughlin, whence it was introduced to the gardens at Florence Court, the residence of Lord Ennis- killen ; and from this solitary example all those now grown have originated. Mr J. Standish, of Bagshot, exhibited a very beautiful form at one of the South Kensington meetings in 1870, under the name of Taxus fastigiata aurea, the foliage of which may be THE BINDWEED FAMILY. 267 said to be bathed in gold, and which does not burn in light soils like some of the striped golden kinds. It originated some ten or twelve years ago among a batch of seedlings of the Irish Yew, and like its parent variety, this new golden form has a compact fastigiate habit. A clayey soil and a shady position best suit all the variegated forms of the Yew. THE BINDWEED FAMILY (Convolvulacece). A group of elegant-habited herbaceous plants, usually of twining or scandent habit, and most abundant in tropical coun- tries— two or three species, however, being natives of Britain. In our gardens they are represented by species of Calystegia, Convolvulus, Exogonium (Jalap Plant), Ipo?ncea, Batatas (Sweet- Potatoe). Nearly all the perennial species of Convolvulus are readily propagated from root-cuttings, and seeds germinate freely in a gentle heat of 70° to 75°. It is curious to note that some of the annual species of Convolvulus become peren- nial when grafted on perennial species as a stock ; and further experiments in grafting annual and perennial species on each other as scion and stock would be highly interesting. In some cases grafting is the best method of propagating Ipo- maeas. Sweet-Potatoes are largely cultivated in most tropical countries, and are readily propagated by planting tubers, as in the case of Potatoes. They are planted widely apart, and a secondary or later crop of tubers is obtained by layering the stems. In some cases cuttings are taken off and inserted in a hotbed, where they root readily and form tubers the same season. Batatas paniculatus is a noble, quick-growing trailer, with deciduous branches and large flowers of a deep rose colour. The thick root-stock of this plant cut into pieces, each well furnished with fibres, forms an excellent stock for /. Horsfallice and other Ipomaeas, which do not seed readily, and are diffi- cult to root from cuttings. The plant is a native of the East Indies, and was introduced prior to 1812. One of the most graceful and effective of all the hardy species is the large-flowered variety of C. sepium, a British species popularly known as the " Hedge Lily." A pink or rosy flowered form has long been known in gardens under the name of C. americanus (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 733) ; and these forms might possibly be much improved by raising and selecting seedlings or by hybridising. 268 GENERAL REVIEW. THE AUCUBA AND DOGWOOD FAMILY (Cornacece). A group of plants, principally natives of temperate parts of Asia, America, and Europe, and represented in our gardens by Aucubas and Cornels. Benthamiafragifera also belongs to this group, and is one of the choicest of hardy shrubs in sheltered localities. Some of the plants in this group are dioecious, as in Aucuba, and many species bear ornamental fruits. Benthamia may be propagated either by cuttings of the young and partly hardened wood or by layers, and sometimes by seed. The choice Cornels may be grafted on the common kinds or propa- gated by seeds. By far the most attractive and variable species in this group is the Aucuba, one of the most effective of all- hardy shrubs. Aucuba. — A genus of Japanese and Indian evergreens bearing dioecious flowers and bright scarlet berries among their deep glossy green or yellow blotched leaves. A. japonica, A. himalaica, and others, are commonly met with in our gardens. All the species and varieties may be readily pro- pagated either by cuttings of the young growth or by layers. Cuttings of the young wood with a heel root freely in water in an airy situation. Berries grow freely, but rarely germinate until the second year after sowing. Sometimes a few plants make their appearance the first year, and the berries keep on germinating one after another for two or three years if undis- turbed. The fine old Aucubas in the Royal Botanic Garden, Regent's Park, are in one or two cases 8 to 10 feet high, and 10 to 12 feet in diameter, and these fruit freely, a male plant in a pot being supported in the centre of each when in flower. Hundreds of seedlings are raised, about half of which are male plants and half females. The seedlings vary much in habit, size of leaf, colour, and markings. The male and female organs being borne on different plants, it follows that artificial fertilisa- tion is necessary in order to enable them to produce fertile seeds. In favourable localities, placing the male plant in a pot in close proximity to the female shrub is sufficient to in- duce fruitfulness, the pollen being conveyed by either winds or insects. Some graft branches of the male plant upon the female, while others fertilise the flowers artificially, either with a camel's-hair pencil or by plucking the male flowers and shaking the pollen over the female organs. The last-named method is surest, as often the male and female plants do not flower synchronously in cultivation. Pollen may be kept several weeks in dry silk -paper or tinfoil. The male plants THE AUCUBA AND DOGWOOD FAMILY. 269 are propagated by cuttings or by grafting on stocks of the female variety. M. Baltet says : "When stocks are scarce, or wanting, prepare cuttings of A. japonica, and at the same time cleft- graft them on the crown or side with the variety to be pro- pagated, placing them under a cloche. The graft becomes united while the cutting is forming roots." The Garrya may be successfully cleft-grafted or veneered upon the Aucuba. Graft under glass in heat from October to February, or bud in August. Where large bushes are well fruited, it is possible to cut off fruiting branches a foot or more in length, and these, if prepared like cuttings, inserted in small pots, and plunged on a gentle bottom-heat of 60° or 65° in a close frame, may be rooted in a month or six weeks. This method is useful for securing fruiting plants in small pots for decorative pur- poses, and is best performed in November and December, after the berries are fully developed. The following is a good selection of the male and female varieties ; but all the kinds vary from seed quite as much as do Crotons, and some of the varieties of these are nearly as hand- some, and quite hardy : — MALE AND POLLEN-BEARING KINDS. A. japonica viridis, leaves dark green. A. bicolor, leaves with golden blotches. A. maculata, leaves with golden spots. A. macrophylla, leaves large, bright green. A. marmorata, leaves blotched with yellow. A. sulphurea, leaves spotted with creamy yellow. A. angustifolia, long lance-shaped leaves. A. angustifolia maculata, long lance-shaped leaves spotted with yellow. A. himalaica, leaves deep green. FEMALE OR BERRY-BEARING KINDS. A. japonica vera, green-leaved type. A. macrophylla, having larger leaves. A. viridis, leaves bright green. A. viridis fructo-albo, green leaves, white berries. A. longifolia, leaves long, narrow, dark green. A. latimaculata, leaves blotched with yellow. A. ovata aurea, broad golden-spotted foliage. A. salicifolia, leaves long, narrow, glossy green. A. sulphurea, leaves dotted with creamy yellow. A. aurea marginata, leaves spotted and edged with yellow. The Aucuba first fruited in this country in Mr Standish's nursery at Ascot in 1863, Mr Fortune having sent the male plant from Yeddo about a year previously. Hermaphrodite Aucubas have occasionally been raised from 2/O GENERAL REVIEW. seed. Mr Standish exhibited a specimen in 1867, and M. Narcisse Gaujard of Ghent obtained a similar example. The hermaphrodite plant had been obtained from the ordinary female Aucuba, and developed a large panicle of hermaphrodite flowers, but we are not told if fruit was produced. In refer- ence to the permanence of hermaphrodite Aucubas, Mr Stan- dish's experience with Skimmia oblata — which was formerly her- maphrodite and self-fertilising, but latterly requiring artificial fertilisation — rather militates against the hope of it. The last- named plant also produces unisexual — i.e., male and female — plants from seeds. THE OAK AND HAZEL FAMILY (Corylacea.} A group of trees and shrubs rather diverse in habit and appearance and bearing mostly monoecious flowers, the female flowers being comparatively few in number, and often solitary, while the male flowers are arranged on pendent spikes tech- nically called catkins. They are for the most part natives of temperate countries, while those which are found in equatorial regions grow at a considerable altitude. They are common in Europe, Asia, and North America, and are represented in our gardens and woods by the following ornamental, fruit-bear- ing, or timber-producing trees : Carpimis (Hornbeam), Corylus (Hazel-nuts and Filberts), Fagus (Beech), Castanea (Sweet- Chestnut), Quercus (Oaks), and one or two others less well known. Nearly all the cultivated species of this group exhibit a marked tendency to vary when raised from seed ; and this is especially noticeable in the seed-beds of Oaks, Beech, Sweet- Chestnut, and Filberts or Cob-nuts : hence the many forms of these now in cultivation. I believe I am right in saying that no direct attempts at hybridism have been made in this country ; but one form of Oak ( Q. nobilis] is said to be the result of artificial hybridisation. Monoecious and dioecious plants nearly always repay the attention of the hybridist, and the species of this order deserve especial notice on that account, as well as for their noble proportions and permanent character. In some cases the seedlings of Oaks, Chestnuts, and Beech appear constant on their first appearance ; but eventually latent characters are developed in the form of sports, and these may be perpetuated either by grafting on the typical species as a stock, or by cuttings, the first-named process being pre- ferable. Some of the varieties of Corylus and Beech come tolerably true from seed, and this is especially the case in the THE OAK AND HAZEL FAMILY. 271 purple-leaved varieties. Mr Mills, of Enys, notes that some six or seven years ago he found seedlings under a Purple Beech, and that these are still equal in colour to the grafted trees from which they were raised. The size to which they have grown — about 8 feet high, with branches from 4 to 6 feet long — sufficiently proves their permanence. It may not be generally known that the edible-fruited and variegated forms of Sweet-Chestnut ( Castanea vesca) succeed well grafted on young seedlings of Quercus robur. Quercus (Oaks). — A group of ornamental or timber trees, natives of Europe, N. Asia, N. America, and Japan, and represented in our landscape gardens and parks by many sports or seminal forms. The Cork Oak (Q. suber) is grown in Spain, its bark being used largely in the manufacture of corks. Oak-galls are employed by ink-manufacturers ; and the acorns of Q. czgilops, or Valonia Oak, are used by dyers. All Oaks are best propagated from seeds — i.e., acorns, which should be sown in trenches in nursery-beds as soon as gathered, in the case of the hardy American and other kinds, or in boxes or pans in a frame or pit if at all tender. Oaks are found to vary considerably from seed, and some species more than others. Where two or more species are grown in close proximity, this variety is greater, owing, it is presumed, to accidental cross- fertilisation, which is all the more possible in plants of this order, owing to their being monoecious, the male flowers being borne in loose pendent catkins, and the female generally solitary or in few-flowered clusters. Golden-variegated pendu- lous or other sports are only to be propagated by grafting or inarching, or by cuttings in a close frame, but they are rather difficult to root. Mr Charles Lee recommends inarching as the most successful method of grafting Oaks, as by the common method only about 20 per cent of the grafts take, even when the operation is performed by an expert propagator. Her- baceous grafting might be more successful, using a thin clean blade with a razor-like edge. Attempts might also be made to graft the young growth on fibrous pieces of the thick root in a close frame or under a cloche. The Japanese gardeners side-graft their choice Oaks with success. Seminal Varieties or Sports. — Messrs Ottolander & Son have sent out a seedling Oak, Quercus nobilis, " coming from Q. robur nigra, crossed with the Q. americana. The growth is much like that of Q. alba, but it is more robust, and very hardy, the leaves larger, and the young ones of a fine deep red.'7 The golden-leaved Quercus americana far exceeds Quercus robur concordia in the beauty of the leaf, and was sent out a year 2/2 GENERAL REVIEW. or two ago by M. de Groot of Bruges. Its form may be described as similar to that of the Scarlet Oak, which will convey some idea of the size and beauty of its foliage. The Lucombe Oak ( Quercus cerris Lucombiana and Quercus cerris Lucombiana crispa}. — These two varieties may" be seen at the Old Nurseries at Exeter, which are still carried on under the name of Lucombe, Pince, & Co. Neither the ordinary Lucombe Oak nor the variety called crispa is ever found without the leaves, as before they shed one year's leaves the new ones are all but fully expanded. There is a history attached to this most beautiful of all the evergreen Oaks. Mr Lucombe found one or two young trees in a seed-bed of the acorns of the Turkey Oak {Quercus cerris] which held their leaves all through the winter whilst the rest were quite bare ; the above two varieties of the Lucombe Oak were thus discovered. The ordinary Lucombe Oak is an upright-growing tree, whilst the variety called crispa is partially pendulous in its habit, the lower branches forming themselves into very graceful curves. There is a tree of this latter variety (crispa] at the entrance to the above nursery, measuring 62 feet in height, and n feet 4 inches in girth at 2 feet from the ground. The appearance of this fine Oak leads me to suppose that Q. suber is the male or pollen parent, its leaves being evergreen and the bark corky in texture. Q. rubra, var. Sada, is a handsome large-leaved seed- ling raised by Signor G. Sada, a nurseryman at Milan. It is a seedling from Q. rubra, var. macrophylla. THE HOUSE-LEEK FAMILY (Crassulacece). A group of hardy and half-hardy succulent plants or shrubs, principally natives of the Cape of Good Hope, Europe, Siberia, and the Canary Islands. The common House-leek, Semper- vivum tectorum, is one of the best-known examples ; and this plant almost always bears ovules instead of pollen in the anthers. Nearly all the species are easily propagated from seeds, which are freely produced if the plants are grown on a dry and sunny shelf in a pit or greenhouse ; and these should be sown in moist sandy earth as soon as ripe, and placed in a moist, genial temperature. After germination, place the seed- lings in a dry, airy place, as the young plants of this order are apt to rot off in the seed-pan if the atmosphere is too moist. Rocheas, Echeverias, Paehyphytums, Bryophyllums, and many Sempervivums, are readily propagated by inserting the old or fully-developed leaves as cuttings in pans of sand. Offsets are THE HOUSE-LEEK FAMILY. 273 freely produced, especially when the terminal leader or growth is purposely destroyed, or the top of the plant removed. The following are the principal genera : Crassula, Rochea, Kalanchoe, Bryophyllum, Cotyledon, Umbilicus, Echeveria, Pachyphytum, Sedum, Rhodiola, and Sempervivum. There is just now a de- cided revival of public taste in favour of these ,and other succu- lents. Echeverias have become very popular in carpet-bedding and other flower-garden arrangements, and numerous hybrids have been raised by English and Continental cultivators, of which more anon. Crassulaceous plants, like most other suc- culents, are easily grafted ; and I have seen Sempervivum arbo- reum used as a stock for some of the dwarf kinds. Echeveria coccinea also forms a good stock for dwarf-growing Echeverias or Pachyphytums. Some of the smaller-growing and scandent Crassulas take well to C. portulacea as a stock ; and plants so worked form very interesting pot-plants for decorative purposes, and attract attention when they would be overlooked on their own roots. Practically, however, the operation leads to no other useful result. Echeveria. — A very distinct and ornamental genus of suc- culent plants, having fleshy bluish-green or glaucous leaves ar- ranged in a rosulate or rosette-shaped manner. Nearly all the species are Mexican, and may be increased by offsets or by leaf-cuttings — that is, the old leaves stripped off and inserted in sandy soil or brick-dust. Seeds are very freely borne by well- established plants, and the species interbreed freely. Sow the seed as soon as ripe in pans of light sandy earth, and place them on a gentle bottom-heat until the young plants appear, after which place them on a dry sunny shelf near the light. E. pulverulenta, E. formosa, E. gibbiflora, var. metallica, E. aga- voides, and E. retusa, are common in gardens, and very distinct ; and if these were carefully hybridised with each other and with Pachyphytum, Rochea, and other sections of the order, some very useful races of decorative plants would doubtless be the inter- esting result. Several of the finest hybrids between Echeveria and Pachy- phytum have been raised within the last few years in Con- tinental gardens. E. pachyphytoides is like a strong - growing Pachyphytum bracteosum, but the leaves are flatter; and another seminal form from the same cross, E. p. rosea, is similar in character, but the leaves are more pointed, and show more of the glossy rosy hue of the Echeveria. E. glauca-metallica is, as its name implies, a cross between s 274 GENERAL REVIEW. E. glauca, now so much used in edging flower-beds, and the large-leaved E. metallica. In habit it is exactly inter- mediate between its parents, and forms a noble plant for the centre of panels and similar positions in carpet-beds. E. rotundifolia, a strong-growing and very symmetrical plant, nine inches across when fully developed, was obtained by crossing Mr J. Seden's hybrid, E. glauco-metallica, with E. secunda major. Mr R. Dean first exhibited it at South Ken- sington, November 10, 1875, when it received a first-class certificate. E. Schedeckerii is a neat-habited hybrid of Pachyphylloid habit, and is the result of a cross effected between E. secunda glauca and Pachyphytum bracteosum. Mr W. Ingram, of Belvoir, raised a distinct hybrid between Echeveria secunda glauca as the male, and Pachyphytum bracteosum as the female or seed-bearing parent. Its foliage resembles the pollen -parent, and its flowers the seed -parent. This plant was first shown at a meeting of the Royal Horti- cultural Society, Oct. 2, 1872. E. undulata. — This is a hybrid raised by M. de Smet be- tween E. atropurpurea and E. (gibbiflora) metallica. E. retusa glauca. — This is one of Mr Bull's hybrids between E. retusa and E. secunda. E. carinata is said to be a hybrid between E. (gibbiflora} metallica and E. atropurpurea. E. luteo-gigantea is a hybrid from E. retusa fertilised by pol- len of E. macrophylla, and was raised by M. Rendatler of Nancy. E. pruinosa is said to be a hybrid between E. lingucefolia and E. coccinea. E. floribunda splendens and E. miniata are hybrids raised by M. Rendatler of Nancy ; but I cannot lay hands on their parentage. E. scaphylla. — This is a hybrid raised by M. Deleuil from E. agavoides, fertilised with pollen of E. linguce/oKa. E. spathulata is a hybrid between E. bracteosa and E. grandiflora. It is a curious fact that many of these hybrid Echeverias are more robust than either of their parents ; and it would be interesting to know whether they bear perfect — i.e., fertile — seeds, or whether (as is often the case with other hybrids) their vigour is due in some measure to their sterility. The following hybrid Echeverias were raised prior to 1874 by M. J. B. A. Deleuil (see ' Belg. Hort.,' 1874, p. 329)^— THE HOUSE-LEEK FAMILY. 2/5 E. davifolia. — The result of a cross effected by pollen of E. rosea (Courantia Echcveroides, Lem.) on E. bracteosa (Pachyphytum bracteosum) as the seed-parent. E. erecta. — A hybrid between E. coccinea and E. atropurpurea. E. ferrea. — A hybrid obtained from E. Scheeri by fertilising it with pollen of E. calophana. E. grandisepala. — Obtained from E, (gibbiflora) metallica fertilised with pollen from E. rosea. E. imbricata. — This is a hybrid obtained from seed of E. glatica fertilised with pollen of E. metallica. E. mutabilis. — A hybrid from E. Scheeri fertilised with pollen of E. linguczfolia. E. avata. — Obtained from E. Scheeri, the male parent being E. (gibbi- flora} metallica. E. pachyphytoides. — A stately hybrid between E. bracteosa {Pachyphy- tum bracteosuni) and E. (gibbiflora} metallica. M. Deleuil sent out the following hybrid Echeverias in 1876: E. colossea. — The issue of E. Van Celsii, impregnated by E. atropiir- purea, with leaves exceeding a foot in length. E. cochlearis. — A hybrid between E. lingu&folia, female, and E. atro- purpurea, male parent. E. mirabilis. — Between E. bracteosa (Pachyphytum bracteosuni) and E. Scheeri, having superb opaline leaves tinged with rose. E. retusa autumnalis. — Obtained from E. glauca, fertilised by E. retusa, an abundant bloomer in the autumn. E. securifera. — Between E. secunda and E. macrophylla. E. spiralis. — Between E. decipiens and E. californica. E. stellata. — The result of a cross between E. glauca and E. navicularis. Sempervivum (House-leeks], — A large group of succulent plants, represented by the common native House-leek, S. tec- torum, and many other species in cultivation. They are readily increased from seeds sown on a pan of fine sandy soil, and covered with a pane of glass painted green, after which the pan may be placed on a shelf in a dryish temperature of about 65° or 70°. Seeds of succulent plants do not succeed well if placed in a close and humid case, owing to their extreme liability to damp off. Many of the species, as S. canariense, S. tabu- lare, S. tabulceforme, and others, may be propagated like Pachyphytums — i.e., by stripping off the lower well-developed leaves and inserting them in well-drained cutting-pans surfaced with sand, after which water them well, and set the pan on an airy shelf in the full sunshine. Some species produce offsets very freely, and these are readily propagated like cuttings. Possibly some of the choice and tender species might be suc- cessfully grafted on S. arboreum or other tall-growing species as a stock. This genus well deserves the attention of the hy- bridist, since even in the native habitats of some European 2/6 GENERAL REVIEW. species natural hybrids have been discovered. M. Lamotte, writing in 1862, names seven of these hybrids, as follows : — S. pseudo-arachnoideum, Lamt. ined. S. piliferum, Jord. S. Jordani, Lamt. ined. S. arachnoideo-Boutignianum, Lorr. S. Boutignianum-arachnoideum, Loir. (= S. rubellum, Lamt.) S. arachnoideo-auvernense, Lamt. ( = S. Pomelii, Lamt.) " S. auvernense-arachiioideum, Lamt. ined. (= S. villosttm, Lamt. olim. ) It is singular to find that the "Cobweb House-leek" (S. arachnoideum) is one of the parents throughout the above series of natural hybrids, having in some cases supplied the seeds, and in others again the pollen. S. pseudo-arachnoideum is the most beautiful of the group, having the largest and brightest- coloured flowers ; and M. Lamotte believes that the pollen- parent was S. montanum, the seed-parent being S. arachnoideum. S. piliferum and S. Jordani are probably born of the same parents ; but in these cases 5. montanum is believed to have been the seed-parent. Apart from these natural hybrids, I find no records of any hybridist having experimented with these plants except M. Donkelaar, who, prior to 1862, suc- ceeded in obtaining a hybrid between S. speciosum and S. tabulceforme. Of *$". arboreum there are variegated and purple- leaved forms ; but whether these are seminal forms or sports I cannot say. It appears to me, however, that many of the Sempervivums are susceptible of so great variation that they have repeatedly been described as distinct species ; and in no one species is this fact more marked than in the polymor- phous S. tectorum or "House-leek." In 1866 I obtained seven distinct varieties of this plant from the seed of one cap- sule— some of lax habit and green leaves, some little larger than half-a-crown, and of a deep red colour, and others inter- mediate. Indeed, many other Sempervivums seem as variable in this way as are Mammillarias, Haworthias, Gasterias, and other succulents. THE CUCUMBER FAMILY (Cucurbitacetz.) To this order belong the Cucumber, Cucumis sativus, the Melon, C. melo, and numerous species and forms of Cu- curbita, or Gourds, with which may be classed our Squashes THE CUCUMBER FAMILY. or Vegetable Marrows. The extreme variability assumed by the species of this group is especially well known to gardeners, who find it extremely difficult to keep their stock of Melons or Cucumbers pure, — a state of things which becomes absolutely impossible if more than one variety of each species be grown in the same house or pit. When a really first-rate Cucumber or Melon is obtained, the only safe plan is to banish all others from the garden, and if possible it should be perpetuated by cuttings * rather than by seeds. These plants bear unisexual flowers — /.. muscipula, or " Venus's Fly-trap," having long been grown as a curiosity in our gardens. This plant is a native of N. America, and especially of the mossy swamps of Carolina, and grows best in a cool moist atmosphere. It is readily propagated in the spring. Shake out the plant and remove the top or crown of leaves, which, in- serted as a cutting in a close humid case, soon throws out roots. Some propagators use a compost of sandy peat, leaf- mould, and sphagnum for this plant, but the leafy tops will root freely laid on a bed of living sphagnum moss in a close case. The thick portion of the old stem, or root-stock, is covered by the bases of old leaves, and this should be cut into small pieces with a sharp knife or scissors, taking care to leave the scaly base of a leaf or an eye to each portion, however small. These pieces may be sown in a prepared cutting-pot like seeds, and placed on a shelf in a cool airy house, and watered occasionally to keep the soil moist. Every piece will grow, and the young plants may then be potted in sandy peat and living sphagnum, and will make a vigorous growth in a cool frame or pit during the summer months plunged in living moss. Seeds are freely produced on well-grown old specimens, and vegetate freely sown in light soil in a cool frame or airy greenhouse. This curious plant was introduced in 1768, and is well figured in Darwin's ' Loves of the Plants,' and in the 'Botanical Magazine/ t. 785. *For a memoir on this order by M. Planchon, see 'Ann. Sc. Nat.,' 3 sen, ix. 79. 282 GENERAL REVIEW. Drosera. — A genus of very interesting herbaceous plants, represented in this country by D. rotundifolia, which is toler- ably plentiful in northern bogs. Several species are found at the Cape, and they are also abundant in Australasia, having been imported from the Swan river. Their long forked or spoon-shaped leaves are formed of spongy cellular tissue, and furnished with viscid glandular hairs, in which insects often become entangled. Nearly all the species seed freely, even in cultivation ; and seeds germinate readily in a genial bottom- heat if sown like Calceolaria seeds on the surface of a well- drained pan of sandy compost mixed with living sphagnum moss, or even on the surface of a pot covered with sphagnum alone, and covered with a bell-glass. The best way to repro- duce them, however, is by cuttings of the roots. This plan has succeeded with D. binata in the Edinburgh Botanic Garden, and is thus described by Mr J. M'Nab : " Mr Robert Lindsay, the plant foreman in the Royal Botanic Garden, thought he would try to increase this curious Sundew by root-propagation. The roots for the purpose of propagation are generally taken from strong-growing plants during the process of crown-division. They are of a clear black wiry consistency, and are cut into numerous pieces from half an inch, an inch, or more in length. These are laid on the surface of shallow earthenware pans or flower-pots, prepared with a mixture of sandy peat soil, and are covered about half an inch deep with the same mix- ture. They are then covered with a bell-glass, and are placed in a damp warm propagating house. In the course of a fort- night, swellings begin to appear on the surface of the detached roots, which increase in length till they reach the surface of the soil. This generally takes place about five weeks after they are put in. When the leaves become developed, they are mostly of a binate form, and soon cover the surface of the pan as if they had been a crop of seedlings. When about two inches or so in height, they are separated and put into small pots, in a similar mixture of soil to that in which the roots were originally placed, with the addition of some chopped sphagnum moss freely mixed through it. If carefully attended to, they soon make excellent plants, and are eagerly sought after on account of their peculiar appearance." THE DATE PLUM FAMILY (Ebenacece). Trees and shrubs the wood of which is remarkably heavy and black in colour, sometimes streaked with red or brown THE HELIOTROPE FAMILY. 283 lines. Ebony and ironwood belong to this order. From a horticultural point of sight they are interesting as affording edible fruits, the best being furnished by Diospyros kaki, or Chinese Date Plum, and its numerous cultural forms. The Persimmon (Diospyros virginiaca), several varieties of which are found in America, forms an excellent stock on which to graft the finer varieties of the Chinese or Japanese Date Plum (D. kaki\ Several other species of Diospyros bear edible fruit (see 'Gard. Chron.,' 1871, p. 9, and 1872, p. 576). D. kaki, var. costata (see 'Revue Hort.,' July 16, 1871) has been recommended for orchard-house culture in this country, and bears very handsome orange-yellow fruit the size of Apricots. Fruit of this variety have since ripened in the Isle of Wight, and are figured in the 'Gardeners' Chronicle,' 1875, p. 777. A new species — D. Mazeli — is figured and described (see 'Revue Hort.,' 1874, p. 70, 71), and has been introduced into the south of France from Japan. The fruit is delicious, with a flavour like Apricots (see also 'Jour, of Botany,' 1875, plate 171, and p. 353). In the 'Illustration Horticole,' 1874, p. 139-142, M. Andre contributes a short paper on Date Plums, which is worth notice. THE HELIOTROPE FAMILY (Ehretiacece). A small group of trees or shrubs, mostly tropical, the best- known representative in our gardens being the deliciously fra- grant Peruvian Heliotrope. Heliotropium (Cherry-pie}. — A small genus of low-growing annual or suffruticose perennial plants, represented in our gar- dens by the common Heliotrope (H. peruvianuni) and many beautiful and fragrant seminal forms, which have for the most part originated in Continental gardens. They are natives of Chili, Peru, India, and other tropical or subtropical countries. Heliotropium peruvianum is a deliciously-perfumed ever-bloom- ing old plant, introduced to Paris by Jussieu the younger, who forwarded seeds ; and in Miller's Dictionary it is described as having flowered and perfected seeds at Kew at a later date (see 'Bot. Mag.,' t. 141). H. corymbosum (see 'Bot. Mag.,' t. 1609), a much larger flowered plant, was also introduced from Peru in 1812 ; but its showy lilac-tinted flowers are not fragrant. Considerable im- provement might possibly be effected by hybridising these two species, so as to obtain a race with larger flowers than L. peru- vianum and equally fragrant. 284 GENERAL REVIEW. Cuttings of the young growth an inch or two in length root freely in heat, and seeds germinate readily if sown as soon as ripe in a genial bottom-heat of 75°. THE HEATH AND RHODODENDRON FAMILY (Ericacece). A very beautiful family of flowering shrubs, represented in our gardens by numerous species (and in many cases varieties) of Arbutus, Andromeda, Azalea, Erica, Rhododendron, and Kalmia. The plants throughout this family are remark- able for their beauty when in flower ; and the strawberry-like fruit of the Arbutus is also very ornate in autumn when seen among the waxy bell-like flowers and glossy foliage. Although much has been done in this order, there yet remains a large field for the hybridiser who intelligently goes to work among the Ericads. Ericas have been hybridised repeatedly, some of the best of all the exhibition kinds having been either sem- inal varieties or hybrids ; and the same may be said of Epac- rids, Rhododendrons, and Azaleas; although in the case of Azaleas numerous forms have been secured in Italian, Belgian, and French gardens by perpetuating sports by grafting. Indeed, Azaleas seem to " break " nearly as freely as Tulips or Carnations. Arbutus. — We have three species common in our gardens — A. andrachne, a native of the Levant ; A. procera, a North American species of strong growth, which, like the last, casts its outer bark every year; A. unedo, the common Arbutus, is abundant near Killarney, and in South Europe along the shores of the Mediterranean. All the species are propagated by lay- ering or seeds ; cuttings also root tolerably well on a sheltered north border. Although there is an Arbutus hybrida, and a variety named A. Millerii, supposed to be of hybrid origin, I cannot find any records of their parentage. There are double- flowered, narrow-leaved (solid/olio), entire-leaved (integrifolia), and curled or crisp-leaved (crispa) forms of A. unedo, all inter- esting as variations. A. Croomei is a handsome large-flowered form, with delicate wax-like rosy flowers ; and A. coccinea is another highly-coloured form of the type, and these also may possibly be hybrid or seminal varieties. The rare species or varieties may either be inarched or budded on seedling stocks of the common types or of A. pyrenaica. Two-year-old stocks are best, and grafting should be performed in a close case, taking care to harden off the plants gradually after the opera- tion is complete. The union takes place rather slowly, and THE HEATH AND RHODODENDRON FAMILY. 285 veneer, splice-grafting, or inarching are the best methods to adopt. There are several South American species, and the hybridist might do worse than improve A. unedo. It might pos- sibly cross with the Andromedas, and its habit be so improved. In a dwarf state, covered with waxy flowers and orange-red fruit at the same time, a dwarf seedling or other form of this would be invaluable as a decorative plant. Andromeda. — A genus of ornamental flowering shrubs from North America, South America, and China. They are repre- sented in our gardens by A. floribunda, a well-known white- flowered species, and others. They are all propagated by layering like Arbutus, the old stems being headed off, and then the bases of the young shoots are covered with soil (see " Hil- lock Layering"). Seeds, when obtainable, germinate readily in pots or pans of moist earth, and this is facilitated if the pots are placed on a genial bottom-heat. Hybridising would doubtless produce improved varieties from such parents as A. floribunda, A.formosa, A. polifolia, A. racemosa, and others. Azalea. — A well-known and deservedly popular genus of hardy or greenhouse shrubs, partly deciduous, and in some cases evergreen, A. indica, A. sinensis, A. amcena, A. pontica, and A. viscosa being well - known examples in cultivation. Azalea indica (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 1420) appears to have been grown in England since about 1812, but had been brought to Holland twelve years earlier. It is a native of China, where it has long been cultivated. The tender varieties of A. indica and A. amcena are readily propagated from cuttings of the young shoots in the spring. Some prefer shoots about two inches in length, having a heel of the old wood. The hardy kinds are easily multiplied by layering. All the greenhouse varieties of A. indica are multiplied by grafting new or rare kinds on a robust-growing variety as a stock, and in this way saleable plants are obtained quickly. A. phcenicea, A. rosea elegans, A. Sir C. Napier, or A. alba, form good stocks, and strike freely from cuttings. They are fit for working when as thick as oaten straw. Graft- ing may be performed throughout the autumn, winter, and spring months, either side, cleft, or splice grafting being the methods adopted, the stocks being grown in small pots ; and these are plunged in a moist genial bottom-heat, in a close case, after the grafts are inserted and tied in, the end of a young shoot with four or five leaves being selected as a scion. Many of the new varieties have originated from sports, which are readily perpetuated by grafting ; and Mr Fortune informs me that in China and Japan the gardeners have many varieties 286 GENERAL REVIEW. which have originated in this manner. Seeds are readily pro- duced by most of the single varieties if fertilised artificially. Any two striking varieties may be crossed, and as a rule seed germinates freely sown in pots or pans, plunged in a genial bottom-heat. Hybrids between A. indica and one of the yellow-flowered species are much to be desired. Some years ago, indeed, they were considered as likely to form the types of a new race remarkable for their ample flowers and brilliant colours, Mr Smith of Norbiton having succeeded in obtaining a race of seedlings between Rhododendron ponticum and Azalea smensis, these having yellow flowers, but larger and brighter than those of the last-named parent (see Her- bert's ' Amaryllidaceae,' p. 359). M. Souchet also succeeded in obtaining a hybrid from Azalea Damelsii fertilised with pollen from a Rhododendron ; and Azalea Comte de Hainault, a variety having double flowers of a carmine colour, is said to be a hybrid between A. indica fertilised with the pollen of a Rhododendron. These two genera offer a wide field of labour to the intelligent hybridist, as the species and forms of each are so diverse and so easily cultivated. A very fine double-flowered white variety named " Flag of Truce " was sent out by Messrs Smith of Dulwich, about five years ago, and double and semi-double forms are now common ; and such varieties as " Imbricata," " Borsig," and others, are better adapted for cut flowers than the single kinds, as the flowers last longer and are more persistent. These varieties are easily propagated by splice-grafting on seedling stocks. It is singular to note that while the origin of double Azaleas is comparatively recent in our gardens, a double rosy variety of Azalea sinensis was introduced from China in 1819 (see * Bot. Mag.,' t. 2509. This bore clusters of bright rosy flowers, and would be now highly esteemed by many as a decorative plant. A. Caldwellii was obtained by Messrs Caldwell by cross- ing A. amcena with A. indica. " W. Carmichael," " Mrs Car- michael," are varieties raised by Mr Carmichael, and are the result of crossing A. indica " Stella " with the bright purple early-flowering A. amonna. These hybrids made their appear- ance in 1875, and the two last were sent out by Mr B. S. Williams. A year or two ago Mr W. Tillery, writing to the ' Florist,' says: " I was successful with a cross between Rhododendron Aucklandii and the Azalea indica "Stella," making "Stella" the female parent. The pollen from the short anthers of Aucklandii was used in this cross. I have young plants now (1874) growing vigorously from the seeds so produced, THE HEATH AND RHODODENDRON FAMILY. 287 and hope to see some of them flower next year. All the difference I see in them at the present time is that they are stronger in growth and with larger foliage than other young seedling Azaleas sown at the same time. I selected ' Stella ' for experiment in this case, as it is a very strong-growing variety and of fine habit, and also for the colour of its flowers." Mr Tillery has also succeeded in crossing Azalea mollis and A. sinensis, and the seedlings are healthy, but have not yet flowered. In writing to the ' Florist,' 1875, P- 2^2> tne same hybridist remarks : "I have fertilised some flowers of Azalea indica ' Stella ' with the pollen of A. mollis, and the seed seems swelling well, so that there is a chance of a new strain in Azaleas." Although most of our improved varieties of Indian Azaleas have been imported from the Continent, and especially from Belgian gardens, it is interesting to find that Mr Phillips Frost (now of Dropmore) raised some fine seed- lings, which were sent out by Knight and Perry of Chelsea many years ago (1830-40). Mr Frost sowed seed from a white variety, and this, without any artificial cross-fertilisation on his part, produced offspring of various colours. Among this batch of seedlings at least four were named and distributed, these being A. Frostii, A. Grenvillei, A. Chelsonii, and A. Duke of Devonshire. These varieties must have been among the ear- liest seedlings raised in this country. The hardy varieties known as American or Ghent Azaleas are hybrids or selected seedlings which were originated at Ghent, whence the popular name, and they are all varieties or hybrids of A. calendulacea, A. speciosa, A. viscosa, and A. nudiflora. Seed should be sown in pans of light sandy soil in the spring, and placed in a gentle bottom-heat. When the young plants make their appearance admit air after watering, as they are apt to damp off; indeed it is a tendency to rot off or decay at the collar which renders grafting on A. phcenida as a stock necessary, in multiplying and perpetuating all" the finer and more tender varieties. Artificial fertilisation is the surest way of obtaining any particular improvement in shape, habit, or colour of the flower ; but seed taken promiscuously from selected varieties gives a fair percentage of good flowers. Azaleas seed so freely that the seed-vessels are carefully re- moved from specimen plants after flowering in order to hus- band their strength for future bloom. A. hybrida enneandra (see * Bot. Mag.,' t. 2308) is supposed to be a natural hybrid between a white-flowered Azalea accidentally fertilised by the pollen of Rhododendron ponticum, which stood near it. Raised from seeds of the Azalea, the habit of the plant is that of a 288 GENERAL REVIEW. slender-habited Rhododendron, with elegant white flowers like those of a Rhododendron in form, and suffused with lilac. Rhododendron hybridum glaucum (see ' Bot. Reg.,' t. 193) is a hybrid between an Azalea and R. maximum, the latter being the pollen-parent. This differs from the above plant in having glaucous leaves and an erect arborescent stem. R. azaleoides is supposed to be a mule between an Azalea and a Rho- dodendron (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 2308). Mr J. Anderson- Henry has raised hybrids between Indian Azaleas and Rhodo- dendrons, and the same result has been obtained by Con- tinental growers between Rhododendrons and the yellow- flowered A. sinensis. This close relationship or consanguinity might be turned to useful account by using seedling Rhodo- dendrons as stocks for Azaleas to increase their vigour ; and, vice versa, to limit the exuberance of the Rhododendron, and induce it to flower earlier and in a dwarf state. Several hand- some cross-bred varieties of Azalea mollis are figured in ' Flore des Serres,' 1874, p. 155-161, and these figures will always be interesting, as showing the range of improvement hereafter effected by future cross-breeding and cultivation. The Indian Azaleas have ten stamens, while the Ghent and American varieties have but five ; still, for all practical purposes, they are identical. Numerous seminal forms of A. laterita have been produced in Continental gardens ; and it is interesting to find that a baker of Ghent, M. Mortier, occupied his leisure in crossing the Turkish A. pontica (of which there are natural varieties varying in colour from yellow and white through all the shades of orange to a deep bronze or copper colour) with the N. American A. calendulacea, A. viscosa, and A. nudiflora, and so originated a very brilliant and useful group of hardy decorative plants. Azaleas may now be considered in the same category with Pelargoniums, Pansies, Cinerarias, and other florists' flowers, since there appears to be no limit to the seminal varieties they bring forth ; and even the plants " sport " or " break," as is the case with tricolor Pelargoniums and some other plants. Erica (Heaths}. — A wrell-known family of decorative plants, some being natives of Europe, but the finest species come from the Cape of Good Hope. Cape Heaths have not resisted the pervading influence of the great law of nature. Mr Storey, formerly of Isleworth, produced some remarkable plants of both Erica and Epacris forty or fifty years ago : of the former, some varieties of the section belonging to E. vestita were especially ornamental ; and of the latter were varieties, with tubular flowers, resembling E. impressa and E. grandiflora, of very great beauty. THE HEATH AND RHODODENDRON FAMILY. 289 Some of the very best varieties of Erica ampullacea, E. tricolor, and E. jasminiflora, now in cultivation, are also of hybrid origin. They are readily propagated by cuttings of the young wood inserted in cutting pots, surfaced with silver sand, and placed in a dry position in the greenhouse or frame. Too much heat and moisture in the atmosphere causes the cuttings to damp off. The pots of cuttings should be covered with a bell-glass, tilted at the base so as to prevent closeness and damp. Although this genus has been much improved by the hybridist, there is yet a wide field open to the cultivator. In fertilising Ericas, it should be borne in mind that the eight stamens shed their pollen early — sometimes, indeed, before the flower opens ; and to prevent the possibility of self- fecundation taking place, a slit should be made through the unopened corolla, so that the stamens can be cut off with a pair of fine-pointed scissors, and removed from the flower, after which examine the glutinous apex of the stigma with a lens; and if it is in a receptive state, and free from the pollen of its own flower, proceed to fertilise it with pollen obtained from any other parent the properties of which it seems desirable to blend with those of the seed-bearing parent. Some of the Cape Ericas, however, retain their pollen until visited by insects, the anthers being irritable, and when touched by the proboscis or antennae of a bee or fly, they discharge their pollen on to the hairy intruder, who thus doubtless cross-fertilises other flowers, and possibly other species. Seed should be sown as soon as it is ripe on the surface of sandy peat earth, and covered with a bell-glass. It will germinate more quickly if placed on a gentle bottom -heat in a greenhouse temperature. As early as 1819 the Rev. W. Herbert had obtained numer- ous hybrid Heaths, since in his valuable paper (see ' Trans. Hort. Soc.,' 1819-21, vol. iv. p. 28*) he writes: "I have mules from the long-podded Erica ampullacea and E. jasmini- flora (fertilised ?) with the round-podded E. vestita-coccinea and E, hybrida or cylindrica. I have also mules from £. Shannonii with E. gemmifera and with E. tricolor, of E. ampullacea with E. gemmifera, and all the seedlings of a similar impregnation are alike among themselves, and would at once be pointed out by a person acquainted with the African Heaths as new' species, extremely unlike their parents. These have not yet flowered. I have not yet obtained any mule between tubular and cam- panulate flowering Heaths ; but I have not made many experir ments. I think such difference of form much more likely to * See also "Observations on Hybrids," by T. A. Knight — 'Trans. Hort. Soc.,' vol. iv. p. 367. * T 290 GENERAL REVIEW. constitute a true distinction in the family of Heaths than that of a longer or rounder capsule. The unwillingness of the African Heaths to shed their pollen unless touched by a strong insect or humming-bird, must render them very likely to be fecundated by the pollen of neighbouring sorts; and if the hybrid offspring should prove fertile like that of the Gladioli, it will be evident how it comes to pass that the species of African Heaths are so multiplied, while the European sorts remain unaltered. There are two or three hundred reputed species which have been at one time or other introduced into our gardens, and such kinds as E. tricolor, E. ventricosa, E. vestita, and others, have yielded numerous beautiful varieties. Among others, Mr Epps, Messrs Rollison & Sons, Messrs Lee of Hammersmith, and Mr Turnbull of Bothwell Castle, have done much towards improving the Ericas as decorative plants. Mr Turnbull has raised numerous beautiful hybrids. The following is a list of hybrids raised by Messrs Rolli- son, who have long held the finest collection of hybrids and species in the trade : — Erica semula. Erica metulseflora. M affinis. n n bicolor. M amabilis. M n superba. n n floribunda. Paxtonii. ii ampullacea obbata. perspicua nana (bucctnseformis) it n rubra. picturata. n aristella. princeps coccinea. n blanda. profusa. n Bousteadiana. retorta major. n Burnettii. Sindryana rubra. n Candolleana. Sprengelii. n Cavendishiana. suaveolens. n Clowesiana. tricolor. n eximia. coronata. n n superba. elegans. ii Fairreana. flammea. n fasiigiata lutescens. Holfordii. n favoides elegans. impressa. n ferruginea superba. inflata. n gemmifera elegans. Kingscottiana. i Hartnelliana. major. i n virens. Rollisonii. i Holfordiana. superba. i hybrida (cylindrica). tubseformis. i Irbyana (non- Andrews). venosa. i Jubana rubra. vernix coccinea. i Lindleyana. vestita carnea. i M 'Nabbiana snperba. Victoria. THE HEATH AND RHODODENDRON FAMILY. 291 The following are modern varieties raised and sent out by Messrs Rollison & Sons since 1871 : — E. rutilans.—A. beautiful variety raised at the Tooting Nursery, and flowered for the first time in 1868. It is the result of seed obtained by crossing E. Massonii major with one of Messrs Rollison's previous seed- ling varieties, E. Taurreana. The foliage is intermediate, but the flowers resemble those of E. Massonii major in shape, colour, and arrangement, and are of a bright crimson colour. 1871. E. effitsa. — This plant is the result of crossing E. Marnockeana and E. princeps templiea, but is quite distinct from both in habit. The flowers are in clusters, long, tubular, and of a clear crimson colour, the petals being pink and white, with a dark ring near the mouth of the tube. 1875. E. opulenta. — E. Fairreana and E. cerinthoides coronata are the parents of this variety, which is quite distinct from either in habit and flower. The crimson tubular flowers are inflated at the base, having a dark ring near the mouth, and' are borne in whorls of 12- 16 flowers. The petals are pink and white. Leaves small and hairy. 1875. E. or7iata. — A delicate-coloured variety between E. obbata and E. Fairreana. The flowers are smooth in outline, French white in colour, shaded with pink at the inflated base of the tube, and banded with green near the throat. Petals smooth, and nearly white. Habit robust, re- sembling E. ampullacea or E. obbata. 1875. E. Shannonii glabra. — A robust variety resulting from a cross effected between E. obbata and E. ampullacea obbata. The most singular point about this plant is the absence of any viscidity or gum on the flowers, and yet they have a gloss like polished ivory. This is an advantage, as the viscid-flowered varieties are so easily soiled by dust and flies. The flowers are paper-white, suffused with rose, and borne in terminal whorls of 6-8 blooms. 1875. E. tricolor profusa. — A distinct plant, the result of crossing E. Fairreana and E. princeps coccinea, totally different from its parents, about which some doubts might have arisen had not the pedigree been carefully preserved . Flowers tubular, inflated, crimson at the base, the upper half white, having a band of green around the throat. The habit is vigorous, branch- ing, the foliage being erect and hairy. 1875. Mr T. Jackson of Kingston raised and sent out many new and distinct hybrid Ericas. E. cristata vittata was raised be- tween E. cristata major and E. LinruEoides, and was sent out in 1842, as also was E. Jacksonii, a hybrid between E^ retorta and E. Irbyana. E. hiemalis, one of the finest of all winter-bloom- ing Ericas, is a hybrid raised about 1838. A double-flowered Heath, in the shape of a sport from Erica hiemalis, appeared upon a plant growing in Haynes's Nursery at Penge in 1873. The doubling consists in the repeating of the corolla over and over again, to the exclusion of the stamens and pistil. In the centre is a small shoot bearing scale-like leaves. The clear white of the inner petals contrasts nicely with the pink tinge of the outer whorl ; and altogether it is well worth the attention of horticulturists. 292 GENERAL REVIEW. Kalmia. — N. American hardy shrubs of dwarf habit, flower- ing very profusely in the spring or early summer, and readily propagated by cuttings of the young growth inserted in a bed of soil surfaced with sand or grit, and covered with a hand- light or frame. Cuttings taken oif in August root best. Seeds grow freely treated as recommended for Rhododendrons. Seed- ling plants of the common kinds may be employed as stocks on which to graft or inarch the rarer kinds. I believe nothing has been done in the way of hybridising, so that this field is open ; and few plants present more attractions, for the flowers are unrivalled in purity and beauty by any other exotic. The flowers resemble little white umbrellas, the eight stamens forming the ribs, the end of each being deftly tucked into a little pocket or angle in the corolla. A cross might possibly be effected between Kalmia and Arbutus or Andromeda — at any rate, the attempt is worth making ; or perhaps the Arbutus might be used as a stock on which to graft Kalmias or Andromedas, or vice versa (see ' Amer. Agric.,' July 1876). Menziesia. — A genus of dwarf-growing shrubs nearly related to the Heaths, which they also resemble in size, and in their spires of well-shaped white, bluish-lilac, or rosy-striped flowers. They are natives of North America, North Europe, and other countries, and are generally found on dry heathy moors. M. polifolia, St Dabeoc's or Irish Heath, is found on the granite mountains of Galway ; and M. ccendea is found in Scotland as well as in North America. These pretty little plants may be propagated from seeds ; but in some cases artificial fertilisation is necessary to insure a supply of these in a fertile or perfect state. Cuttings of the young growth maybe struck in sand in a cold frame under a cloche or bell-glass. Seeds should be sown as soon as ripe in a pan of sandy peat, and placed in a cold frame to germinate. The seeds should be sown thinly, so as not to overcrowd each other in the pan, as they are very impatient of being moved until they have made considerable growth. Trie bell-shaped drooping flowers are very lovely. Bryanthus erectus is a hybrid, the parents being M. c&rulea and Rhododendron chanmcistus. They might doubtless be crossed with some of the hardy Ericas, and a more beautiful race of hybrids be thus obtained, having a more robust habit. Rhododendron. — A very beautiful genus of evergreen flower- ing shrubs, represented in our gardens by numerous hardy varieties. The species are natives of North America, the Caucasus, Gibraltar, Java, Borneo, China, Japan, and the Sik- kim Himalayas, whence Dr Hooker introduced seeds of so many fine species about 1848. All the species may be propa- THE HEATH AND RHODODENDRON FAMILY. 293 gated by cuttings of the young wood, just as it gets firm at the base. These should be pricked into pans of sandy soil, and placed in a warm frame or pit for a week or so previous to setting them on a gentle bottom-beat. If only one or two individuals are required, then propagate by layering. Grafting is often the quickest and best method of propagation ; and R. ponticum, or any other hardy variety, may be raised from seed for stocks. Clean seedling stocks are best, and grafting can be performed in September or later, side or veneer grafting being the best methods, as then the top of the stock need not be headed down. A close frame or a pit slightly heated should be used in which to conduct the operation ; and the stocks should be established in pots for choice varieties. Inarching succeeds well from April to September, and is often best and surest where the parent plant is small and portable. The hardy kinds may be propagated readily by grafting, the stocks being taken up in March and grafted either by side or splice grafting, after which lay in the stocks by the heels, and cover either with a frame or hand-lights until the union is complete, which will be in about a month or six weeks. Some graft the stocks at 9 to 10 inches from the ground in the open quarters, and others graft at the collar in August, covering the junction with soil. In grafting, tie the scion firmly, and exclude air by a coating of mastic or grafting wax. Scions are formed of the young growth after it has become partially hardened at the base. The late Mr J. Standish recommends grafting in heat in January, February, and March, or in a cold frame in April ; but in the latter case the grafts require to be cut in February, and stuck in a north border, protecting them with a bell-glass or hand-light. Stocks are two-year-old seedlings, with clear fresh stems, and these can be worked if desirable within an inch or two of the collar. Saddle-grafting is the best in heat, and forms the firmest and most intimate union. For grafting, the stocks are taken up from the nursery rows, and after being worked and tied firmly, they are carefully planted in boxes of light rich earth, and placed in a close case in the propagating house or stove until a union is effected. Side-grafting in August is also successful, the stocks being potted and grafted in heat as above, but not headed back as in saddle-grafting ; and they require to be kept under glass until the spring, while those worked earlier in the year can be planted out in October (see 'Gardeners' Chronicle,' 1871, p. 308). The seeds should be sown as soon as they are ripe in a slightly-heated frame or pit on a bed of fine soil, or if the quan- tity is small, in pots, boxes, or pans. Some prefer to keep the 294 GENERAL REVIEW. seed until March before sowing ; and in September of last year I saw fifty thousand seedlings in Methven's Nursery, Leith Walk, Edinburgh, which had been sown the March previous, and these had been pricked off when an inch in height. The seed germinates in a month or five weeks, and may be pricked off into beds of light rich earth in cold frames or pits as soon as large enough to handle. Seed of tender warm greenhouse kinds should be sown in a gentle heat in pans, and kept near the light in a warm pit or vinery after germination ; and when large enough, they should be potted off into small thumb-pots. The Pontic and Catawba species are quite hardy ; and it is by using these that hybridisers have been able to obtain a hardy race by crossing them with the finer-flowered and brighter- coloured Indian kinds, such as R. arboreum, and its white, rosy, cinnamon, and blood-coloured forms. When R. arboreum was first introduced, it was only seen in conservatories and plant-houses ; but the bright and beautiful colours of this and other Indian varieties set the hybridisers to work, and so suc- cessful have they been, that by continual crossings with the hardier varieties from different parts of the world, such as R. ponticum, cattcasicum, maximum, and catawbiense, they have stamped a vast variety of shades of beautiful colours upon a race which, for hardiness and usefulness in garden decoration, cannot be excelled in any other genus of plants. Better than all, these modern hybrids are by no means so particular as to soil, and many of the best of them may be very successfully grown in fibrous loam, decayed leaves, and sand intermixed. The foliage and manner of growth will generally indicate how much of the Indian type prevails in the variety ; and in pro- portion as that type is predominant, so will the plant be par- ticular as to soil and climate. A wet and frosty winter after a warm mild autumn is a severe test of the hardiness of Rho- dodendrons. As a rule, the sorts which have arboreum blood in their veins perish — generally root and branch ; while those of the ponticum strain sustain much injury to their blossoms. It is only those bred from catawbiense that escape with impunity, and these in a greater or lesser degree in accordance with the influence of their ancestors, in cases where intermixture of blood has taken place. The pallid, lilac-hued Everestiamim and roseum elegans are two sturdy and hardy sorts ; but some of the higher-coloured varieties also, of quite modern date, seem able to brave all weathers with impunity. Among those of this category are the rosy " Lady Armstrong," the rosy-scarlet " James Bateman," the rich crimson " Mrs Milner," and " H. W. Sargent " — all remarkably attractive flowers, together with THE HEATH AND RHODODENDRON FAMILY. 295 " Mrs John Glutton," the gem of all others amongst the whites, and " Caractacus" amongst the purplish crimsons. We have here half-a-dozen sorts which are comparatively new, and which it would be very difficult to beat, taking into account their high and pure colours, their magnificent flower-trusses, and their fine hardy Laurel-like foliage. It is the duty of the hybridiser to infuse a good constitution into his creations, just as it is to improve them in form and colour ; hence he should be a close observer of the effects of temperature and exposure on the plants he attempts to improve, so as to enable his seedlings to withstand our climate with impunity; and this particularly applies to the hardy varieties of Rhododendron. In crossing Rhododendrons, the hardiest and best-habited plants should always be selected as the seed-bearing parents ; and R. catawbiense or R. maximum are the best in this respect from which to originate races ; but if the object is merely to raise seedlings of existing races, then seeds should be saved from cross-fertilised, modern, hardy varieties now annually sent out by the Messrs Waterers, Messrs Lane, and others. If early- blooming varieties are desired, then R. caucasicum is one of the best species to start with, or some of its varieties, as R. Nobleanum or R. Nobleanum album. We yet hope to see some new greenhouse varieties raised between the tubular-flowered species of which R.jasminiflorum is the type, and the hardy vari- eties of Rhododendron, Azalea sinensis, or the Ghent Azaleas. The late Mr John Standish was one of the first who at- tempted to improve the hardy Rhododendrons by hybridis- ing them with the Indian species; and he appears to have gone to work in the gardens of the Duchess of Gloucester at Bagshot Park, soon after the introduction of R. arboreum, for one of his first hybrids was R. altadarense (R. arboreum x R. catawbiense]. Then came R. Blandyanum (R. catawbiense x R. altaclarense), and R. Blandyanum superbum was the result of crossing R. Blandyanum with pollen from a variety named " Queen Victoria," other seedlings from this last-named cross being Manglesit, " Robert Burns," Menziesii, " Countess de Morella," " General Cabrera," and others. Another race was produced by using R. maximum, another North American species, as the seed-parent, this also being fertilised by pollen .of the Indian R. arboreum. One of the first products of this cross was R. Lindsayii; and this variety, fertilised with pollen from R.ponticum album, produced a numer- ous progeny, whose flowers varied from white through all the shades of lilac to a deep purple. These being again crossed 296 GENERAL REVIEW. with the previous hybrid variety R. altadarense, gave a beau- tiful lot of varieties, among which were Paxtonii, " Mrs Beecher Stowe," " Gem," and several others ; and Paxtonii, fertilised by Lindsay ii, gave " Climax," Fimbriatum, and others. A third series of varieties was originated by crossing R. ponticum purpureum with R. altadarense. One of the best of these was " Queen Victoria," which in its turn was fertilised with R. altadarense, and produced ". Vesuvius;" and the last- named again, crossed with R. Blandyanum, gave Brebnerii, 11 Madame Titiens," and many other fine forms. R. maximum, crossed by R. caitcasicum, produced " Cunning- ham's White ; " and the last, with Blandyanum, produced lim- batum, one of the most beautiful of all the forms then known. From the hybrids of the R. catawbiense section — for example, album elegans, pictum, and others — such fine forms as " Stan- dish's Perfection," " Minnie," " Mrs Standish," and others, were produced. In the * Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society,' vol. v. p. 271, Messrs Standish & Noble thus relate their experience in raising hybrid Rhododendrons : — " We find that, analogous to what is observed in the animal kingdom, the greater the cross the more healthy the progeny, and that breeding ' in and in ' produces weak and deteriorated con- stitutions. We have a remarkable instance of this in a batch of hybrids, raised from Caucasicum album (that being a hybrid), fertilised by its own pollen. The plants are extremely dwarf, with variegated foliage. So dwarf are they that many of them had eight or ten flower-buds on, when only from four to six inches high, and four years old. They, however, bloomed quite freely when only three years old, and about as many inches high. Flowers produced by these dwarfs were again fertilised by their own farina, and although seeds were pro- duced and vegetated, the plants could not be kept alive, but after various durations of existence, from two to eighteen months, they finally disappeared. One of the dwarfs above- named, which we have called Bride, fertilised with the pollen from another distinct hybrid, has, however, produced some very healthy seedlings. A remarkable example of the varied nature which hybridising effects in the Rhododendron is afforded in a hybrid raised from R. catawbiense by a large yellow Ghent Azalea. The object was to raise a hardy yellow hybrid, but in this we have been disappointed, as it has proved to be pink, and we have named it " Deception." It is an extraordinary cross ; we never recollect meeting with so decided a * sport.' It resembles neither of its parents, being one of our best growers, THE HEATH AND RHODODENDRON FAMILY. 297 with foliage large and thick, of a bright green, and when in a young state it has the appearance of being coated with varnish. Another remarkable hybrid, which we have called Towardii, was raised from Catawbiense by Altaclarense, this being a per- fect giant in every respect. The foliage is very fine, and the flowers, both individually and in the truss, remarkably large, each forming a perfect cup. We know no Rhododendron equal to it in size and perfection of flowers. " Having shown some of the effects of hybridising upon the Rhododendron, and the various breeds produced, we would beg to recommend all who intend practising this very interesting branch of horticulture, no matter what class of plants they pro- pose to operate on, to choose the parents, whether species or hybrids, as far removed from each other as is consistent with the constitution of the plants and the result aimed at. We have in a tabular form appended a description of eight distinct sections of hybrid Rhododendrons, and it will be seen that all our third crosses, although all hybrids, have been selected as distinct from each other as possible. The plants raised from these crosses are all as healthy as we could wish, and they pre- sent a very great diversity in the characters of their foliage. SECTION I. Catawbiense Arboreum Altaclarense I Blandyanum. I Towardii. } Meteor. Catawbiense (AHaclarense \ \ Pule helium. SECTION II. StandishiL Ponticum Maximum Hybrid Maxinnim Hybrid Maximum Raeanum. Ponticum album Caucasicum Caucasicum album SECTION III. I Bride. Original, and a race of remarkable dwarf and varie- gated varieties. * When the name in this arrangement in printed in ordinary type, it indicates the plant to have been a breeder ; when in italics, a hybrid pro- duced. Thus, Catawbiense, fertilised with pollen of Arboreum, produced Altaclarense. Then taking Catawbiense as the female again, and fertilis- ing it with the pollen of the hybrid Altaclarense, a race of excellent flowers, such as Blandyanum, Towardii, &c., was produced. 298 GENERAL REVIEW. SECTION IV. Purpureum Altaclarense Queen Victoria. SECTION V. Caucasicum Arboreum album Coriaccziin. SECTION VI. Catawbiense \ Large yellow > Deception. Ghent Azalea ) SECTION VII. Campanulatum Hybrid Maxi- mum Hybrid Campanu- latum. SECTION VIII. Bride j Dried farina (pollen) of > Result not known." Dalhousieanum ) Mr J. Anderson-Henry has drawn attention to the apparently partial hybridity which takes places in Veronicas (see Veronica), and the non-reciprocity of the hybrid union between certain species of Rhododendron (see 'Jour. Royal Hort. Soc.,' 1873, p. 105 :— " I have no doubt something of the same kind occurs among Rhododendrons. But I may only instance one case where I crossed 'R. Edgworthii on R. caucasicum ; the seedlings, ever few when the cross is a severe one (by which term I mean such instances as where the species do not affect each other kindly), were only two in number ; and though now about ten years old, they show no indications of setting for flower. But while they have both the glabrous foliage of the seed-bearer, and even the ochreous tint underneath, they differ in having pyriform instead of its lanceolate leaves. But though in these particulars they depart from the normal state of R. caucasicum, they have not one feature of R. Edgworthii, the male parent. The other case is where I crossed the same R. Edgu>orthii on R. Jenkinsii. Here the seedlings, again only two in number, resembled the mother, except in having again the pyriform foliage, in which, be it observed, it is a departure from both parents, both having lanceolate leaves, those of R. Jenkinsii being acutely so. The hybrid in this latter case is budded for flower; but the flowers of both parents are white; and both sweet-scented, and among the largest of the genus, though the scent, texture, and forms of the flowers are different ; so that I look for surer tests in the coming flowers, though these may be more perplexing too than any that yet appears. It is proper to observe that I take the utmost precaution in all my crossing operations to prevent miscarriage in any possible way. " While treating of my difficulties with this R. Edgu'orthii, THE HEATH AND RHODODENDRON FAMILY. 299 one of the most peculiarly constituted as it is one of the most peculiarly featured of all the Rhododendron tribe, having its rugose leaves densely pubescent on the upper while it is perfectly shaggy with tomentum on the under side, every stem being clothed with the same tomentum, I have another most singular peculiarity to note in regard to it — namely, that while it will cross other species, it will take on a cross from none, — that is to say, while it has been repeatedly made the male, it has never with me, though I have tried it often, nor with any other that I have heard of, submitted to become the female parent I have crossed it repeatedly on JR. ciliatum, one of the minor forms, too, of Dr Hooker's Himalayan species. It has been crossed, too, on R. formosum in this neighbourhood, I believe, in the Stanwell Nursery ; but I never could get it to take on any cross whatever. R. Nuttalli behaved, with me, in the same manner ; it would cross, but not be crossed : but I did not per- severe with it as I did with R. Edgworthii. Now I do not assert absolutely that R. Edgworthii, in the numerous tribe of which it is a member, may not be hybridised with some other of its kindred, but I could never get it to reciprocate a cross. And this remarkable circumstance of non-reciprocity has per-, plexed and defied me in innumerable instances throughout my long experience in these pursuits. It occurred to me that the pollen of larger forms might be of larger grains, and so might not pass through the necessarily small ducts of the styles of smaller species ; yet R. ciliatum, a tiny species of one foot high, was crossed freely by R. Edgworthii, as I have just noticed, a species of six feet high. I even crossed this latter species on a pure Indian Azalea, though, by pulling the seed-pod before it was ripe, I raised no seeds of this latter cross." The same gentleman, writing to the ' Gardeners' Chron- icle,' remarks : " I have raised no end of another brood ob- tained by crossing Rhododendron Nuttalli on another hybrid of my own obtained by crossing R. formosum and R. Dalhousie- anum" On the Continent, among the first to hybridise the Rhodo- dendron were MM. Lemichez, who went to work with JR. cataivlriense, R. maximum, R. caucasicum, and R. arboreum. Rhododendron Rovellii. — A small-growing hardy hybrid raised in Italy by M. Rovelli. It is the result of a cross effected be- tween R. dauricum and R. arboreum, and is said to combine the early-blooming habit of the former with the vigour and glowing beauty of the latter species (see 'Revue Hort.,' 1867, p. 159 ; Herbert's ' Amaryllidaceae,' p. 359). The following short list of early Rhododendron hybrids, with 300 GENERAL REVIEW. their parentage, will be interesting to those who wish to see the relative influence of the male or female parents : — R. Nobleanum. — Female, Caucasicum ; male, Arboreum. JR. Altaclarense. — Female, Catawbiense ; male, Arboreum. R. Russelliamim. — Female, Catawbiense, var. ; male, Arboreum. R. Nobleanum album. — Female, Caucasicum; male, Cinnamonicum. R. coriacea. — Female, Caucasicum; male, Catawbiense. JR. ' Cunningham's White.'' — Female, Maximum ; male, Caucasicum. The beautiful hybrids obtained by the hybridists aroused the energy of other cultivators ; and Mr Smith of Norbiton, near Kingston, succeeded in fertilising R. ponticum with pollen from Azalea sinensis, the result being a beautiful race of hybrid vari- eties, of which we may name R. aureum (see Paxt. ' Mag. of Bot.,' vol. ix. p. 79), decorum, amcenum, carneum, flavescens, norbitonense, and elegantissimum. Of these, the best — or one of the best — was aureum, which seems to be now very rare, as I remember a gentleman asking in the gardening journals in 1874 for information as to where he could get a plant of *' Smith's Aureum " without any response. These hybrids were raised about 1836, and five of the most distinct (including the first variety obtained — viz., R. norbitonense) were exhibited in Ghent in 1839. In 1844, another series of these beautiful hybrids was obtained, among which were R. aureum superbum, Burlingtonii, Broughtonianum, cupreum elegans, Jenkinsonii, och- roleucum, spectabile grandiflorum, and " Victoria Regina." — (See Herbert's ' Amaryllidaceae,' p. 356 and 359, for other interest- ing hybrids of Rhododendron Azalea, &c.) R. prcEcox (see ' Revue Hort.,' 1868, p. 2ri) is an exceed- ingly floriferous rosy-flowered hybrid between R. ciliatum and R. dahuricum, and being an early-flowering plant it deserves the attention of the hybridiser. Crossed with other early forms which bear forcing well, such as R. Nobleanum, we might obtain an early-flowered and valuable race of varieties of great value for pot-culture indoors; and with the help of Messrs Veitch's hybrids of the greenhouse section, we may girdle the year with Rhododendrons as well as with Roses. Figures of the earlier species of Rhododendron are given in .the 'Botanical Magazine:' R. Catawbiense, t. 1671; R. pon- ticum, t. 650; R. maximum, t. 951. The "flowers of the last- named species are light rosy pink and white, like apple-blossom. R. caucasicum is a white - flowered species, having green spots on the upper petals and suffused with rose behind. The leaves are deep green above and rufous below (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 1145). THE HEATH AND RHODODENDRON FAMILY. 301 Apart from the hardy kinds, there is a very beautiful race of warm greenhouse species, among which we may name the following as excellent types for the hybridist to work upon : JR. arboreum (crimson), R. argenteum (white), R. Brookei flavum (orange yellow), R. fulgens (crimson scarlet), R. jas- miniflorum (with clusters of pure white Stephanotis-like flowers), R. javanicum (orange scarlet), R. tubiflorum (crimson or reddish - purple flowers, very curious), R. retusum (reddish- orange flowers in terminal clusters), R. virgatum (flowers rosy white, the only species bearing axillary flowers). One of the finest and earliest hybrids in this group was obtained by Mr Lees, gardener to the Earl of Haddington at Tynningham. This is "Countess of Haddington," a large white-flowered fragrant variety, the result of a cross effected between R. Edgworthii and R. Gibsonii. Another hybrid, R. multiflorum, was obtained by Mr Davis, of Liverpool, by crossing R. ciliatum, a beautiful hardy or half-hardy species from the Himalayas, with R. vir- gatum. Another in the same class, R. " Duchess of Buccleuch," was raised by Mr Fraser in the Leith Walk Nurseries, Edin- burgh, this being a cross between R. Edgworthii and R. Gib- sonii. " Prince of Wales " (Rollison) is the result of crossing R. javanmim with R. retusum, and has clusters of bright reddish- orange flowers. " Princess of Wales," " Princess Alice," " Princess Helena," and " Princess Mary," are also lovely white or rosy-white varieties, the last named having been raised by Messrs Rollison, and is curious, as its clusters of flowers are coloured like apple-blossoms. It is worth while noting that Rhododendrons vary more when crossed in the second generation — that is to say, crosses between the hybrid and cross-bred varieties vary more in colour and habit, and are more floriferous, than is the case of the seedlings obtained be- tween two species. There can be little doubt but that these plants become crossed by insects freely in their native habitats. That the bees visit these flowers we know from the ancient account, which states that the Pontic honey which stupefied the Greek soldiers was collected from R. ponticum, while other historians give Azalea pontica as the plant. The pretty little Austrian R. chamcecistus (see ' Bot. Mag./ t. 488) has been crossed with the Scotch Menziesia, while Mr Anderson-Henry believes he has crossed it with R. virgatum, a distinct species known by its axillary flowers. The flowers of this plant (R. chamcecistus] resemble those of a Kalmia in size and colour. Rhododendron hybrids of great beauty have been raised by Messrs Veitch between R. javanicum and R. jasminiflorum, one of the best being R. "Princess Royal," which has again been 302 GENERAL REVIEW. most successfully used in crossing with R. Lobbii. These crosses grow well in a warm greenhouse temperature, and flower freely, their elegant clusters of bright rose, white, salmon, or scarlet flowers being agreeably odorous. R. " Duchess of Edinburgh," raised from R. " Princess Royal" and R. Lobbii, is a vivid scarlet variety, and one of the finest in the class (see ' Florist,' 1874, p. 145, for coloured figure and description). HYJSRID GREENHOUSE RHODODENDRONS. PROGENY. PARENTS. * R. Princess Royal, R. javanicum x R. jasminiflorum. R. Princess Alice, R. Edgeworthii x R. ciliatum. R. Princess Alexandra, R. Princess Royal x R. Brookei. R. Princess Helena, R. Lobbii x R. jasminiflorum. R. Princess of Wales, R. Lobbii x R. Princess Royal. R.. Princess Thyra, R. Brookei gracilis x R. Princess Helena. R. Crown - Princess of \ -^ Prussia, i Do" Do" R. Duchess of Teck, R. Lobbii - x R. Princess Royal. R. Duchess of Edinburgh,,.. Do. x Do. R. Prince Leopold Do. x Do. Bryanthus. — B. erectus is one of the most beautiful of all dwarf hardy shrubs, and is a hybrid raised by the late Mr James Cunningham, of the Comely Bank Nurseries, Edinburgh. It is the result of a cross between Menziesia ccerulea and Rhodo- dendron chamcecistus, and most nearly resembles the first-named plant. Apart altogether from its beauty, however, this plant is of peculiar interest to the hybridiser as being a true bigen- eric hybrid. THE EPACRIS FAMILY (Epacridaceec). Epacris. — A genus of showy, free-flowering, erect-growing greenhouse shrubs from Australia, similar in general habit of growth and mode of flowering to Ericas, but differing in points of structure and geographical distribution. They are readily propagated by cuttings of the young growth inserted in well- drained pots surfaced with sand, as recommended for Ericas. In some cases it will be necessary to place the plants in heat to obtain cuttings, as is also the case with slow-growing Heaths. Nearly all the kinds in cultivation are hybrids or seminal varie- * It is interesting to find that Mr W. W. Buller also obtained a hybrid very similar to this, and from precisely the same parents, and this plant was exhibited at South Kensington on March 6, 1866 (see Jour. 'Royal Hort. Soc.,' 1866, p. 31). THE SPURGE FAMILY. 303 ties, and the following species may serve for parents in obtain- ing hybrids : E. attenuala elegans, Icevigata, coctinea, campan- ulata, refulgens, and impressa. They do not seed freely unless carefully fertilised and in a vigorous state of health. Seeds should be sown as soon as they are gathered (see Erica). About 1844-45, several beautiful hybrids were raised by Eng- lish nurserymen between Epacris impressa and E. grandiflora. THE SPURGE FAMILY (Euphorbiacece). Euphorbia. — A genus of highly variable plants represented in our flora by several annual weeds. The decussate glaucous- leaved E. lathyrus is popularly but erroneously called the Caper plant, and its seeds are used as a substitute for real Capers, or fruit of Capparis spinosa. The annuals and her- baceous species are readily propagated by seeds or division. The strong-growing African species are often grown in collec- tions of succulent plants; and E. Bojerii, E. splendent, and E. (jaquinceflord) fulgens are cultivated for their glowing scarlet flowers. A dwarf -growing variety of the last-named plant would be invaluable for cut flowers or decorative pur- poses ; or it might be possible to obtain hybrids between that species and E. splendens, or others of a more sturdy habit of growth. The three last named are all easily multiplied by cuttings in a moderately dry heat; and the succulent species are easily propagated by offsets or cuttings of the branches inserted in sandy soil, and placed on a dry sunny shelf near the light. Seed is sometimes produced by the succulent species, and ger- minates readily sown in a gentle bottom-heat ; but the seedlings should be set in a dry sunny position as soon as they appear above the soil, otherwise they are apt to damp off. I believe nothing has yet been done in the way of hybridising these plants, and there is a good field open, as crosses between some of the following genera might possibly be effected. • The dwarf- growing kinds — such as E. globosa, E. meloformis, E. caput- Medusce, and others — may be grafted on the strong-growing columnar or candelabra - like species, as E. canariensis^ E. c&rulescens, E. erosa, E. polygona, or the slender-growing E. mammillaris. E. punicea is an old erect-growing plant, bearing bright green leaves, among which scarlet bracts are produced near the apex similar to those of Poinsettia, but smaller. Buxus (Box). — A genus of shrubs or small trees represented in our gardens by B. sempervirens or Common Box, and its numerous forms. There are gold and silver variegated forms, 304 GENERAL REVIEW. and in the gardens at Shrubland there is a distinct variety with drooping branches, " as pendulous as those of a weeping Ash." Another very ornate decorative form is the Hardwicke Box, a very fine evergreen shrub, much like the Handsworth Box in general character. Mr Fish says that the original plant is at Hardwicke,- and looks to be about twenty or more years old. " Lady Cullum," he writes, " tells me that it came up amongst others, and Sir Thomas Cullum, who was a great admirer of Box, thought, I believe, that it was a cross between the Minorca and the Common Box. There seems no doubt it originated here, and all our stock is the produce of one plant. It is most distinct and beautiful. All the other kinds of Box seed very freely here, but I have never seen the Hardwicke variety either flower or seed, which is somewhat singular. We have thousands come up in the shubberies every year, but I have not seen one at all like the Hardwicke." The dwarf Box used for edgings to walks and flower-beds is B. sempervirens suffruticosa. In the north of Europe B. sem- pervirens attains a height of 20 to 30 feet, and the wood, which is annually becoming more expensive, is imported largely for the manufacture of blocks for engraving purposes, and also for mathematical instruments, more especially for folding carpenters' rules. All the finer kinds of wood-engrav- ing are executed on blocks of this wood cut into squares ex- actly one inch in thickness. The engravings in this work are all cut on this wood, which is sold at prices varying from one halfpenny to sixpence per square inch, according to quality and size. B. balearica or Minorca Box has larger leaves than the common species, and is not so hardy. All the kinds may be propagated from seeds sown as soon as ripe, or from cut- tings five or six inches in length taken from the current year's growth about August, and inserted in rows like Laurel cuttings along a sheltered border having a northern aspect. B. anstralis, a New Holland species, and B. chinensis (Chinese), require a greenhouse temperature in winter. B. Fortunii (China) and B. longifolia (Nepal) are distinct (see 'Revue Horticole,' 1871, p. 519, 520). Dalechampia. — A small genus of Asiatic or Indian plants, D. Rozleana rosea being sometimes met with in gardens. It has glossy drooping or lanceolate-serrate leaves, and yellow flowers, protected by large heart-shaped pink bracts ; easily pro- pagated by cuttings of the young growth. One or twp elegant .scandent Indian species are yet unintroduced. Codiaeum (Crotons). — A well-known genus of ornamental- foliaged stove shrubs, natives of the Moluccas and the South THE SPURGE FAMILY. 305 Sea Islands. Their flowers are green and inconspicuous, being borne on different spikes or racemes on the same plant (monoecious). The male flowers are small, with numerous stamens ; while the female flowers have no petals, but bear a three-celled ovary or seed-vessel, having a three-lobed style, and each cell of the ovary contains a single seed, as in many other Spurgeworts. They are readily propagated by cuttings of the young growth inserted in light sandy soil, and placed on a genial bottom-heat in a close case, where the temperature varies from 75° to 80°. Most of the varieties — variable as they undoubtedly are — may be referred to C. pictum ; indeed, only two other species are known. In the Moluccas this plant is grown as a decorative shrub, and made into fences, much as Box is used here at home ; while in the South Sea Islands numerous seminal varieties are found. Some of the most distinct of these were introduced about ten years ago by the late Mr John Gould Veitch, and since the introduction of these others have been imported, and many seminal varieties have originated in the London nurseries, others having been originated by sports. These varieties vary immensely from seed, scarcely two plants coming exactly alike ; and seed is very freely borne on well-grown plants, if due precautions are taken to fertilise the female flowers with pollen from the males, the only difficulty being to obtain male flowers when the female ones are open. If the female flowers are fertilised by pollen from a distinct variety, some very good results may be expected. The seeds should be sown as soon as they are gathered, in a well-drained pot. or pan, in light sandy compost, and placed in a bottom-heated case where the temperature is 70° to 80°. Germination soon takes place ; and as the plants grow very quickly — seedlings even faster than cuttings — the hybridiser has not long to wait for results. Careful cross-fertilisation is always to be recommended, even in the case of the most sportive of all plants, such as Calceo- larias or Mimulus ; yet seeds of Crotons often give many new forms when fertilised with pollen from the same variety : indeed they are as variable in this respect as the variegated Dracaenas or Caladiums. Croton Bellulum is a seedling from C. cornutum, crossed with pollen from C. Weismannianum. C. Andreanum is a seedling from C. maximum, fecundated with pollen from C. Veitchii (see * LTllustration Horticole,' 1875, pl- 201 and pi. 210). It is simply impossible to attempt to give the parentage of all the cross-bred varieties which have been raised in our own 306 GENERAL REVIEW. and Continental nurseries, but all the varieties have descended from the old C. pictum, and its descendants promise to be as numerous as those of the Potato or Cabbage. Poinsettia. — P. pulcherrima is one of the most striking of all ornamental winter-flowering plants, its beauty principally consisting in the brilliant scarlet bracts which form a radiate crown around the somewhat inconspicuous greenish-yellow flowers. There is a variety having creamy-white bracts, and Messrs Veitch and Mr Bull have raised seminal varieties differing in colour and shape of the bracts. P. pulcherrima major (Veitch) has broader and smoother bracts than those of the type, and is fully a fortnight or three weeks earlier. P. pulcherrima rosea carminata (Bull). — The bracts of this variety are of a distinct rosy carmine hue, and broader and flatter than in the type, so that a rounder and fuller head is formed. A monstrous variety, having a clustered head of small bracts, was introduced to this country from North American gardens by Messrs Veitch in 1875. This plant — evidently a variety of P. pulcherrima — was discovered by M. Roezl, in the gardens of a small Indian village in the Mexican State of Guerrero, in May 1873. The flower -heads were 14-18 inches across, and about 6 inches in height. The bracts are scarlet, tinged with violet, and last in perfection several weeks, or even months. The plant was sent by M. Roezl to Mr J. Buchanan of New York (see ' Garden,' vol. iv. p. 143). All the varieties are readily increased in the spring months by cuttings of the young growth, with a heel of old wood attached; or the last year's stems may be cut into separate eyes, as in the case of the Grape-vine, and inserted in a genial bottom-heat : these grow away readily. Some propagate this plant after the bracts make their appearance by taking off the tops and striking them in a moist genial bottom-heat in a close case, the principal object of this method — which is also prac- tised with the Chrysanthemum and Gardenia — being to obtain dwarf plants in small pots for decorative purposes. The flowers are small and fleshy, and seed may be obtained by artificial fertilisation. A seminal or hybrid variety of dwarf shrubby habit is a desideratum we hope to see produced. A hybrid between Poinsettia and some of the showy-flowered Euphorbiads might possibly be obtained. THE FERN FAMILY. 307 THE FERN FAMILY (Filices). Well-known evergreen or deciduous plants, distributed over a large portion of the earth's surface, and deservedly much grown and admired in gardens. Most of the species are very readily propagated by brown dust-like bodies (spores), borne in little cases arranged in rows, dots, or lines, on the under sur- face of the frond (leaf). These spores are so light that they are blown about by the slightest breath of air, and come up like weeds in most Ferneries. There is considerable differ- ence in the time occupied in germinating by spores of different genera or species. For example, Gymnogramma, Pteris, and Aspleniums, grow up freely in a few weeks after being sown ; while Trichomanes, Hymenophyllum, Marattias, and others, do not grow very freely under any circumstances, and take months to germinate. The spores should be gathered as soon as ripe, and either kept in dry paper until spring, or sown at once on the surface of well-drained pots, the pots being covered with a flat circular piece of glass, and placed in a moist propagating case or frame. If the seedlings come up too thickly, forming a layer of liver- wort-like growth on the pot-tops, pans of moist sandy earth may be prepared, and pieces of the green growth taken up and pricked off, at about an inch apart, after which give a gentle^ watering, and return the pans into the case until the young growth becomes established. If the young growths (prothallia) are not pricked off in this way, the stronger choke the weaker, and so many plants are lost ; and in the case of new or rare kinds this is, of course, to be avoided as much as possible. Some propagators cut the fertile fronds off the plants they wish to propagate, and lay them, spores downwards, on a pan of moist earth, securing them with bent twigs or little pegs. By adopting this plan, the frond may be cut and pegged down some little time before the spore-cases burst ; for if this happens many of the spores are dispersed and lost. In the case of free- growing kinds, the plant may be set above a thin layer of old coal-ashes or sandy earth, and the spores allowed to fall naturally and germinate, after which they can be pricked off when in the intermediate stage, or left until the fronds appe'ar, and they are large enough to be potted- Many Aspleniums, Adiantums, and Osmunda orientalis, are proliferous, and these are readily multiplied by cutting off the fronds and pegging them down, so as to enable the young plants to root ; or in some cases they can be removed with a little bit of the frond, 308 GENERAL REVIEW. and pricked off in pans. Many cespitose Ferns are readily propagated by division. Hybridising. — It does not appear to be generally known that it is possible to cross-fertilise or hybridise Ferns, and pos- sibly also other cryptogams. To explain how this is to be effected in the case of Ferns, we must begin with the seed or spore. A Fern-spore is a minute round body with two elastic coats, one within the other, and the hemispherical cavity inside the inner coat is filled with that peculiar living matter made familiar to us by Huxley and others under the name of proto- plasm. When the spore falls upon a moist and suitable sur- face, it swells and protrudes two or three tube-like cells, one ot which elongates and develops into other cells, until a green, flat, liverwort-like expansion is formed, called the prothallus, and familiar to every gardener who has sown Fern -spores, since their appearance indicates the growth he expected to call forth. Now we come to the interesting stage when fertilisation takes place. If the under side of a well-developed prothallus be examined under a good lens, a series of small, white, hair- like rootlets will be found protruding from it, while around its margin will be found one or more notches or indentations. Among the rootlets, however, are two series of cysts or cells of a more or less hemispherical shape, and both containing organs of a different nature. In one series of cysts or receptacles we .jfind round, loose cells, not unlike the parent spore in general appearance, but of a more delicate texture. When these are fully developed, the cyst in which they have been generated becomes ruptured, and they fall or are projected out on the surface of the moist soil or prothallus. Now each of these little cells contains a small quantity of fluid, in which is con- fined a minute spiral body like a vinegar eel, but very much smaller ; and as the cells soon burst in water, these little eel-like bodies are set free, and possess the power of moving with in- credible velocity in water, while they are so minute that the most gentle dew on a leaf is sufficient to enable them to traverse it in all directions. These little bodies are called anther ozoids, and possess a power analogous to that of pollen in flowering-plants. These eel-like bodies are common to different forms of cryptogamic or flowerless vegetation, and are the very agents which enable the Potato-disease (Peronospora infestans] to increase so rapidly when once it gains a footing. Careful examination of the liverwort-like prothallus towards its margins, however, reveals another series of cysts (archegonia), and these contain a proembryoic cavity at their base, which may be likened to the ovary in flowering-plants. THE FERN FAMILY. 309 Now, if one or more of the male eel-like antherozoids in their movements come in contact with the cavity in the female cells, the result is a kind of fertilisation similar to that which takes place when pollen is wafted on 'to the stigma of flowering- plants ; and as soon as this takes place, the young or embryo Fern begins its growth. Gardeners often look on the first growth or prothallus as analogous to the seed-leaves in flower- ing-plants ; but this in reality is not the case, the prothallus representing, in fact, an intermediate generation in the life-his- tory of the Fern. Another singular fact is, that the male organs only have as yet been detected in Osmunda, while other Ferns produce male and female organs at different periods, as if to facilitate intercrossing. As a practical deduc- tion from the above facts, it has been suggested that a clever and careful manipulator might be able to produce hybrid Ferns by removing the antherozoids by means of a drop of water on the hair-like point of a sable brush, and applying them to the , archegonia or female ovary-like cells of another species. In some cases this result is believed to have been effected accidentally in nature, especially amongst Gymnogrammas ; and a supposed natural hybrid between Pteris serrulata and Pteris tremula made its appearance in a batch of young Ferns raised at Chis- wick a year or two ago. (See * Jour. Royal Hort. Society ' (new series), vol.,i. p. 137, for a very interesting account of a sup- posed hybrid Fern, and remarks on artificial fertilisation. In the ' Trans. Linn. Soc.,' vol. ii. p. 93, is an interesting account of the germination of Fern-spores, &c. See also vol. xxi. p. 117.) Many practical propagators have been surprised at the results which have attended their attempts to propagate particular kinds of Ferns from spores, owing to the appearance of other species in the pots or pans in which spores of any particular variety had been sown. M. Mayer of Carlsruhe has made many experiments on the germination of Ferns, and points out that boiling or baking the soil for some time in order to kill the germs of Ferns, Liverworts, &c., is essential, using the soil directly afterwards, and covering it from the atmosphere with an inverted shade or bell-glass, so as to exclude the spores of such genera as Pteris, Gymnogramma, Liverworts, or Confervse, which, being exceedingly fertile, choke- up any of the more delicate kinds. Spores should always be sown in a house or pit from which all spore-bearing Ferns are excluded ; for unless this is done, it is next to impossible to prevent free-growing intruders, or " rogues," taking possession of the pots. Care should be taken to gather spores before the cases burst for it is no unusual thing for the empty spore- 3IO GENERAL REVIEW. cases to be sown carefully, and then the cultivator's hopes of raising a stock of any particular kind are doomed to dis- appointment. M. Mayer has succeeded in raising Gleichenia cicarpa and Marattia latifolia from spores. The Gleichenia he succeeded in raising in large numbers, but the process is slow, a period of five months intervening between the appear- ance of the prothallium frond and the development of the first young frond-spores. Marattia latifolia produced prothallia a month after sowing, and in another month they were sufficiently advanced to be pricked off in pans, and in a further period of six to eight months the first young fronds made their appearance. Every attempt to propagate any of the Hymenophyllaceae from spores failed. In the last-named group the germination of the spores takes place before they are detached from the spore- cases, and the least check to their vegetation is fatal. Some of the more robust and fertile Ferns, on the other hand, produce spores which will germinate when taken from dried herbarium specimens twenty years old. With respect to the supposed hybrid Ferns we can say but little, since up to the present time we have no positive evidence of their production. Asplemum ebenoides is supposed to be a natural hybrid between A. ebeneum x Camptosarus rhizophyllus (see 'Jour. Hort. Soc./ vol. i. new series, p. 137, with figures). It is of N. American origin, having been found growing wild on the banks of the Schuylkill, about eight miles from Phila- delphia, by Mr R. Robinson Scott of the latter place. Pteris versicolor, P. quadriaurita, var. argyrea, and P. cretica albo-lineata, are probably spore-sports, as also are the numerous crested, depauperated, or furcate forms of Athyrium, Lastrea, Scolopendrium, Pteris, Gymnogramma, and other genera. Some seedling forms of Lomaria gibba are much larger and more vigorous than the typical species ; and it has been suggested that they are hybrids between the last-named plant and Blech- num braziliense, or its variety B. b. corcovadense. A plant of Pteris (P. serrulato-tremuld) originated quite accidentally at Chiswick a few years ago, and is believed to J}e a hybrid between P. tremula and P. serrulata, itself one of the most variable of species when propagated from spores (see * Jour. Royal Hort. Soc.,; vol. iv. new series, p. 38, fig. v.) Todea intermedia is a wild intermediate form which combines the characters of T. pellucida and T. superba. Mr Thos. Moore, F.L.S., thus alludes to the variations or spore-sports of Lomaria in the ' Florist : ' " Lomaria gibba crispa is a sport raised by Mrs E. Cole & Sons, which is of dwarfish habit, and so densely leafy and wavy that the edges of the pinna take on a THE FERN FAMILY. 311 decidedly crisped appearance. Another variety of the same species, called major, has been raised in several places. It is very much larger in its growth than the true L. gibba, produces many fertile fronds as broadly leafy as those of a true Blechnum, those occupying the position of the normal fertile fronds being also less contracted than in the type : the plants, indeed, appear intermediate between L. gibba and Blechnum braziliense. These varieties are quite distinct from the finely ramose and crested L. gibba Bellii, grown by Messrs Osborn, and Messrs Veitch & Sons. To what course of circumstances can we attribute the extreme variety observable in our native Lastreas, Athyriums, Polypodiums, Polystichums, and Scolopendriums ? Doubtless many of these crested and depauperate forms owe their origin to cultivation, but nevertheless hundreds of other variations equally curious are found in the lanes and hedgerows of Devon and Cornwall, or on the Welsh mountains, so that we must look to a deeper disturbing cause than culture if we wish to know the truth as to the variability and want of fixity of character exhibited by these elegant cryptogams. Mr Thos. Moore, F.L.S., writing of Gymnogrammas, says : " The Gold and Silver Ferns seem liable to a great amount of variation ; and intermediate forms, whether hybrids or sports, are often very distinct and beautiful. Such is the case with some that M. Stelzner, of Ghent, has sent us. The most striking is G. Laucheana gigantea, a richly-powdered form of the chrysophylla group, growing to a large size, and having remarkably broad leafy pinnules : this will be found an ex- tremely decorative plant. G. aurea pendula cristata has the same free-growing habit as the former, but with a multifid apex to the somewhat narrower fronds, and is of freer growth than most of the crested varieties of Gold Ferns. G. Stelzneri superba cristata is another Golden Fern more sparsely powdered, but very distinct and elegant : it has a multifidly- forked apex, the tips of the pinnae broadly fingered, and the pinnules also broad." G. Wettenhalliana is another crested Gold Fern common in English gardens about 1867-68, and it was one of the first crested forms in cultivation. A. elegantissimum (hort. Williams} and A. Farleyense (ex hort. Farley Hill, Barbadoes) are both supposed to be spore- sports or spore-hybrids, the first-named from A. cuneatum, and the latter from A. scutum. A. Luddemannianum (hort. Veitch} is a curious fasciated sport from the British Maiden- hair, A. capillus-veneris. Asplcnium Breynii is considered from its habit, &c., to be 312 GENERAL REVIEW. a hybrid between A. ruta muraria and A. septentrionale. Gymnogramma Martensii originated in French gardens, and was afterwards found in Guadaloupe. Of course it is possible that spores may have been accidentally introduced from its native habitat, but in appearance it is intermediate between G. calomelanos and G. chrysophylla. One of the earliest references to hybrid Ferns I have seen is in the ' Gardeners' Chronicle,' 1844. p. 500, and is a translation by the Rev. M. T. Berkeley of a paper by E. Regel which appeared in the ' Botanische Zeitung,' 1843. From the gardens of Bonn and Berlin, M. Regel had eight seemingly hybrid forms, all Gymnogrammas, as follows : — G. L' Herminieri, between G. chrysophylla and G. peruviana. G. chrysophyllo-distans, raised both at Erfurt and Berlin. G. Martensii, between G. chrysophylla and G. dealbata, G. Massonii, between G. chrysophylla and G. calomelanos. G. chrysophyllo-melana, between the same species. G. distanti-dealbata, between G. distans and G. calomelanos. G. calomelanos-dealbata, between the species whose united names it bears. G. distanti-calomelanos, between G. distans and G. calomelanos. It does not appear to be generally known that G. decomposita accidentally made its appearance some years ago in Mr Gare's collection at Falkirk, N.B., and that it is presumably a spore- sport from G. Pearcei. Mr Henderson also describes several supposed hybrids or sports, these also belonging to the gold or silver dusted section of Gymnogramma. Whether these forms are really hybrids or not we have no means of ascer- taining, although the truth from a scientific point of view would be very valuable. The fact, however, that many Ferns, especially Pteris and powdered Gymnogrammas, do vary when . spores are sown in proximity, remains, and is of vast practical importance to the intelligent cultivator. One of the latest of novelties in this way is a beautiful Fern exactly like Pteris serrulata cristata in general habit, but there is also somewhat of the texture and variegation of P. cretica albo-lineata. Mr Meehan, in alluding to this variety (which originated as a spore-sport in America), says : " It is exactly intermediate " be- tween the two varieties above named (see * Amer. Gard.,' 1875, P- 330). THE D i ELYTRA FAMILY (Fumariacetz). A group of fleshy herbaceous plants, principally natives of temperate countries. The principal genera grown in gardens are Dicentra, Dielytra, Adlumia, Corydalis, and Fumaria. THE MUSHROOM FAMILY. 313 Dielytra spectabilis is a very pretty hardy herbaceous plant from China, bearing white or rosy pink flowers. This plant and some species of Corydalis are the most showy, and are often met with in gardens. Lindley remarks that the economy of the sexual organs in Fumeworts is remarkable. " The stamens are in two parcels, the anthers of which are a little higher than the stigma. The two middle ones of these anthers are turned outwards, and do not appear to be capable of com- municating their pollen to the stigma ; the four lateral ones are also naturally turned outwards, but by a twist of their filament their face is presented to the stigma. They are all held firmly together by the cohesion of the tips of the flower, which, never unclosing, offer no apparent means of the pollen being dis- turbed so as to be shed upon the stigmatic surface. To remedy this inconvenience, the stigma is furnished with two blunt horns, one of which is inserted between and under the cells of the anthers of each parcel, so that without any altera- tion of position on the part of either organ, the mere contraction of the valves of the anthers is sufficient to shed the pollen upon that spot where it is required to perform the office of fecunda- tion." Notwithstanding this seemingly admirable arrangement for securing self-impregnation, the fact is that very few fertile seeds are produced either by the species of Dielytra or Cory- dalis ; and Mr J. Seden, after industriously applying pollen of several other allied species to the stigma of Dielytra specta- bilis, failed to obtain a single seed. Is it possible that self- fertilisation for ages has destroyed the seminal fecundity of this Dielytra ? or is fertilisation effected in its native habitats by insect agency? THE MUSHROOM FAMILY (Fungi).* The great family of Mushrooms, Toadstools, Mildew, and Moulds, many of the larger kinds being edible ; but as yet little is known of their artificial propagation and culture. Agaricus campestris is the only kind cultivated in this country, and is well known as the Common Mushroom of fields and meadows. The Truffle (Tuber cibarium} is grown by artificial means in Prussia and Germany, but all attempts to cultivate it * The reader interested in Mushroom-culture should see ' Mushroom- Culture,' by W. Robinson, F.L. S. ; and ' Mushrooms, and how to Grow them,' by W. Earley. For an illustrated paper on "Reproduction in the Mushroom Tribe," by Mr W. G. Smith, F.L.S., the reader interested should see 'Gardeners' Chronicle,' 1875, p. 488-519. 3H GENERAL REVIEW. in this country have failed. Coprinus comatus is often found . on dunghills near stables, and is one of the best of the edible kinds ; and Agaricus procerus (the Speckled or Parasol Agaric) is equal to the Common Mushroom, and is as well worth arti- ficial culture as a food plant. Fungi, like Ferns, develop male and female organs, after the spore has commenced to germinate the zoospores, containing minute cilia — fringed bodies \spermato- zoids] — which move rapidly in water, and act in a way analogous to pollen-grains by fertilising the germinal vesicle in the ovary- like, cysts (archegonia). Many of the smaller Fungi are terrible pests, especially Mildew, which attacks Roses, Vines, Melons, Cucumbers, Peaches, and many other cultivated plants ; and the Peronospora infcstans, which works such sad havoc with our Potato crops in wet warm seasons. These the gardener seeks means to destroy rather than means to propagate. So far as edible Fungi are concerned, there is a field of labour open for all who can find time and opportunity to experimentalise on the artificial culture of Truffles and many Agarics which are equally as succulent, delicate in flavour, and nutritious as the Com- mon Mushroom. The great essentials to the development of the Common Mushroom are a moderate heat of 60° to 80°, accompanied by a humid atmosphere and. a moderate amount of light. Accord- ing to some authorities, they absorb a large amount of nitrogen ; but the direct application of nitrogenic manures to the soil does not appear to influence their growth in the open ground. The Common or edible Mushroom is readily propagated from spawn — that is, cakes -or bricks made of horse-dung, cow-dung, loam, and chopped hay well mixed together, and made into flat bricks ; and to these cakes the mycelium of the Mushroom is added, either from a pasture where Mushrooms are found in abundance, or more often from previously made spawn. After the cobweb-like mycelium has spread through the compost in every direction, but before the more perfect silvery threads have time to form, the whole is formed into bricks or cakes, and dried; and curiously enough, the mycelium so treated retains its vitality for a long time, and soon develops itself when placed in a moist firm compost or bed of horse-droppings and soil, in a warm and humid atmosphere. The flat cakes are about 10 inches long by 5 wide, and vary from i^ to 2 inches in thickness. By some spawn-cakes are made of cow-dung, horse-dung (that from horses at grass being best), sheep-dung, loam, and chopped hay, the latter being used to bind the whole firmly together. After these are made, they are laid on laths to become partially dry before the spawn is added. They are THE MUSHROOM FAMILY. 315 then taken and placed in alternate rows of heated horse-drop- pings, and as each brick is added a hole or two is made in it with a pointed stick, and the cavity filled up with previously made and tested spawn. The bricks should not touch each other ; and when a stack has been made, cover the whole with a layer of the heated droppings, which by gently heating the cakes causes them to be completely pervaded with myce- lium. Spawn may be purchased from any seedsman, that known as the Milltrack or the French Spawn being considered the best. Tons of this esculent are grown in the caves or quarries which undermine Paris ; and in this country they are largely grown in cellars, mushroom-houses, and by the London market- gardeners in open-air beds made in August, and covered with straw and mats. In Italy an edible species is cultivated by placing coffee-grounds in a cellar where a moderately genial temperature is kept up. This coffee-refuse soon becomes per- meated by mycelium, and seems to furnish it with the requisite food for its full development. Spawn may be made in a covered and dry, but not too airy, situation. The corner of a barn, or that of an out-house or shed, or even of a stable, are favourable places for its develop- ment. The bed in which it is to be generated should be made early in May, and the following are the materials employed, which may be reduced to smaller proportions, if necessary : fifty-six barrow-loads of fresh horse-dung, six barrow-loads of good garden soil, and one barrow-load of fresh wood-ashes, which have not been wet, with half a barrow-load of pigeon's- dung fresh from the pigeon-house : double the quantity of the latter must be used if it be of the preceding year. The whole should be watered lightly with cow's urine or water from the manure-heap. When the mixture has been properly made, after various turnings it should be placed to the depth of a foot along a wall : the width may be left out of the question, but it requires a certain bulk in order that it may heat gently. The bed must be trodden down firmly, and, at the end of ten days, the consolidating process must be repeated, and ought to be continued two or three times a-week until early in Septem- ber. The manure, thus prepared, is cut with a sharp spade into squares of about a foot each. These are then left to dry in a granary, or any other airy place from which sunshine and, above all, damp are excluded. These bricks are placed on their sides, and turned from time to time. Spawn thus made will keep good from ten to twelve years, if it is placed in a dry position, free from frost. Sometimes, even in the granary in which the spawn is dried, large quantities of Mushrooms may 3l6 GENERAL REVIEW. be gathered ; they spring up amidst the debris accumulated along the wall, and even in the crannies between the boards of the floor. The artificial propagation and intelligent culture of the species of Tuber or Truffles is well worth again attempting by horticulturists, notwithstanding that the experiments made by the Royal Horticultural Society a few years ago failed to produce any useful results. Mr Tillery succeeded in the arti- ficial culture of Truffles at Welbeck some years ago, and thus relates his experience: "In 1843 I commenced here an ex- periment of trying to induce Truffles to grow in a young Oak plantation near the lake, by getting all the parings and over- ripe ones from the kitchen, and planting them in it. The soil of this Oak plantation had originally come from the bed of the lake, and was full of the shells of small fresh -water molluscs, so that it was of a calcareous nature. Wherever the old Truffles were planted I took great care that the Oak- leaves should not be disturbed in the autumn or winter, in order that they might form a frost-proof shelter for the young Truffles when growing. The first indication of the success of my venture was the fact of ripe Truffles being found in the places where the old ones had been planted, by the squirrels scenting them out and scratching them up to eat. I forwarded a fine specimen, weighing more than ^ Ib. after having a piece cut off the top by the scythe of a mower, to the late Prof. Lindley, who pronounced it to be a veritable ripe Truffle. This plantation was afterwards protected and well attended to, and sometimes as many as from 2 Ib. to 3 Ib. of Truffles were dug up at a time, when wanted for the kitchen. In digging for them there was, however, a great loss, for many of the small unripe tubers were destroyed by the spade, from not having Truffle-dogs to sent out those only that were ripe. Afterwards, from alterations in the grounds, this Truffle-pro- ducing plantation was destroyed, and there was an end of the crop, for the ground they grew on was raised 4 ft. higher. Where young Oak plantations are growing on calcareous soils, there is therefore little doubt but that the artificial cultivation of Truffles may be successfully tried in this country." We have two or three British species, and if the conditions necessary to the development of these could be definitely ascertained and imitated in our gardens or plantations, a new food-producing branch of industry, and a most lucrative one, would be the result. Although Truffles are generally found in open Beech, Fir, or Oak woods, it seems to be a matter of doubt whether they are really parasitical on the roots of such trees, as has been THE GARRYA FAMILY. 317 supposed : indeed, Mr C. E. Broome, an eminent authority, has decided that such is not the case, seeing that in Italy he had observed specimens dug from bare hillsides. Calcareous soils or calcareous clays on a cool bottom of marl or marly clay seem to suit the requirements of these Fungi best ; while the reason of their being so often found under trees appears to be that the partial shade of overhanging branches prevents the soil drying too much, as is the case in more exposed positions. Truffles may be propagated by planting the tubers or portions of tubers which produce mycelium or spawn in suitable situa- tions, analogous to that of Mushrooms. At Loudun, Poitou, and Bouardeline, a system of partial culture which may be described as an intelligent improvement of existing advantages, has proved highly remunerative, the production of Truffles on some lands otherwise worthless (except for tim- ber) being worth from £10 to £20 per acre. Wiltshire and Hampshire are the two counties whence the principal home- grown supply is drawn for Covent Garden ; and it is a singular fact that while on the chalk districts of Salisbury Plain, Truffles invariably appear on the ground being planted with Beech and Fir trees, no systematic attempts appear to have been made to propagate the best Continental summer and winter species, or even to augment the supply of our native kinds, by planting- tubers at regular intervals apart, so as to increase the crop. The market value (retail) of Truffles varies from 23. 6d. to i6s. per lb., according to the season and the variety, some being esteemed more highly by epicures than others. Those inter- ested in Truffle - culture should read a valuable paper on " Truffles and Truffle-Culture," by C. E. Broome, Esq., in the ' Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society ' (new series), p. 15-21; and " The Truffle, Oak, and Truffles'," in the ' Garden,' vol. vii. p. 347. Valuable papers, also, by the Rev. M. J. Berkeley, will be found in the 'Gardeners' Chronicle,' 1845, p. 239 et seq. THE GARRYA FAMILY (Garry acea). This is one of the smallest of all natural orders, and was formerly referred to the Nettleworts. Nearly all the species are natives of North America; and Garrya elliptica — that is to say, the male form of it — is the best-known representative in our gardens. Layering is the most practicable method. G. elliptica was introduced from California in 1 8 1 8 by Douglas ; and it would be interesting to know if native-grown seeds or GENERAL REVIEW. female plants can be procured, this plant being one of the most beautiful of all evergreen hardy shrubs. Garry a Thuretii (see 'Revue Hort.,' No. i, 1869) is an hybrid plant raised from the seeds of G. MacFaydiana fertil- ised with pollen from G. elliptica. The seeds were saved in the late M. Thuret's garden at Antibes, and these were sown in 1863, the seedlings being planted out in the open air in 1864; and of the two plants raised, one is a female and the other a male, and both are vigorous. G. elliptica is a beautiful shrub, but rare in gardens — a circumstance partly owing to the absence of the female or seed-bearing plants, and partly to the difficulty which attends its propagation by cuttings. It has been suggested (see ' Revue Hort.,' 1870, p. 260) that seeds might be obtained by fertilising G. macrophylla, female plants of which are not uncommon, with pollen from G. elliptica, and in this way some new varieties might possibly be originated. Garryas may be propagated by layering in the autumn. THE GENTIAN FAMILY (Gentianacea). A widely-distributed group of very beautiful herbaceous or evergreen herbs, represented in our gardens by many European species. The most showy plants in the order are the Gen- tians, and one or two species of Chironia and Erythrcea. The Gentians are found scattered on the mountains of both hemi- spheres, and are very interesting, since there are but few genera which vary so much in colour as does this, in which we find red, blue, yellow, white, orange, purple, lilac, and several other shades. G. acaulis, G. verna, G. Andrew sii, and others, are well known in our gardens. Gentians are readily propagated by division or by seeds, which should be sown as soon as ripe in pans of light moist earth, and placed in a cool frame. The seeds do not germinate freely if allowed to become hard and dry. Several kinds of Gentians are known to be natural hybrids ; and G. luteo-purpurea, a hybrid between G. lutea and G. purpurea, was discovered on one of the mountains in Savoy by MM. Guillemin and Dumas as long ago as 1849. THE CRANE'S-BILL FAMILY (Geraniacea). A family of herbaceous plants and shrubs widely distributed, a large proportion being found at the Cape of Good Hope, these being chiefly species of Pelargonium ; while the species of Ero- THE CRANE'S-BILL FAMILY. 319 dium (Storks'-bills) and Geranium are principally found in Europe, North America, and Northern Asia. The principal genera are Pelargonium, Geranium, Erodium, and Monsonia, the number of good species being, according to Lindley, about five hundred. It may be as well to state here that the genus Pelargonium consists of shrubby perennial plants, having irregular flowers, the two upper petals being largest ; while Geranium is composed of herbaceous plants, with regular flowers, all the petals being equal. If a Pelargonium flower be examined, the spur which is free in the nearly-allied Tropaeolums will here be found adnate to the pedicel of the flower, so as to be scarcely discernible. The seeds in this order are solitary and devoid of albumen, which distinguishes them from Oxalids, where the seeds are numerous in each carpel, and albuminous. The membranous stipules are a further character of the group. There are five distinct type-sections of Pelargonium : — 1. P. grandiflorum or P. cucullatum, types from which our large- flowered Show and Fancy or French Pelargoniums have originated. 2. P. zonale and P. inquinans, types from which scarlet Zonals, Nose- gays, Tom Thumbs, Tricolors, Bronze Zonals, &c., have originated. 3. The tuberous or swollen-stemmed class, as P. triste, P. oblongattim, &c. (Much improvement may be worked in this section.) 4. The ivy- leaved group, represented by the descendants of P. hederce- folium, P. peltatum, or P. lateripes. 5. The cut-leaved, oak-leaved, or scented-leaved group, which will breed with Group No. I, just as Group No. 4 and No. 2 may be blended by the hybridist. P. quercifolium, P. glutinosum, and P. filicifolium are types. Pelargonium.*— A genus of shrubby-habited plants, popu- larly grown in gardens as Geraniums, and principally natives of the Cape of Good Hope; indeed, the Cape flora boasts of 170 species. Two are Australian, one or two natives of St Helena, and several others are found in northern and tropical Africa. Very few of these species are now generally grown in gardens. There are, however, many Cape species preserved at Kew; and Messrs E. G. Henderson and Sons cultivate about fifty of the more showy species, and also some of the early hybrid forms figured as species by Sweet in his * Geraniaceae ' (a most interesting work on this genus, published in 1820-30), and by other authors. All who are interested in the history of the Pelargonium should see a paper contributed to the ' Gardeners' Chronicle/ 1875, P- 97~I29> fr°m which we learn that P. zonale * See 'Pelargonium,' par Thibaut (Paris: 26 Rue Jacob); Sweet's ' Geraniaceje ; ' and Andrews's 'Geraniums.' Many of the elegant old species as first introduced are figured in the earlier numbers of the ' Bo- tanical Magazine.' 320 GENERAL REVIEW. — the Zonal or Horse-shoe Pelargonium — is the earliest culti- vated species (1710), and a white-margined seedling or sport soon followed, and is recorded in Miller's Dictionary, ed. 8, 1768. According to Sir Thomas More, in his 'Flower Gar- den Displayed,' this variety was grown at that date " in curious gardens," and is believed to have originated in Parisian gar- dens. Mr Grieve mentions Miller's Variegated as one of the earliest of variegated forms in cultivation. P. Fothergillii is one of the earliest improvements on P. zonale, and is figured by Andrews in his ' Geraniaceae,' and he describes it as " the largest-flowered zone-leaved Geranium, first raised by the late Dr Fothergill about the year 1780." This plant was formerly much used in flower-garden arrangements, and is interesting as the starting-point or progenitor of the late Donald Beaton's Nosegay varieties. One of the next striking varieties was a gold-edged form of P. zonale, known in gardens as Golden Circle, and this was superseded in 1823 by Golden Chain, which differed mainly in having a broader and brighter golden margin to its green leaves. We have no records of the origin of these varieties ; but they were possibly sports. P. inqninans, the original type of the Scarlet or Tom Thumb varieties, appears to have been first cultivated by Bishop Compton at Fulham in 1714. There is a remarkably strong-growing form of this species which used formerly to be much grown on greenhouse walls under the name of the Giant Tom Thumb. P. inquinans is figured by John Martyn in his ' Historia Plantorum Rariorum ' (1728) ; and, according to Andrews, it had become scarce in its original form so early as 1809, so that it soon appears to have been used by the florist for hybridising with P. zonale; and these two species are the types whence our " bedding " varieties have been derived. The rosy-flowered variety known as Mangles's Variegated is supposed to have originated as a sport from Fothergillii. Previous to 1848, several white-margined varieties of one or both the above-named species were known and used in flower-garden arrangements, but their flowers were thin- petalled, and poor in form. About 1848-49, however, Mr King- horn raised a seedling of remarkable excellence, having broad white-margined leaves and scarlet broad-petalled flowers ; and this, evidently a cross between some of the white-margined sports of P. zonale and the scarlet-flowered P. inquinans, was sent out by Messrs Lee, of Hammersmith, under the name of Flower of the Day. Numerous other forms followed, but nothing of striking importance until 1855, when Mr Peter Grieve raised the well-known Tricolor, Mrs Pollock, which still remains one of the best habited and most ornamental. THE CRANE'S-BILL FAMILY. 321 This variety is the result of a cross between Golden Pheasant and Emperor of the French, a dark-zoned, scarlet - flowered kind, to which Mrs Pollock often reverts when grown in rich soil. Golden Pheasant was a cross between Emperor of the French and Golden Tom Thumb, the latter being itself a cross between Coftage Maid and Golden Chain. Messrs Grieve, Morris, Carter, Windebank, Shepherd, Smith, Hen- derson, Thorpe, Turner, Watson, and Gill, have also raised Tricolor varieties. Soon after Mrs Pollock was sent out, Mr Wills originated another distinct group, the Bronze Zonals — his Beauty of Oulton being one of the earliest and best of the group ; and this was followed by numerous other varieties raised by Messrs Wills, and Downie, Laird, & Laing. Twenty years or so before this, however, the late talented Donald Beaton, when gardener at Shrubland Park, had commenced to hybridise and raise seed- ling Pelargoniums, his aim being to improve the long-petalled forms of P. zonale, or the Nosegay forms, then represented by Fothergillii, and " Mangles's variegated." His seedlings were great improvements on their progenitors, and his Indian Yel- low is still the nearest approach to a yellow " bedding " Pelar- gonium. When Donald Beaton died, his stock of seedlings fell into the hands of Mr W. Paul, who has since sent out many good Nosegay forms, one of the best being Waltham Seedling. Among those who have, by careful cross-breeding, endeavoured to improve the flowers of the Zonal section, we may mention Messrs W. Paul, Pearson, Hibberd, Groom, Smith, and Denny, in England ; while MM. Victor Lemoine and Jean Sisley have worked towards the same object and set the example in Con- tinental gardens. Donald Beaton believed that he could pro- duce a yellow-flowered Pelargonium, and some of our modern hybridists feel equally confident of producing a blue one ; and one variety known as Amaranth, and a still more recent one named Mrs Turner, have a distinct blue shade, just as Beeton's Indian Yellow has a strong shade of yellow when seen in a mass. About 1873 a novel variegated form made its appearance, under the name of P. " Happy Thought." Previous to this variety all our silver-variegated Zonals had leaves green in the centre, with a marginal band of silver. Here, however, the order of things is reversed, and we have a white leaf with a green margin. This plant bears bright lilac-carmine flowers, and promises to be the parent of a new and beautiful race. Its foliage sometimes reverts to that of the old P. reticulatum, which has a green leaf netted with fine gold lines ; so we may x 322 GENERAL REVIEW. assume that to have been one of the parents crossed with one of the pink-flowered Zonals of the Christine type. P. oblongatum (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 5996), a recently-intro- duced species, with thick fleshy stems, and clusters of yellow crimson-streaked flowers, has attracted the attention of hybrid- isers, who have attempted to infuse its yellow colour into the Zonal and fancy races. The method most likely to prove successful would be to originate a new race of tuberous-stemmed varieties, by crossing it with other allied species of similar habit. Pelargonium tetragonium is a curiosity, having square stalks or stems, and small -lobed leaves, which in one variety are margined with bright rose. The flowers are large, the lower petals being much reduced (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 136). Mr E. J. Lowe of Highfield, Nottingham, has for several years endeavoured to obtain seedlings between Pelargonium " Madame Vaucher," and Geranium sanguineum, and believes he has effected this bigeneric cross.* Some of the seedlings have flowered, the colours being white, rose, and red, and in some of these supposed hybrids the leaves are curiously contorted, but it is difficult to believe that they are really hybrids between the two plants named. Mr P. Grieve fertilised an ivy-leaved Pelargonium, the day after it had been fecundated with its own pollen, with pollen of a variegated zonal 'variety, and the seed- lings, which have not as yet flowered, are extremely variable ; so variable, indeed, as to lead one to infer that the cross had been influenced by the application of foreign pollen to the flower after fertilisation with its own. Dr Denny's experience is that the pollen-bearing parent is prepotent, and this is borne out by his numerous experiments. His mode of manipulation is thus explained by himself : " When I have ascertained by means of my lens that the stigma is in a virgin and suitable condition for impregnation, I immediately smother it with the pollen I purposed employing ; and it is owing to this smother- ing of the stigma by the pollen, as I am informed by Professor Duncan, that I derive the prepotent influence of the male parent ; because he says he has found, by careful experiments, that if the ovule be impregnated by the application of a single grain of pollen to the stigma, it is nourished principally by the mother plant, which the offspring will in that case most re- semble; but if a large quantity of pollen be applied to the * Mr Grieve attempted to obtain hybrids from Geranium pratcnse by using pollen of silver- variegated zonals, and some of the seedlings appeared with variegated foliage (see ''Gardeners' Chronicle,' 1876, Part L, p. 699, and Part II., p. 49). THE CRANE'S-BILL FAMILY. 323 stigma, the ovule would derive nourishment by the super- abundant pollen-grains being absorbed and carried down to it, and then the offspring would resemble the pollen -parent."* Mr P. Grieve asks whether pollen of another plant applied to stigmas which have already been fertilised with other pollen, or with pollen from their own flowers, will affect the seedling pro- geny ? Dr Denny says : " The value of the suggestion con- tained in Mr Grieve's inquiry cannot be over-estimated ; for should the theory be borne out by experiment, we may be en- abled to obtain new forms or varieties of fruits, vegetables, and flowers that could have been obtained in no other way, or at any rate without paying the penalty of sterility in its products : in fact, should such influence really be found to exist in foreign pollen applied after impregnation, I look forward to the possi- bility . of obtaining results equal to the union of two distinct species, and yet to preserve fertility." t The object in using a green-leaved, dark-zoned variety as the seed-bearing parent is to secure a robust and vigorous habit in the seedlings, which is very seldom the case when tricolor forms are used as the female parents. The sports above alluded to are frequently produced by seedling plants which have remained in a green-leaved state for two or three years, so that seedlings should not be thrown away too soon. The following pertinent notes on the management of Pelar- goniums after fertilisation were originally contributed to the ' Florist ' by Dr Denny : " Between the process of fertilisation and the ripening of the seed, all that is necessary is to give the mother plant "room, air, and sunshine, and a fair supply of water, for if permitted to suffer too severely from drought, the fertilised pip, like the foliage, will turn yellow and fall. As soon as the seed has ripened, and shows symptoms of a desire to take wing and be off, pick it, and enclose it in one of the pieces of demy paper ; pencil the corresponding number of the tally attached to the stalk of the truss upon it, and at once deposit it in a tin-box, with a close-fitting hinged lid, which box should be kept in a dry, cool position, as exposure of the * I may here remark that Dean Herbert, Mr Grieve, M. Jean Sisley, Mr Shirley Hibberd, Mr Fenn,. and other hybridisers, agree with Dr Denny as to the general prepotence of the male parent, other things being equal ; and leaving out the question of constitutional vigour, far more direct evidence can be adduced in favour of Dr Denny's axiom than against it. t See a valuable and interesting paper by-Dr Denny, "On the Relative Influence of Parentage among Varieties of Zonal Pelargoniums," 'Jour. Hort. Soc.,' iv. 16 ; and an exhaustive essay on cross-breeding these plants, in the ' Florist,' 1872, p. 21, 34, and 50. 324 GENERAL REVIEW. seed to the sun's rays or heat after it has been gathered will render it slow to germinate, and cause disappointment, by the irregular manner in which, and the lengthened period before, it makes its appearance above ground." As to the vitality of Pelargonium seed, the ' Cultivateur ' gives an instance of the germination of Pelargonium seeds nine years after they were gathered. In 1866, M. Sisley obtained seeds by cross-fertilisation of the Zonal and Inquinans varieties, some of which were given to Mr Hardy, who sowed a portion in 1867 and kept the rest until the spring of 1875, when they also were sown, considerable care being taken in the operation. Notwithstanding the interval that had elapsed between gather- ing and sowing the seed, a very large proportion germinated, and the plants are said to be doing well. Herbert (see 'Am.,' p. 356), speaking of the origin of showy Pelargoniums in 1837, says: "Those who raised Pelar- goniums from seed found amongst the produce of certain species a great disposition to intermix and sport, which was occasioned by the accidental transmission of the pollen from one plant to another by the bees, which occurs perpetually in that genus, because many of its flowers are occasionally with- out anthers, or lose them before the stigma comes to maturity, which causes them to be fertilised by another flower ; and in the year 1812 (taking the date from Sweet's 'Hortus Britan- nicus '), the beautiful cross between P. dtriodorum and P. fulgidum was obtained from seed, and afterwards produced under the name P. ignescens, and being fertile it has become the parent of an innumerable variety of the most beautiful plants that adorn our greenhouses. P. ardens had been raised two years before, between P. fulgidum and P. lobatum, and had first pointed out to cultivators that it was possible, through the pollen of P. fulgidum, to introduce its brilliant tint of scarlet under a variety of modifications in union with the superior qualities of other species in which it was de- ficient ; but a long course of experiments has shown the im- practicability of blending the plants allied to P. zonale (which are properly detached by Mr Sweet under the name Ciconia) with the true Pelargoniums, which are, however, certainly of one genus with the bulbous-rooted sorts that are found to interbreed with them, and have been improperly detached. Such plants as P. fulgidum and P. echinatum, which have a stem of a semi-tuberous nature, and capable of enduring a long period of drought, form a curious link between the tuberous and fibrous rooted species." The scarlet zonal section (P. inquinans-zonale), and the THE CRANE'S-BILL FAMILY. 325 show varieties or large-flowered kinds (P. grandiflorum-cucul- latum), still form pure and distinct — that is, unblended — races. The ivy-leaved section, however (P. peltatum-hedertzfoliuni), has been blended with some forms of P. inquinans-zonale, just as have the scented or oak-leaved races, P. quercifolium-capitatum or P. quercifolium-graveolens, with the Nosegay varieties. The scented Pelargoniums are not unfrequently grown for their fragrant foliage, and possess a certain economic interest, since P. capitatum, or Rose Geranium, is grown very largely in the south of France, and also in Turkey, by the rose-growers, who use an essential oil expressed from it to adulterate otto or attar of roses, while this Geranium oil is not unfrequently itself adul- terated with oil expressed from one of the fragrant Andropogons cultivated for perfumery purposes in the Moluccas. The three commonest species are P. graveolens, P. capitatum, and P. quer- cifolium, or oak-leaved. The first-named (P. graveolens) was introduced by Francis Masson in 1774; and although a Cape species, is said to be used everywhere as a hedge-plant in Madeira. P. querdfolium was introduced by Masson at the same time as the last ; and a near ally, P. glutinosum (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 143), was sent to Kew by Messrs Lee and Kennedy about 1777. The Rose Geranium (P. capitatum) was intro- duced by the Earl of Portland in 1690. An old crimson- purple-flowered variety, called Rollison's Unique, appears to have been a hybrid or cross-bred raised from this section, and is still grown in gardens, together with three or four of its more modern varieties or seedlings. Mr Sampson, of Yeovil, raised several new varieties of scented or oak-leaved Pelargoniums in 1871, these having been obtained by crossing a Cape species with some of the modem Nosegay varieties. These seedlings flower freely, the flowers being of different shades of rosy purple, variously striped or spotted with purple, violet, or crim- son on the upper petals. These varieties were sent out by Mr Cannell, of Woolwich, in 1873-74. Mr Wilson Saunders and Major Trevor-Clarke have also raised interesting hybrids from the old Cape species. Seeds of all the sections of this genus should be sown in February in a gentle bottom-heat ; and if potted off carefully, and grown on freely, or planted out in a well-manured and sheltered border, will flower the first year. Fancy or show varieties should be grown on in a frame or pit in pots, and this plan is also generally adopted for those of the zonal section. Variegated, oronze, or tricolor varieties are very readily raised by hybridising dark-zoned green forms, such as Stella,. Emperor of the French, &c., with pollen from Mrs Pollock and other 326 GENERAL REVIEW. desirable kinds ; and even the green-leaved seedlings should be saved, as they frequently throw out the most beautiful " sports," and the coloured branches, if desirable, can then be easily pro- pagated by cuttings. Many of the finest of all the tricolor varieties did not come variegated from seed, but sported from green-leaved seedlings raised by crossing tricolors and other zonal varieties. Nearly all the species and varieties of Pelargoniums are readily propagated from cuttings of the current year's growth inserted in June, July, or August. The zonal varieties may be inserted even as late as September or October ; but it is best to secure the cuttings before the rank watery autumn growth com- mences. As to where and how to insert cuttings, I think it was the late Donald Beaton who said, in his usual racy way, that the best way to strike them was to dibble them into a south border, and forget all about them till it was time to pot them up. One of the most successful propagators of this class of Geraniums I ever knew always struck his cuttings in a low lean-to house, in a bed of soil over a flue : he never used any pots, but simply dibbled the cuttings into the soil. There was always a nice steady heat, but no damping (damp is the great enemy to guard against). Hard-wooded cuttings of the large- flowered and fancy races may be inserted when the plants are cut back after blooming, or the superfluous shoots may be slipped off and used as cuttings after the plants break. Insert the cuttings in a well-drained pot surfaced with white sand, and set it in an airy position, on a slight bottom-heat of about 65°, until the cuttings show signs of having emitted roots. Grafting. — Almost all Pelargoniums may be readily grafted, and many exhibitors of fancy and show varieties work their plants on a strong-growing variety ' of the same section as a stock. The scarlet or zonal group all do well worked on the old Giant Tom Thumb, a vigorous variety sometimes met with as a conservatory or greenhouse climber. Mrs Pollock, Lady Cullum, and others of the golden-variegated zonal section of Pelargoniums, make beautiful heads when grafted on stocks of strong, free-growing, plain-leaved or zonal varieties. Those raised from seed saved from good growers make excellent stocks, as they are both strong and straight. For grafts I select medium- sized, somewhat matured shoots, and after cutting off the head of the stock to the height required, and removing only just as much foliage as may be necessary, I whip-graft them, tying them firmly with bast, and claying them over in the regular way. I then place them in a shady, warm, and somewhat close posi- tion, where they hardly feel the check ; and as soon as the grafts THE CRANE'S-BILL FAMILY. 327 make visible progress, I gradually denude the stock of its foli- age, so as to give the grafts a greater supply of nourishment. By grafting in the autumn, and keeping the plants steadily growing through the winter in a warm, light house, stopping and shifting them into larger pots as they require it, I have had plants from eighteen inches to two feet through during the fol- lowing summer. Buds inserted as in rose-budding will grow, but grafting commends itself as the surest and most expeditious method. These remarks apply with equal force in the case of dwarf, delicate varieties, or those Cape species difficult to strike. Such as these may be worked just above the soil on well-rooted plants of common varieties, and are thus increased more readily than on their own roots. Another advantage this method possesses is, that it can be successfully employed early and late in the season, when an attempt to strike cuttings usually proves a failure except with those who have the best appliances. As before stated, care must be taken to use only the firm shoots for grafts : those made either early or late are generally too soft and pulpy, and are therefore the more liable to rot off before they effect a union. The ivy-leaved sorts, both green and variegated, worked on tall stems, are particularly handsome, and well repay the time and trouble bestowed on them. Their drooping habit is so well adapted for this position, that even when allowed to follow their own inclination they make very graceful plants, and flower profusely ; but by affording them a neat wire trellis, they may be trained to form a pyramid, a balloon, or any other shape, to suit the fancy of the cultivator. The double-flowering kinds, whether grown into standards or worked, make very handsome objects. Excellent standard plants of variegated ivy-leaved Pelargonium L'Elegante can be obtained by grafting it on to a stem of the old crimson ivy-leaf. In the ' Gardeners' Chronicle,' 1844, p. 213, a correspondent mentions that in 1842 he grafted a plant of Beauty of Ware with ten grafts of other varieties, including Smith's Superb Scarlet, Carnation Scarlet, Frogmore Scarlet, and the old Variegated-leaved Scarlet. It is a well-known fact that pure white-leaved seedlings of Pelargoniums, and other plants which are in fact albinos, die off after they attain a certain size. I have, however, repeatedly saved these albinos by carefully grafting them on rooted cuttings, which are less variegated, as stocks ; and where these seedling albinos are growing near others less variegated, they can often be inarched, and thus preserved, since grafting supplies them with sufficient chlorophyll to enable them to carry on their 328 GENERAL REVIEW. functions of vegetative growth. A young green leaf, or a varie- gated leaf with green in it, might possibly be grafted or inarched on the albino itself by a clever operator. Double -/lowered Varieties. — The double Geraniums, which have attained a popularity far greater than they deserve, although usually classed as "zonal," are apparently derived both from P. zonale and P. inquinans. Although of com- paratively recent introduction to this country, they have long been known on the Continent. A deputation of the Caledo- nian Horticultural Society of Edinburgh made a tour through parts of Flanders, Holland, and northern France in the autumn of 1817, and in Patrick Neill's journal of its observa- tions is the following passage : " An ornamental variety of Pel- argonium inquinans, with double flowers, is very common at Ghent, no fewer than ten different competitors having exhibited flowering specimens of it at the last festival." M. Jean Sisley says that M. Lecoq, of Clermont-Ferrand, had a double zonal Pelargonium named Triomphe de Gergovia in cultivation several years previous to 1867. Pollen from this variety was used by M. Lemoine to fertilise the fine pink zonal, Beaute de Suresnes, and from this union the well-known double, Gloire de Nancy, was obtained in 1865. The first double white, Aline Sisley, was obtained in 1872 by M. Sisley, who has since raised other very fine white, scarlet, and rosy varieties. Mr T. Laxton, of Stamford, has also raised some very fine double- flowered varieties — one of the best, Jewel, having vivid deep scarlet florets exactly like Senateur Vaisse Rose in miniature. Jewel was raised from seed of Madame Rose Charmeux — a French double form of the Tom Thumb or P. inquinans type — crossed with Lord Derby, a single scarlet zonal. Madame Rose Charmeux is, as Mr Laxton informs me, a very full flower; and except under starvation and at certain seasons, generally early in the year, it is difficult to obtain seed from this variety. Most of the other double varieties obtained by Mr Laxton are from Mr W. Paul's double-scarlet Cottingtoni, which, being only partially double, seeds freely. This variety is the seed- parent of Aurora, and all others of that type, including Emily Laxton. Both Madame Rose Charmeux and Cottingtoni are sports from Tom Thumb,, and their progeny does not cross kindly with the old doubles of the P. zonale section. " It is very singular," .writes Mr Laxton, " that while the crosses of Madame Rose Charmeux hardly ever produce offspring less double, although sometimes more so, than the parent, unless, indeed, they foll6w the single male parent altogether in this respect, and are themselves quite single, — on the other hand, THE CRANE'S-BILL FAMILY. 329 seedlings from Cottingtoni rarely come more double than that variety." Large-flowered Varieties. — Show or Stage Pelargoniums be- long to another group, and are supposed to have sprung from P. grandiflorum (P. hortulorum\ a Cape species intro- duced by Masson in 1794. Normally it is a white-flowered plant of loose habit, having a very long slender tube to the calyx, and long petioles or stalks to its deeply-lobed leaves (see Sweet's * Geraniaceae,' t. 29, or Andrews' ' Botanist's Re- pository,' t. 12). Another lilac-purple-flowered Cape species, P. cucullatum, also appears to have been one of the progeni- tors of our show Pelargoniums, this plant having been intro- duced by the Earl of Portland about 1690. Dr W. Harvey, the late lamented and talented author of the ' Cape Flora,' describes it as very commonly grown as a hedge-plant about Cape Town, and he also considers it as one of the original species whence our modern show varieties have sprung. It is a little singular to note that in 1875 a double-flowered form of the purple-lilac-flowered P. cucullatum made its appearance at one of the meetings of the Royal Horticultural Society, its owner having grown it in his window. This plant was first exhibited by a Mr Woodward, of whom Mr W. Bull purchased the plant for trade purposes. Semi-double varieties of P. grandiflorum^ or show Pelargoniums, are now very popular; but twenty or thirty years ago such forms were not sought after so eagerly. In 1850 P. Willmore Sttrprise, a semi-double, made its appearance, but appears to have died out unregarded (see ' Gard. Chron.,' 1850, p. 575). Both Andrews' and Sweet's figures describe some of the old Pelargoniums as species, but their names were ignored by Dr Harvey ; and it is evident that they are for the most part hybrids or cross-bred varieties. G. angustum is described by Andrews as having been raised by Mr Perry, nurseryman at Banbury, Oxfordshire, and was originally sold by the raiser at a guinea a plant. It has coarse serrated deep-green leaves and pink flowers, the upper petals striped with dark red. G. pubesce?is of the same author is also de- scribed by him as " the compound production of several differ- ent species." It has its leaves and young growth copiously clothed with soft downy or villose pubescence, the flowers being lilac-pink, and veined with dark red on the two upper petals. Some of the older varieties figured by Sweet may still be found in the cottage windows in country places. The origin of the Fancy or small-flowered Show Pelargonium is not very clearly defined ; but in course of a conversation on the subject at the annual meeting of the Pelargonium Society 330 GENERAL REVIEW. (1875), Mr Cooling, of Derby, stated that he believed the first variety of this class was raised forty years ago, and distributed under the name of P. Willoughbyanum, and that it had been bred from the ordinary varieties of the period, mentioning, among others, Moore's Victory and Fair Helen. Ivy-leaved Varieties. — The Ivy-leaved section of this genus has originated from P. peltatum, which was raised in the Duchess of Beaufort's garden in 1701 from seeds brought from the Cape, and soon became a general favourite, on account of its elegant ivy-like habit of growth. P. L? Elegante is a white variegated variety, the edges of the white leaf-margins turning a delicate carmine if starved in a pot and fully exposed to the sun. There is also a distinct variety having a dark zone in the centre of the leaf. Mr John Wills, to whom we are indebted for the race of "bronze zonals," was, I believe, the first hybridist who effected a cross between the ivy-leaf (P. hedercefoliuni} and Zonal (P. zonale) sections of this genus ; and the results of this cross were the two distinct forms known as Willsii and Willsii rosea (sent out about 1867-8), and Lady Edith. A few years later a sin- gular chance seedling made its appearance on the Continent, and we find it thus described in the ' Gardener's Chronicle ' at the time of its appearance : " It is believed to be an accidental cross between P. hedercefolium and P. zonale, and, what is more, it freely bears seed. M. Jean Sisley describes it as near P. hedercefolium in its prostrate habit of growth, with leaves more like those of P. zonale. The- flowers are of a dazzling red, and there are from fifteen to twenty in each truss. It was found in a garden at Nice, in a bed planted with several varieties of the zonal section, and a lilac-white variety of P. heder&folium. M. Sisley considers it a great acquisition, mainly, it appears, on account of its fertility — a quality not possessed, he says, by Willsii* Willsii rosea, Emperor, and Dolly Varden. He thinks it may probably give birth to a distinct new strain, in the hands of a clever hybridiser." P. peltatum was figured a hundred years ago (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 20), and it is curious to observe how little a century of culture has altered this fine old species. One of the most recent additions to the ivy-leaved garden varieties is a double-flowered form named Konig Albert. This was raised by M. Otto Leibmann, and was first exhibited in * Mr Laxton is said to have obtained a few seeds of Mr Wills's P. zonale- hedercefolium hybrids, which exactly reproduced the mother plant. It is also curious to observe that Madame Vaucher, Christine, and other varie- ties, reproduce themselves with tolerable certainty from seeds. THE GESNERA FAMILY. 331 this country by Mr W. Bull, who showed a flowering plant (together with a double-flowered form of P. cucullatuni) at one of the Regent Park exhibitions in 1875. Mr Grieve has succeeded in raising a strong-growing, free- flowering cross between a seedling from Madame Vaucher named Culford Rose and P. peltatum elegans. This cross-bred form has been named Emperor, and is so luxuriant that in favourable situations it will grow ten to twelve feet in a season. The same hybridist has obtained a distinct bronze ivy-leaved Pelargonium named Dolly Varden. It was obtained by fertil- ising an ivy-leaved variety by pollen of a bronze zonal, and the result is a well-marked gold and bronze ivy-leaved variety, of robust and compact habit. The flowers are crimson, and the leaf of a rich golden tint, with a bronze zone, the older leaves becoming tinted with red at the margin. It is to be regretted that both Mr Grieve's varieties, as well as those raised in this section by Mr Wills, are nearly useless for cross-breeding purposes, as they rarely produce either perfect seeds or fertile pollen. THE GESNERA FAMILY (Gesneracecz}. A large and ornamental genus of South American plants; part of which are shrubby in habit, as in Gesnera pardina, G. elongata, or G. libanensis ; while another section is character- ised by having catkin-like stolons, as in Achimenes, Tydcea, and Gesnera zebrina ; and a third group has tuberous rhizomes, as in Gloxinia. Nearly all the species may be propagated freely by dividing the rhizomes or stolons. Achimenes. — -A beautiful family of stove-flowering herbs, conspicuous on account of their lovely blue, scarlet, or purple, tubular, broad-limbed flowers, which are very freely produced. They are principally South American. .Achime?ies cocrinea (see * Bot. Mag.,' t. 374). — This pretty little scarlet-flowered species is a native of Jamaica, whence it was introduced in 1778. This was the first species grown in our gardens. The numerous varieties are easily multiplied by dividing the scaly underground tubers, and new forms may be readily obtained from seed. Seeds of all Gesnerads germinate easily if sown on the surface of a light, moist, and sandy compost, covered with a sheet of brown paper to obscure the light and to prevent the soil becoming dry by evaporation. The seeds, like those of Calceolaria, Primula, and many other plants, are 332 GENERAL REVIEW. so extremely small that no covering of soil is required, and the compost should not be watered above until after the seeds have germinated. If the soil shows signs of dryness before germi- nation has taken place, moisten it with fine spray from either a syringe or spray-producer. To do this with a syringe without disturbing the surface of the soil, although easy to the practised propagator, is difficult to the amateur. Another plan is to plunge the bottom only of the seed-pan into a vessel of tepid rain water, allowing it to remain a few minutes, so that the soil may become moistened by the capillary attraction of its par- ticles. This genus, as well as Gloxinia and Gesnera, has been much improved of late years by hybridising. JEschynanthus. — A very showy genus of half-shrubby, ever- green Gesneriaceous plants from Java, Borneo, and other parts of tropical Asia, often cultivated as basket-plants in our plant stoves. &. spedosus, ^. longiflorus, ^E. Lobbianus, ^5". tricolor, and jE. javanicus are well-known examples. sEschy- nanthus splendidus is a showy garden hybrid raised between ;E. grandiflorus and ;E. speciosus, and is the finest of all the strong-growing kinds, bearing ten to twelve vivid scarlet flowers in a cluster, the segments being marked with dark brown. Cut- tings of the stem root very freely, inserted in a pot of light sandy compost, and plunged iri a mild bottom-heat of 75° to 80°. If the atmosphere is very dry, they should be covered with a bell- glass, or the pot may be plunged in a close case. These plants frequently push out roots from the joints when grown in a humid atmosphere, and branches can be cut off and potted at once. Agalmyla. — A small genus of stove-plants closely allied to jEschynanthus ; but the leaves are alternate, and only two stamens are fully developed. A. staminea, a native of Java, Borneo, and Sumatra, bears Gloxinia-like leaves and axillary clusters of brilliant scarlet flowers. The plant roots readily at the nodes, and is easily multiplied either by layers or cuttings in heat. Gesnera (N P- 107 et seq. THE IRIS FAMILY. 349 third or fourth year, and vary greatly in habit, size, and colour of their flowers. C. vernus, the British spring or vernal purple- flowered species, seeds very freely in the Nottingham meadows. Seeds from the large-flowered Dutch varieties produce very beautiful flowers. It seems very probable to me that the great diversity of colours and breaks observable in plants of this genus have originated from cross-fertilisation or very striking seminal variation in their native habitats. It is a singular fact that while white or purple Crocuses seed abundantly, the yellow varieties seldom do so. Perhaps, however, the reason of this is that their own pollen is impotent, or it may be owing to their having been multiplied by the Dutch florists from offsets for centuries. Self-fertilisation appears to take place in Crocus at any rate ; the anthers frequently discharge their pollen when the flowers are in a very young state — often when the flower-bud is only half grown. It is possible, however, that this may be prevented by the much later development of the style, which may become receptive or remain receptive long after its native pollen is shed, so as to facilitate cross-breeding. Many species and varieties of Crocus bear seed more often than is by many supposed, the seed-pods or capsules being borne down in among the sheaths of the leaves, and often below the surface of the ground; hence they are not unfrequently overlooked. Gladiolus. — A beautiful genus of fifty or sixty species of Cape or South European cormous plants, but few, however, of which are to be seen even in our best public gardens. To the hybridiser many of the old species would be invaluable. (See vols. i.-xx. of the ' Botanical Magazine ' for figures of many beautiful species.) Gladioli are only to be propagated from offsets or from seeds, the first method being employed to multiply and perpetuate species or particular varieties, and the latter to originate new forms. Seeds of some species, however, closely resemble the parent. Gather the seeds in autumn as soon as ripe, and sow in pans or boxes of light rich earth in February, placing the pans in a moderately warm pit or frame. Boxes are to be preferred to pans, as they contain a greater body of soil, and do not become dry so soon. After the seeds germinate, give water freely, and elevate the boxes near the light : in June they may be placed in a sheltered position out of doors, and carefully watered. In September carefully sift out the young bulbs, and plant them in lines in a nursery bed of rich sandy soil, where they can remain until they flower. Save seeds only from good spikes and finely-formed flowers, which should be carefully emasculated ere the anthers shed their pollen ; after which watch the stigma, and when it is glu- 350 GENERAL REVIEW. tinous or receptive, fertilise it with pollen from richly-coloured varieties, or from another species which possesses some peculi- arity desirable to perpetuate. M. Souchet was one of the first Continental raisers who set about the improvement of the Gladiolus as a show or orna- mental florists' flower, and his hybrids were principally obtained by cross-fertilising G. cardinalis, a red-flowered Cape species introduced in 1789, G. pulcherrimus, and G. blandus, a flesh or rosy species, also from the Cape, introduced so long ago as 1744. G. natalensis, a scarlet-and-yellow-flowered species introduced in 1830, and G. floribimdus, a yellow - flowered Cape species, introduced in 1788, have also been employed by hybridisers ; and from these five species fused together through their varieties our races of modern show Gladioli have been de- rived, with perhaps a little of the blood of G. psittadnus ; and G. ramosus, a rosy Cape species introduced in 1838, has been employed by M. Schneevogt, of Haarlem, who has done much to improve these showy flowers. Dean Herbert appears to have raised many hybrid Gladioli from such species as G. cardinalis, G. blandus, G. carneus, G. inflatus, G. angustus, and G. tristis ; and these he describes at p. 365 of his * Amaryllidaceae ' as varying from white to scarlet, rose, coppery, and blackish purple, some being exquisitely speckled in consequence of the cross with G. tristis. The beautiful crosses between G. hirsutus, G. recurvus, and G. ver- sicolor are described as being more tender, not succeeding well in the open border. At p. 358 of the same work he remarks that " seedlings from the crosses between the scarlet G. car- dinalis and the white or purplish G. blandus are always dis- posed to degenerate from the colour of the more brilliant par- ent, and approximate themselves to G. blandus, whether the scarlet G. cardinalis was the male or female ancestor. This seeming disposition in fertile crosses to produce seedlings approaching to the least splendid of their parents may arise from the effects of our climate being more congenial to the duller-coloured than the brighter species." G. Colvillii is a beautiful and fertile hybrid figured in Sweet's ' Flower Gar- den,' t. 155. The beautiful G. gandavensis was obtained by M. Van Houtte in 1841, and appears to have been the result of a cross between G. psittadnus and G. cardinalis, and now lends its name to one race of varieties which originally descended from it by seminal variation, aided by cross-fecundation with other species, such as G. floribimdus, G. cardinalis again, and the rosy-flowered G. ramosus. One of the first distinct varieties obtained after the production of G. gandavensis was G. ganda- THE IRIS FAMILY. 351 vensis citrinus, a yellowish form obtained by M. Lemonnier of Lille. A race of dwarf varieties (Gldieuls nain) was originated in the nursery of M. Van Houtte at Gand nearly twenty years ago, and these were obtained by crossing G. cardinalis with G. vennstus, G. trimaculatus, a Cape plant, introduced in 1794, and G. tristis, a brownish-red-flowered species, also from the Cape, introduced in 1745. These forms are remarkable for their dwarf habit, and are in many cases richly spotted on the lower segments of the perianth, the shapes and colours of the Hybrid Gladiolus. flowers indeed being infinitely varied. The improvement of the Gladiolus seems to have been begun by Continental hybrid- isers between 1820 and 1830, and for some time it appears that the Continental and Dutch raisers had the improvement of this brilliant flower pretty much in their own hands. At the present time, however, Messrs Kelway & Son of Langport ; Messrs Robertson & Galloway of Glasgow ; Mr J. Douglas of Loxford Hall, Ilford; and the Rev. H. H. Dombrain, have 352 GENERAL REVIEW. done, and are still doing, much to improve this, one of the finest of all autumnal flowers, and their new seedlings may be seen every season at the different metropolitan exhibitions. The late Mr John Standish raised several very distinct kinds of seedling Gladioli, one of which was exhibited in 1871 under the- name of "Alice Wilson," and figured in the 'Florist,' 1873, p. 73. The flower is rather small, creamy-white, edged with bright rose, the shape of the flower being open and regular, more like a Lily than a Gladiolus. It was one of a batch raised be- tween G. brenchleyensis (raised by the late Mr Hooker of the Brenchley Nursery about thirty ago — its colour is a vivid scarlet) and G. cruentus (see 'Florist,' 1869, p. 121). M. Max Leichtlin of Baden-Baden, a well-known scientific horticulturist, especially noted for his intelligent culture of Lilies, Irids, and other bulbs, thus writes on the improvement of Gladioli in the 'Garden,' vol. vii. (1875) P- 324 : "When a certain race of hybrid plants is crossed and recrossed with its own varieties, the production of striking novelties becomes every year more difficult, until at last only one among many thousands is worth keeping, and that one is frequently but little better than others already in cultivation. We have nearly arrived at this point with Gladioli. The only way, so far as I can see, by which we can raise new and striking varieties, is to introduce, so to speak, new blood. Why not try some of those old and nearly forgotten species which were figured in the ' Botanical Magazine' some thirty Or forty years ago? Why not try to obtain crosses between the Ghent varieties (G. gandavensis) and some robust species of recent introduction. It would not matter if kinds with a somewhat weaker constitution than that of gandavensis were used, for Nature likes to play her own part; and by crossing worn-out varieties with a fragile new species, the offspring is sometimes better and stronger than either of its parents. I do not advance any new theory ; on the contrary, proofs of the correctness of my views are abundant, and within a year or two I hope to introduce to notice a new race of Gladioli of more graceful habit than those we now possess, and with flowers of different shapes and much larger than those of the gandavensis section, several of these flowers measuring as much as five inches across. This hint may be of service to Gladiolus raisers." Among the old species above alluded to as being figured in the earlier numbers of the ' Botanical Magazine,' the following deserve the attention of hybridisers, together with G. Saundersii, G. purpureo-auratus, and other showy species of more modern introduction : G. versicolor, t. 1042 ; G. angustus, t. 602 ; G. THE IRIS FAMILY. 353 Jbribundus, t. 610; G. Millerii, t. 632; G. blandits, t. 625, 645, and 648; G. undnlatus, t. 647; G. viperatus, t. 688. The last- named is 'a distinct lilac - purple, green - spotted species, the flowers of which are perfumed. G. alatus, t. 2608, salmon, rose, and yellow; this is a distinct species with orchid-looking flowers. G. cuspidatus, t. 582, a curious long-petalled flower; G. carneus, t. 591. Any one who turns over these plates and notes the glorious array of Ixias, BabianaS, and other Irids which bear them company, will regret their absence from modern gardens. Gladiohis communis, or common "corn-flag," is a most elegant rosy-flowered species (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 86). G. cardinalis, vivid scarlet, white rhomboidal spots. It is believed to come from the Cape (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 135). Watsojiia rosea. — This is a lovely rosy-flowered plant, having large blossoms like those of a Gladiolus, but quite regular. This plant, if it could be induced to cross with any seedling Gladioli, would give us a race similar to Mr Standish's " Alice Wilson," which I believe was the first variety with regular Crocus-like flowers. (See also W. rosea alba, t. 1193; W. meriana, t. 1194; W. humilis, t. 1195.) Iris.* — This is a large and beautiful genus of bulbous or rhizomatous plants, principally from Europe, North India, China, and Japan, some fine forms being also found in other temperate Asiatic countries. What a field is here open to the hybridiser ! Here is a group of plants which every cottager may grow in his little front-garden, and the flowers are as lovely as the Cattleyas from La Guayra or St Catherine's. We have already several fine races of seminal or cross-bred forms. /. germanica, the large purple-flowered "German Iris," has fur- nished a noble race of seminal forms, the flowers varying from dark purple and lilac to yellow and yellowish white. The " Spanish Iris," /. xiphium, has furnished us with many lovely and variably-coloured forms, as has also the " English Iris," /. xiphioides, and we hope to see these still further improved. It is interesting to know that the improvement of these races is quite possible in our own gardens ; indeed the late Mr W. Masters of Canterbury raised many beautiful seedlings a num- ber of years ago, and these at the time bore favourable com- parison with the best Dutch varieties (see ' Trans. Hort. Soc.,' iii. 413). Hitherto the improvement of the three last- named races has been carried on by the Dutch florists, who have raised seedlings and supplied us with bulbs or rhizomes * Fora general review of the species of Iris, see ' Gardeners' Chronicle,' vol. for 1876. Z 354 GENERAL REVIEW. during the past two or three centuries. Parkinson (see * Para- disus,' 1625, p. 170, 189) de- scribes and figures' numerous species of Iris, including /. sttsiana, which were cultivated in his time. Of the " English Iris" he describes numerous forms, so that it must have been improved at a very early date. In speaking of these varieties he quaintly observes : " There hath been brought un- to us divers roots of these kinds with the dried flowers remaining on them, wherein there hath been seen more varieties than I can well re- member to expresse, which variety, it is very probable, hath risen by the sowing of the seeds, as is truly observed in the narrower-leaved kinde of Flowerdeluce, in the Tulipa, and in some other plants." It is curious to find that while the Dutch florists have sedulously gone to work to im- prove the European Iris, the Japanese gardeners have been equally industrious, and have long cultivated a race of ex- tremely variable and beautiful forms of the purple, golden- rayed /. lavigata (see ' Bot. Mag..' t. 6132) and / setosa Pallas. These were first intro- duced into European gardens about 1873, I believe through the exertions of Max Leichtlin of Baden-Baden, and are now well known in our gardens un- Iris Germanica. a, Complete flowering der the name of /. ovary- They may be propagated by division and by means of seeds, which should be sown as soon as gathered, either, in pots or THE IRIS FAMILY. 355 in the open ground, when they will vegetate the following spring. The first variety exhibited in this country was /. "E. G. -Henderson" (see 'Florist,' 1874, p. 217), which startled horticulturists at South Kensington in 1874 (see ' Gard. Chron.,' 1874, p. 45). This fine form had flat, regular, six- petalled flowers, five inches in diameter, of a rich purple colour, rayed with golden yellow, the form1 of the flower resembling that of a six-sepalled Clematis. A double-flowered form is alluded to by Kaempfer, and numerous gorgeous forms are now grown in Continental gardens. /. Icevigata is a native of N. Asia and Japan. /. tectorum (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 6118) is another fine Japanese plant, wild in the fields around Yoko- hama, and cultivated by the Japanese gardeners. It has reg- ular six-rayed flowers like the last,1 and it seeds very freely. Its flowers are of a pale bluish-purple colour, spotted with dark purple, and having a cut crest, which peculiarity induced its dis- coverer, Dr Hance, to name it /. tomiolopha (see ' Jour. Bot./ N.S., i. 229). 'This plant seeds freely, and may possibly be much improved. Like the last, it will be invaluable to the hybridiser. Mr Baker considers that Iris spectabilis (see ' Ann. Sc. Nat.' vol. v. p. 93) is a hybrid between /. vulgar is and /. latifolium. The same hybridist has raised a beautiful Iris — a hybrid between /. susiana and /. iberica — with flowers as large, as those of the former ; but the colour is intermediate, and the plant bears seeds freely. A hybrid obtained by the same grower between I. susiana and /. germanica bore dull magenta-coloured flowers, and was quite destitute of anthers. Tigridia (Tiger Iris], — A small group of very handsome flowering bulbs, natives of Mexico, and represented in cultiva- tion by T. pavonia (and its seminal forms, such as T. pavonia Wheelerii, T. pavonia splendent, and others) and T. conchiflora, which is little more than a native variety of T. pavonia, with which it crosses freely as the male parent. T. aurantiaca is a hybrid or cross-bred offspring, obtained by M. Goudet of Tou- louse from seeds of T, conchiflora, which had been vivified with pollen from T. pavonia. This hybrid bears fertile seeds, but very rarely, most of the seeds being imperfect ; nevertheless some have been found to vegetate and produce plants like the hybrid in everyway (see 'Annales de Flore et Pomme,' 1839-40, p. 26). In 1840 another Continental horticulturist obtained two beautiful new varieties — viz., T. speciosa and T. intermedia; and two other distinct forms, T. coccinea and T. Herbertii, are also said to be hybrids. T. (Maricd) ccelestis is said by M. Lecoq (see ' La Fecondation et de 1' Hybridation,' p. 375) to bear an abundance of fertile seeds when fertilised with its own 356 GENERAL REVIEW. pollen, and it might possibly be crossed with some of the varieties of T. pavonia, and a new race thus produced. Ti- gridias are readily multiplied by seeds sown in a well-drained pot or box of light sandy earth, and placed on the shelf of a warm greenhouse or frame to vegetate. Sow the seeds as soon as ripe, and plant out the spring following. The seedlings flower the second year. THE WALNUT FAMILY (Juglandacece). A small group of North American or Asiatic trees, repre- sented in our gardens by Juglans regia or Common Walnut, Carya or North American and Chinese Hickory Nuts, and Fortunea chinensis, a tolerably well-known ornamental tree. In Cashmere and Persia the Walnut is extensively cultivated, and an excellent oil is there expressed from its nuts. There are numerous seminal forms of the Common Walnut, which vary not only in the size of the fruit, thickness of the shell, time of ripening, flavour, &c., but also in habit of growth. One variety of the Walnut common in Continental gardens fruits freely when only three or four feet in height. A distinct form (Juglans laciniata variegata) was raised in the garden of the Museum at Paris from seed of f. regia laciniata. The leaves, and occasionally the bark of the branches, are pleasingly variegated with yellowish white, which contrasts finely with the lively glistening green of the rest of the foliage. The variega- tion did not appear until about the second year of the growth of the plant. Walnuts are generally propagated from seed (nuts), sown as soon as ripe in the nursery beds. A year or two ago, in the ' Revue Horticole,' M. Andre hints that his opinions as to the limits of species have undergone change since he has seen in the nurseries of the Paris Museum some trees of the White Walnut (Juglans regia} give birth to speci- mens almost identical with the American Walnut (Juglans nigrd}. A better plan to insure trees of any desirable variety is to propagate, by flute-grafting or budding in April or May, or by cleft-grafting in March and April : cleft-grafting at the forks of the young branches of the stock is also successful in March. M. Baltet recommends that " the scion should be cut as much as possible obliquely across the pith, so that it may be exposed on one side of the cutting only. A scion whose base consists of two-year-old wood will be found to answer well, and also one having a terminal bud. A stock worked near the ground should always have the soil heaped THE WALNUT FAMILY. 357 around it as high as the uppermost bud on the graft. Never graft early-growing kinds on those of later vegetation. The varieties of American Walnut or Hickory Nut may be grafted Julians regia, IV. (IValnuf). a, Fruiting branch; b, Amentum of male flowers ; c, Male flowers ', d, Female flowers ', e, Longitudinal section of a female floiver ', f, Longitudinal, and g, transverse, sections of the fruit. on stocks of their own type. We have grafted the European Walnut on the clefts of the young branches of the American as tall standards." Fresh, vigorous, young seedling Walnuts form the best stocks for desirable kinds of the Common Walnut, GENERAL REVIEW. and may be either worked by cleft-grafting on the collar of the root, or at standard height, by flute or fork grafting; in the latter case a scion having a terminal bud is best. THE POND-WEED FAMILY (Juncaginacea). A small group of marshy or aquatic plants, principally natives of Europe, Asia, the Cape of Good Hope, North and Central America. They are represented in our gardens by the Northern Pond -Weeds — Potamogeton, the Cape Aponogeton, and the Lattice - leaf of Madagascar, Onvirandra. The last- named is one of the most interesting and curious of all dwarf- growing stove aquatics, just as the Cape Pond- Weed Aponogeton is one of the prettiest and most fragrant of hardy plants. Seeds are ripened very freely on the Ouvirandra when thoroughly - established specimens, and these, if allowed to ripen and fall into the tepid water of the tank or bell-glass, ultimately sink to the surface of the soil or mud and germinate readily. This plan of self-seeding also takes place wherever the Aponogeton luxuriates in a shallow pond margin or ditch out of doors, or indoors in the conservatory aquarium. There are two or three distinct forms of this plant — the major and minor varieties being most distinct — in cultivation in a shallow ditch of clear running water in a nursery at Tooting, and hun- dreds of healthy little seedling plants line the sides of the shallow stream, while the older plants flower all through the mild winter and spring months. In the gardens at Fota, Cork Harbour, Aponogeton is naturalised in the pond, and thousands of seedlings spring up naturally, and these flower very freely and keep up a succession of bloom. Careful division may be resorted to in the case of Aponogeton or Potamogeton, care being taken to keep the divided portions moist ; and they must be returned to their watery element as rapidly as possible, so as to increase the chances of success. THE DEAD-NETTLE FAMILY (Labiatea). We have here a large group of annuals, herbaceous plants, or under-shrubs, principally natives of temperate countries, where they usually affect dry and airy situations rather than woods or marshes. They possess fragrant and aromatic qualities, Peppermint, Lavender-water, Patchouli, being familiar manu- factured examples of their products. In our gardens they are represented by the ensuing genera : Ocimum (Basil), * THE DEAD-NETTLE FAMILY. 359 Plectranthns, Coleus, Lavendula, Perilla, Mentha (Mint), Sal- via (Sages), Rosmarinus (Rosemary), Monarda, Origanum (Marjoram), Thy mm (Thyme), Hyssopus (Hyssop), Melissa, Prunella, Scutellaria, Lamium (Dead Nettles), Leonurus, Caleopsis, Stachys, Marrubium, Ballota, Teucrium, Ajuga, and many others. All the annual and many of the perennial Labiates are readily multiplied from seeds sown in the spring. Hardy kinds may be sown in the open-air beds, or in boxes of light soil in a cool frame. Seeds of the tender species should be sown in a gentle bottom-heat, either as soon as ripe or in February or March. In saving and gathering the seeds of these plants, it is necessary to observe that the seeds (nuts) are naked at the base of the persistent calyx ; and unless har- vested at the exact moment of their ripening, many will be lost. The herbaceous and perennial sections of the genus are gen- erally readily multiplied by cuttings or by division of the roots. The curious structure of the floral envelopes and the stamens of Salvia, and many other Labiates, seems to indicate that in- sect agency is essential to their due fecundation : notwith- standing this hint, however, but little has been done by hy- bridists in improving these plants. Coleus. — A genus of annual or perennial labiates, natives of both Asia and Africa. They strike very freely from cuttings of the young shoots in spring ; and seeds, which are freely pro- duced by C. Vers chaff eltii and its varieties, grow readily in a genial bottom-heat, if sown as soon as ripe. Previous to 1868, these plants were represented in our gardens by about half-a- dozen species, including C. Blumei, a native of Java (' Bot. Mag.,' t. 4754).; C. fruticosus, a well-known old plant from the Cape, often seen in London grown as a pot-plant in windows ; C. Macrcei, a native of Ceylon ('Bot. Mag.,' t. 4690); C. in- flatus^Qt.. Mag.,' t. 5236); C. Vers chaff eltii, C. Gibsonii, C. Veitchii, and one or two others ; while at the present time the varieties are too numerous to mention. In 1867 Mr F. Bause, then propagator in the Royal Horticultural Society's garden at Chiswick, commenced hybridising C. Blumei and the three last-mentioned species, the results being remarkably successful. C. Verschaffeltii was made the seed-bearing parent throughout, simply because the other kinds do not readily supply seed. The following twelve varieties among many others were selected, and sold at Stevens's Rooms by public auction : they realised upwards of ^390. They have been placed by Mr T. Moore into two classes, one group having the plano-crenate leaves of C. Veitchii, while the others have inciso-dentate frilled foliage, as in C. Verschaffeltii. 360 GENERAL REVIEW. PLANE-LEAVED SERIES. C. Berkeley it (C. Verschaffeltii x C. Veitchii}. C. Marshallii (C. Verschaffcltii X C. Veitchii). C. Saundersii (C. Versckaffdtti x C. Veilchii}. C. Dixii (C. Verschaffcltii x C. Veitchii). C. Ruckerii (C. Verschaffeltii x C. Gibsonii}. C. Murrayii (C. Verschaffdtii x C. Gibsonii}. FRILLED-LEAVED SERIES. C. Bausei (C. Verse haffeltii x C. Veitchii). C. Scotii (C. Verse haffeltii x C. Gibsonii). C. Clarkei (C. Verse haffeltii x C. Gibsonii}. C. Batemanii (C. Verschaffeltii x C. Gibsonii}. C. Wilsonii (C. Verschaffeltii x C. Veitchii}. C. Reevesii (C. Verschaffeltii x C. Blumei}. In a few months after these varieties were distributed, Mr W. Bull, Messrs E. G. Henderson & Sons, and other cultivators, succeeded in raising other distinct forms ; and subsequently Mr Bause originated a second series, this time with very brightly-coloured foliage, one of the best, C. " Queen Victoria," having bright carmine-purple leaves, bordered irregularly with golden yellow (see 'Florist,' 1869, p. i). The next distinct variety was C. Telfordii, a sport from C. Blumei ; and then Coleuses became too common, and are now rarely grown, if we except C. Verschaffeltii and an improved form of it, which are found to be the best for outdoor decorative purposes. The finest of all the forms yet raised, however, is C. " Duchess of Edinburgh," a variety of American origin, sent out by Messrs Carter & Co. in 1875. I* nas a ^at carmine-purple crenate leaf, edged with yellow, and is a decided improvement on " Queen Victoria." We now wonder how it was that such extraordinary prices were paid for Mr Bause's seedlings, but then they were such a decided improvement on existing kinds ; and although the Coleus mania is over, large sums would still be paid for any distinct class of new hybrids of any less common plant. In 1871, Messrs E. G. Henderson & Sons exhibited a hybrid Coleus, named C. " Emperor Napoleon," which they had obtained as the result of crossing C. Berkeleyii with the old "Nettle Geranium" (Plectranthus fruticosus}, in order if possible to obtain a race of hardier kinds. Some of the seedlings from this union showed a partial return to one or other of the parent plants. C. " Lady Burrell," sent out by Mr Cannell in 1874-75, is one of the most distinct, the basal half of the leaf being of a deep crimson maroon, while the apical half is golden yellow, the line of demarcation being as clear as if painted. TRUE LAUREL AND BUTTER WORT FAMILIES. 361 It does not appear to be sufficiently well known that all the choice and comparatively tender varieties of fme-foliaged Coleus may be grafted on rooted cuttings of C. Verschaffeltii as a stock. Side-grafting in heat is the best method, and the grafts should be surrounded by a bit of oiled silk, and then tied with soft budding cotton. A bit of bladder will do as well as the silk, but something is needed to prevent the tie cutting the succulent base of the grafted cutting or scion. TRUE LAUREL FAMILY (Lauracece). A group of trees or shrubs inhabiting the cooler parts of the tropics, North America, and represented in Europe by the true Laurel of the poets (Laurus nobilis). Nearly all the plants of this order contain fragrant oil, and the camphor of commerce is obtained from the wood and leaves of Camphora qfficinarum, the main supply being obtained in Formosa, whence it is sent to Canton for sale to foreign markets. Cinnamon of the shops is the produce of Cinnamomum zeylanicum and other allied species. The plants in' this group are propagated by seeds, which germinate readily in a moist bottom-heat of 65° to 75°, and cuttings of the young or partially-hardened growth are also successful in a close case. Cuttings of the roots are found useful in increasing many species which are cultivated in the tropics, and layering is a sure method which rarely fails. In the case of the true Laurel, hillock-layering is most successful, although a fair proportion of cuttings may be rooted on a north border if inserted in October, or even earlier. Seeds may also be employed wherever obtainable. In the south and south- western counties the Laurel fruits very freely ; and at Battle Abbey the plant is thoroughly naturalised, and reproduces itself from self-sown berries every year. THE BUTTERWORT FAMILY (Lentibulariaceoe). A small group of insect-catching plants, represented in our gardens by Utrictilaria and Pinguicula, natives of bogs, marshes, or rivulets, in nearly all parts of the world, but prin- cipally in the tropics. Both the genera above cited are repre- sented in the English flora. Utricularia alpina bears very showy white flowers, the closed lips and long spur of which remind one of some Linarias. Pinguicula grandiflora is a very beautiful plant found near Killarney. The Utricularias are 362 GENERAL REVIEW. readily increased by dividing the bladder-like vesicles, or by taking off the offsets which are spontaneously produced. The Pinguiculas seed freely, and the seeds germinate very readily on any moist surface, and often appear in large quantities from self-sown seed, in the cool pit or frame where the plants have been grown. THE LILY FAMILY (Liliacece). Some of the most beautiful of all bulbous plants are included in this order, the true Lilies being perhaps the most ornamental from a cultivator's point of view, being represented in our gar- dens by some forty or fifty species, and numerous forms all more or less beautiful. Naturally they are distributed widely in South Europe, North America and California, Japan, and on the mountains of North and South India. The most useful Lily- worts are the Alliums. A. ascalonicum, or Shallot, was brought from Palestine before 1546. A. cepa, the Onion, has long been cultivated, and its native country, like that of many other ancient food-plants, is unknown, but it probably originated in the East. A. fistulosum, or Welsh Onion, is a native of Siberia, and was introduced prior to 1629. A. porrum, the Leek, is a Swiss plant, first grown in this country about 1562. A. schcznoprasiim, or Chives, is a British plant. A. sativum, Garlic, was introduced from Sicily before 1548; while A. scoro- doprasum, Rocambole, is a native of Denmark, introduced before 1596. Dr Royle is of opinion that the Leeks, Garlic, and Onion of to-day are the same plants mentioned in the Bible under their respective names (Num. xi. 5). - Tulips, Fritillarias, Scillas, Ornithogalums, &c., are widely distributed in Europe. Yuccas are principally American ; Aloes come principally from the Cape ; and the Hyacinth seems to have been introduced from the Levant previous to 1529. Nearly all Liliaceous plants seed freely ; others produce little bulbils on the flower-stem, instead of bearing seed (ex. Potato-Onion), and others are readily multiplied by dividing the bulbs or off- sets. All the robust-growing Lilies, with thick scaly bulbs, may be propagated by stripping off the scales carefully, and planting them for cuttings, as is done with Echeveria leaves. Sow the seeds of tender species in a gentle bottom-heat as soon as gathered, or in the spring. The seeds of hardy species may be sown in the open air in March or April. The rarer kinds, however, are best sown in pans placed in a cool frame. All the ornamental species of Lily-worts having bulbous or fascicled THE LILY FAMILY. 363 roots are readily propagated either by offsets, division, or by seeds, sowing the tender species in a gentle bottom-heat of 60° to 70°; while the hardy kinds may either be sown as soon as ripe in pans of light rich earth, and placed in a frame, or sown in nursery beds in the spring. To this group belongs Erythro- nium (Dog's-tooth Violet), Tulip, Calochortus, Cyclobothra, Fritillaria, Lilium, Gloriosa, Hemerocallis, Funkia, Agapan- Ihus, Polianthes (Tuberose], Blandfordia, Velthemia, Tritoma (Red-hot Poker), Phormium, Sansevieria, Aloe, Lomatophyllum, Yucca, Allium, Srilla, Ornithogalum, Albuca, Muscari, Hyacin- thus, Puschkinia, Leucocoryne, Brodiaa, Triteleia, Lachenalia, Eucomis, Cyanella, Anthericum, Arthr'opodiwn, Chlorophyton, Dianella, Asparagus, Cordyline, Dracczna, Polygonatum, Con- vallaria, Rusous, Aspidestra, and Ophiopogon. Asparagus. — Apart from the Alliaceous or Onion tribe ot LiliacecE, Asparagus is one of the most valuable of all the escu- lent Lilies of our gardens, and is readily propagated by seed. The cultivated forms of Asparagus have nearly all originated by culture from A. officinalis, a weed on the Cornish, Devon- shire, and Hampshire coasts, and all round the Mediterranean. We have several very distinct seminal and selected cultural forms of Asparagus, all exceeding the common kind in size but not in flavour. Among these the Argenteuil, or Early Purple Giant, as it is sometimes called, and Lenormand's " French Col- ossal," are much grown in French gardens. Conover's Colossal is an American variety, also of large size ; while one called Grayson's " Co vent Garden Giant " is most prized by the Lon- don market-gardeners. Several species of Asparagus from South Africa are elegant foliage-plants. Agapanthus (Love-flower]. — Half-hardy Liliaceous plants, found in moist situations in Southern Africa, and represented in our gardens by two or three varieties of A. umbellatus. The roots are thick and fleshy, and produce tufted clusters of strap- shaped leaves, and tall scapes, terminated by an umbel of blue or white campanulate flowers. Seeds are rarely produced in cultivation, unless the plant is grown in the greenhouse, and the flowers are artificially fertilised. Seeds so obtained, sown as soon as ripe in shallow pans or boxes of moist sandy com- post, and placed in a genial temperature of 50° to 60°, germi- nate readily, and soon form strong plants if potted off into a rich compost. The usual plan of propagation, however, is to divide strong clumps or masses just before the plants commence to grow in spring. There are already several cultural or seminal forms of Agapanthus ^ one of which, A. Mooreii, is much dwarfer, with narrower and more rigid leaves than the type, and similar 364 GENERAL REVIEW. umbellate clusters of blue flowers. Two distinct forms of A. umbellatus bearing blue flowers, and the white and variegated leaved forms, are grown at Kew. Allium {Onions). — A genus of Liliaceous bulbs, with grass- like fistulous or hollow leaves, and very pungent odour. The best-known cultivated kinds are A. cepa (Common Onion), and its variety, the Potato-Onion, which produces a cluster of off- sets around the parent bulb, and not unfrequently bulbils on the summit of the flower-stem. Other species grown largely for culinary uses are A. sativum (Garlic), A. ascalonicum (Shal- lot), A. porrum (Leek), and A.fistidosnm (Welsh Onion). Of these, the Leek and Common Onion are most generally grown, and are propagated from seeds which are produced the second year, so that these are biennial in our climate. Garlic, Shal- lots, Potato.-Onions, and Rocambole (A. scorodoprasuni), being perennials, are readily increased by offsets or " chives," as they are technically called. It is not usual to grow Shallots, Garlic, and Rocambole from seed, but the practice is very successfully followed by Mr Trigg of Hayling. His plan is to plant out the offsets in the usual manner, and allow them to seed. The seed is sown in good rich soil, at the same time as Onion seed, and the crop is such that five fair average specimens weigh i Ib. 7 oz. They at first look like Onions, but when they begin to divide into offsets the peculiar difference between the two is readily distinguished. This method of growing Shallots is by far the best for a large supply, and is the plan adopted in Jersey and Guernsey for procuring the enormous quantities sent every year to Covent Garden Market. All are plants of high antiquity, having been used as food from time immemorial. The Com- mon Onion is largely cultivated in the neighbourhood of Sandy, in Bedfordshire, and large quantities of Onion seed are saved there every season. Well-formed sound bulbs are selected and planted in the spring in rows, which vary from two to five or six feet apart, Lettuce or other small crops being often grown between the rows. As the flower-stems become developed, they are staked, and twine or cord is strained on either side the rows, to prevent the stems being beaten down by hail, rain, or wind. Onion seed is generally sown in March or April — Tri- poli Onions, hardy varieties, in July or August. The types of cultivated Onions are : White Spanish, Brown Spanish, Blood Red, Bulbiferous or Potato Onion, Tripoli (red and white varieties), Strasburg, and New German. The Onion is one of the oldest of all cultivated vegetables ; but, as is the case with Wheat, the Vine, and many other valuable plants, its origin is lost in the obscurity of bygone ages. THE LILY FAMILY. 365 Aloe. — A genus of succulent Liliaceous plants from the Cape of Good Hope. They must not be confounded with the species of Agave, or American Aloes, as they are popularly and erroneously called — greenhouse plants, easily propagated from stem-cuttings, offsets, or seeds sown in a gentle heat of 60° to 70°. To secure seeds, it is generally necessary to cross-fertilise the flowers. They are nearly related to Gasteria, Haworthia, &c. ; and some curious hybrids might possibly be obtained be- tween these genera. Economically they are valuable, one or two species producing a useful medicinal drug. Hybrid Aloes have been raised by Mr R. J. Lynch, the parents being A. albodncta and A. grandidentata. Blandfordia. — A handsome group of Australian Lilyworts, with grassy or sedge-like leaves and erect spikes of drooping orange-scarlet or yellow bell-shaped flowers. B. marginata, B. nobilis, B. grandiflora, and B. Cunninghamii are sometimes met with in cultivation as greenhouse plants, and are pro- pagated either by dividing established plants or from seed. Singularly enough, the handsomest plant in the whole group is a hybrid, and this fact ought to lead cultivators to improve this genus still more by raising seedlings or by hybridising. Seeds germinate best sown as soon as ripe in a gentle bottom-heat of 60° to 70°, care being taken to drain the seed-pans thoroughly, as these, like most other half-tender Liliaceous seeds, are liable to suffer from damp. B. flammea elegans is a very showy hybrid, obtained by inter- crossing B. flammea and B. Cunninghamii. It was raised by Messrs E. G. Henderson & Son, of St John's Wood (see ' Floral Mag.,' 1874, t. 134). Dracaena (Dragon -Trees). — Foliage - plants of noble habit from Australia, the South Sea Islands, and other tropical countries. The flowers are readily fertilised ; and when this is the case, most species seed freely. Many variegated forms have been raised in English and Continental nurseries from home-grown seed. The flowers are borne on long-branched spikes, and the stamens contain a copious supply of pollen. After fertilisation, a one or two seeded berry or fruit is formed. The seeds should be sown in pots or pans of light sandy earth, and soon germinate if placed on a genial bottom-heat in a close case. D. indivisa not unfrequently ripens an abundant crop of fertile seeds even in the open air, especially in Devon, Corn- wall, and other sheltered counties in England and Ireland, and these open-air seeds are found to germinate very vigorously. The green-leaved forms are the hardiest, and of noble habit, 366 GENERAL REVIEW. and seedlings or hybrids of these might prove to be improve- ments on existing varieties. Old plants of D. congcsta, JD. fragrans, D. cannczfolia, and others, flower very freely in a warm greenhouse temperature. The tall-growing species or varieties may be propagated by girdling the stem and sur- rounding the cut portion with damp moss or soil, into which roots are soon protruded, after which the top may be entirely removed and potted, while the stem below may be cut up into pieces of from 4 inches to 6 inches long, and these pieces being laid horizontally in a hotbed or a propagat- ing pit, and covered with light soil, push out in a very short time numerous buds, one from above the scar of each leaf. These form young shoots, which, when an inch or two in length, are taken off with a little heel, and planted as cuttings in sandy earth. They are kept rather close, and under such conditions soon produce roots, and form independent plants. The same mode of propagation may be adopted with any plants of similar habit. It is, in fact, often had recourse to in the case of Yuccas. D. hybrida. — A very distinct seedling raised at the Chelsea Nursery, and the first hybrid offered to the public. It is a cross between D. magnified and D. albicans. Plant of medium growth, with leaves averaging from 10 to 12 inches in length by 3 in breadth. They are of a deep green colour, and, as the plant attains age, become entirely suffused with deep rose and creamy white, the older leaves being margined with bright rose. The variegation shows itself whilst the plant is quite young, and from its graceful habit and beautiful colouring, it is exceedingly useful for decorative purposes. £>. Taylorii. — This is another of Messrs Veitch's seedlings, its parents being D. Mooreana and D. magnified. It is very robust in habit, having vigorous dark bronzy foliage, and a more compact habit of growth than either of its parents. At a meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society, November 10, 1875, Mr John Wills exhibited thirty-six new seedling Dracaenas which had been raised by one of his foremen, Mr F. Bause, an intelligent propagator, who, when at Chiswick, elec- trified horticulturists by a new race of Co/eus, these being fol- lowed by a still finer golden-variegated race, and a batch of very handsome golden-leaved Caladiums. It may interest hybridisers to know that the parents of these plants were hybridised, and the seedlings exhibited, in less than three years. The seeds were sown August i, 1874, and the plants — some of them 2-3 feet in height — were exhibited on Novem- ber 10, 1875. These new Dracaenas were for the most part THE LILY FAMILY. 367 half-breeds and crosses between such species and forms . as D. terminalis, Cooperii, regina, concinna, nigrescens, excelsa, ferrea, limbata, and Chelsonii ; and the number of seedlings raised was about 1700, from which the best thirty-six plants were selected, and these will be found described, with their parentage and other particulars, in the ' Gardeners' Chronicle,' 1875, P- 615. £• regina (which is by some considered a variegated form of D. braziliensis) was the male or pollen parent in a large majority of cases. One of these seedlings (D. Amalice) was raised from seed of D. congesta (paniculata) fertilised with the pollen of D. terminalis and D. regina mixed. The experiments of Gaertner and Dean Herbert show that mixed pollen does not act collectively, and the law of elective affinity goes to prove that the ovules become fecundated by the pollen of that species which possesses the greatest sym- pathy or consanguinity with the plant fertilised, the other pollen mixed with it being inert or impotent.* We are not likely to arrive at any satisfactory conclusions as to the efficacy of mixed pollen in such a highly variable genus as Dracczna (Calodracon), since, as Mr James O'Brien, one of our most intelligent hybrid- ists, has proved, many of the coloured-leaved forms of Dracaena produce numerous and very diverse varieties by simple seminal variation ; and when a race of plants reaches this state of ex- treme variability, the most systematic cross-breeding is reduced to a state bordering on uncertainty, just as in the case of Pelargonium or Calceolaria. Many of the Dracaenas imported from the -South Sea Islands are merely accidental or cultural varieties, or, as Mr O'Brien puts it, " natural seedlings from plants which have become accidentally variegated" (see an account of Messrs E. G. Henderson's new seedling Dracaenas in ' Belgique Horticole,' 1875, p. 282, 283). Messrs Hender- son's seedlings were raised from D. albicans fecundated with pollen from D. pulcherrima, and seeds taken off the same panicle produced dwarf and tall-growing plants, some with erect, others with recurved, foliage ; while in breadth and colour of leafage, nearly every phase of variation was pre- sented. Fritillaria {Checkered Flowers, or Snake's Head ; Crown Imperials). — A genus of bulbs, mostly European, and nearly related to the true Lilies, like which they are readily propagated by division, offsets, or seeds. There are some twenty or thirty species, and some of those not yet introduced are very pretty. * " The sole effect of mingling two kinds of pollen is to produce in the same capsule seeds which yield plants, some taking after the one and some after the other male parent." — Darwin. 368 GENERAL REVIEW. It is curious to observe that at the base of each petaloid seg- ment of the flower is a little pit or depression filled with a viscid fluid, which may be. found to be an aid to the fertilisation of these plants. In F. imperialis, " Crown Imperial," this fluid shines with a beautiful pearl-like lustre. Little or nothing appears to have been done to improve the plants in this genus ; but some of the species belonging to the solitary-flowered or F. meleagris section are certainly among the most graceful, from an artistic point of view, of all hardy bulbs. The prevailing colours are purple, brown, yellow, white, and green. Careful hybridisation might give very distinct races of these elegant flowering bulbs. F. oxypetala, a purple - flowered Indian species, is now referred to the genus Lilium, while the plant known as Lilittm giganteum and its ally Z. cordifolium are by some referred to Fritillaria. F. oxypetala certainly looks inter- mediate, and it would be interesting to attempt to hybridise some of the Fritillarias with the Lilies which most nearly approach them in structure and affinity. I am convinced that the gardener can assist the botanist very materially in the matter of determining genera by careful experiments in hybridising. Hyacinthus (Hyacinths). — A genus of showy bulbs, repre- sented in our gardens by innumerable seminal forms of H. orientalis (see 'Bot. Mag.,' t. 937), which appears to have been introduced to our gardens from the Levant prior to 1596, as it is mentioned by both Gerarde and Parkinson, and the last- named author figures several varieties at p. 121 of his ' Para- disus' (1629). The oriental Hyacinth varies in colour through all the shades of white and creamy yellow to blue, purple, lilac, rose, and magenta. Seedlings from good varieties produce a fair percentage of novel forms, and the best of these are then propagated by dividing the bulbs. H. romanus (H. italicus) is the early Roman Hyacinth, which is often forced for cut -flowers before the varieties of H. orientalis com- mence to bloom. New varieties of Hyacinths have long been originated by the Dutch florists, and this favourite flower, and the Tulip, Narcissus, Anemone, Iris, Crocus, &c., are popu- larly known as " Dutch bulbs," these being chiefly cultivated near Haarlem and Lisse, and owe their superiority as much to the suitable texture and position of the soil — a calcareous sand resting on peat — as to the lavish use of manure. An area of 125 acres devoted to Hyacinth-growing near Haarlem, is esti- mated to bring in a revenue of nearly ^3 0,000. In 1859, bulbs were exported to the value of ^12,700; and in 1862 the village of Bloemendaal, " the Valley of Flowers," sent forth THE LILY FAMILY. 369 no less than ^"200,000 worth. Where bulb -culture is the main object of attention, the routine is frequently as follows : First year — The soil is broken up and dug to a depth of five or six inches, a heavy dressing of cow-dung is applied, and a crop of potatoes taken. In the autumn the bulbs are planted, and the beds remain covered with reeds until the month of May. Second year — About midsummer, the bulbs having been collected, grass is sown on the paths between the beds, and in the autumn Tulips, Crocuses, and occasionally different kinds of Narcissus and Ranunculus, are planted on the green- sward. Lilium (True Lilies). — We have here the noblest of all hardy bulbous plants, and fortunately they are readily pro- pagated from seeds or by dividing the bulbs, and it is a little singular to find that the Japanese gardeners have been before us in the matter of cultivating and improving Lilies, just as they have been with Peonies, Chrysanthemums, and many other popular garden flowers. We have now nearly the whole of the known species of Lilium, as described by Mr J. G. Baker (see ' Gardeners' Chronicle,' 1874, p. 104 — 1651), in our gardens, and for prac- tical purposes they may be divided geographically into four sections, thus: — European. American. Japanese. Indian. L. martagon. L. auranlium. L. canadense. L. Humboldtii. L. Thunbergia- num. L, longiflorum. L. nepatense. L. tenuifolium, and others, and many seminal or hybrid forms. L. philadelphi- cum, and many semi- nal or hybrid forms. Z,. japonicum. L. speciosum. L. auratum. L. eximium, and many inter- L. Wallichianum. L. gigantettm. L. cordifolium, &c. mediate forms. Most of the species and varieties may be propagated more quickly by scale-cuttings than by seed. The scales are either pulled carefully asunder or are cut away from the bulb, begin- ning at the base first, and cutting a little piece of the core or heart of the bulb away also when practicable. These scales are then inserted in pans or boxes of light sandy earth, being just covered and no more, and are then placed in a cold frame or pit for a week or two, and kept only just moist. They may then be removed to a higher temperature, and soon develop little bulbils at the base of each scale, as shown in our 2 A 370 GENERAL REVIEW. engraving. Seeds of Z. auratum, L. speriosum, and other hardy kinds, may be sown in spring on open-air beds, raised slightly above the general ground-level so as to avoid damp. What a field of improvement is here open to the skilful hybri- diser ! Hardy flowers with the substance and purity of colour of the finest tropical Orchids, plenty of fertile pollen, and seeds a Lily-scale, predicting bulbils. Scaly bulb of the White Lily (Lilium candiduiti), with the tuft of leaves ivhich it produces, bl, Tlie bulb itself ; ec, Scales which it forms. that grow readily, — what can a cross-breeder want more ? Well, everything looks fair enough, but the truth is that hybridising Lilies is up-hill work, as the seedlings, although the result of care- ful hybridism, either resemble the male or the female parent.* Still hybrids, and very beautiful ones too, have been obtained. Of nearly all the species there are varieties, and this seems especially the case with L. martagon, of which Parkinson de- scribes and figures several forms in 1629. Nearly all the * Mr Parkman's experience in hybridising Lilies goes to prove that L. speciosum may be fertilised with pollen of L. auratum. Nevertheless the seedlings which result from this union are in nearly every instance exactly like the female parent. L. Parkmannii was the only intermediate he suc- ceeded in obtaining after several years' labour. THE LILY FAMILY. 371 Japanese and American kinds also show traces either of former culture or natural cross-breeding. Not a little has already been done by cultivators and botanists in obtaining hybrids and seminal forms of Lilium. Among the first hybrids offered for sale in this country appear to be varieties obtained by blending L. bulbiferum and Z. atrosanguineum (a variety of L. elegans — L. Thunbergianum, Hort.) These were sent out from Mr Groom's nursery at Walworth, and are thus described in Glenny's 'Garden Almanack : '- "Duke of Wellington, about 16 inches high; briglit rich red colour, with a few dark-red blotches; a fine rich kind, producing from ten to fourteen flowers on a stem. Nabob, about 2 2 inches high ; bright orange, with very dark blood-coloured blotches ; a very fine kind, producing from twelve to sixteen flowers on each stem. Voltaire, about 13 inches high; light orange with red- brown blotches ; the best of the light-coloured sorts ; produces from twelve to sixteen flowers on a stem. Louis Philippe, about 26 inches high; very bright deep red, with a few blotches and black spots, producing from sixteen to twenty flowers on a stem ; an extra fine kind. Rubens, about 1 7 inches high ; rich dark red, with a few blotches and some black spots ; produces from ten to fourteen flowers on a stem. Titian, 15 inches high ; red orange with a few dark spots; free bloomer, producing from sixteen to twenty flowers on a stem ; a very handsome variety. Duke of Devonshire, about 13 inches high; lightish- red and dark-red blotches ; a fine kind, and free bloomer. Duke of Sutherland, about 1 6 inches high ; bright red colour, lightly blotched ; a fine flower, producing from twelve to six- teen flowers on a stem. Napoleon, about 1 8 inches high ; light red, light blotches ; a very free bloomer, and fine flower. Marshal Soult, about 14 inches high; bright red, and fine dark blotches, producing from twelve to sixteen flowers on a stem ; an extra fine sort. Don Juan, about 1 7 inches high ; light red with blotches ; a good flower, producing from ten to fourteen flowers on a stem. Sappho, about 16 inches high; fine dark-red colour, well blotched with dark blood colour ; a free bloomer, and an extra fine flower." Mr Groom seems to have been one of the most enlightened florists of his time, for prior to 1847 he had raised numerous seminal forms of L. speciosum — a now well-known plant, but then comparatively new, having been introduced from Japan in 1833. These varieties were described in the gardening peri- odicals at the time as varying from pure white to deep rosy crimson, variously spotted, just as we find the case in seedlings 372 GENERAL REVIEW. from L. auratum in our own day. It is the more remarkable to find that Mr Groom grew his L. speciosum varieties in the open air, and so obtained results but rarely equalled by green- house or pot culture. In 1850, we find Messrs E. G. Hender- son & Sons had a houseful of the seminal varieties of L. speciosum. In the 'American Gardeners' Monthly,' 1868, Mr Wilder records some of his experiments in crossing Japanese Lilies. He asserts that he has crossed L. landfolium with the pollen of L. tigrinum ; and he remarks that Z. auratum is fertilised with difficulty by its own pollen, or with that of L. tigrinum, while it is quite possible with pollen of L. landfolium. The Prussian botanist, Maximowicz, also obtained inter- mediate forms between L. davuricum and L. bulbiferum — his object, however, being rather to observe certain points in the action of foreign pollen than to obtain beautiful new forms of garden plants. An account of his experiments may be found in 'Jour. Royal Hort. Soc.,' vol. iii. (New Series), p. 161. In the gardens of China, and especially in Japan, are innumerable beautiful seedling varieties, some of which have been introduced to this country, apparently in many cases hybrids between L. auratum, L. spetiosum, and L. longiftorum. Lilium Parkmannii is a large and beautiful hybrid raised by Mr Parkman, an American cultivator, and by him sent to Mr Waterer of Knaphill. The entire plant is 2-3 feet in height, its stem being clothed with alternate ovate-nerved leaves, and each bearing one erect flower fully 8 inches across as reflexed, the total width with the segments stretched out being 13^ inches. The three inner segments are fully 4 inches in width. The segments are white, their lower halves being suffused with rose, and studded with deep crimson spots and papillae. The style is green, and the pollen chocolate-coloured. This fine plant is the result of a cross between L. auratum and L. spetiosum (see 'Gardeners' Chronicle,' 1875, p. 237, 366, and 494, with full-sized woodcut figure). Several other hybrids have been raised in English gardens between L. auratum and L. speciosum, one of which, a very chaste and beautiful variety, named Z. " Purity," was exhibited by the raiser, Mr G. Thomson, at South Kensington in 1870. Z. testaceum is supposed to be a hybrid, and its history may be found in ' Flore des Serres,' vol. i., its assumed parents being Z. candidum and L. chalcedonicum. Z. (hybridum) Kramerii is a handsome Japanese plant, by some supposed to be a hybrid between Z. speciosum and Z. japonicum (see 'Flore des Serres,' 1874, p. 31, t. 2061-62): THE LILY FAMILY. 373 others consider Z. longiflorum and L. auratum to be the parents (see ' Flor. Mag.,' 1874, t. 105, and ' Bot. Mag./ 1874, t. 6058). The Hon. Marshall P. Wilder (see < Gard. Chron.,' 1873, P- 575), in his address to the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, Feb. 7th, 1872, remarks: "About thirty years ago, on the introduction of the Japan Lily, just then discovered by Dr Van Siebold, I commenced hybridising it with other species. My first experiment was the crossing the red variety (L. land- folium rubrwri) with the Tiger Lily (L. tigrinum). From this cross were produced seedlings of different shades, from delicate rose to dark crimsom. When my first Japan Lily, the Lilium lancifolium speciosum, was coming into bloom in 1837, I pro- cured from an adjacent garden pollen from the common Tiger Lily, and preserved it for several days in my vest-pocket. It was then used in impregnating the Japan Lily, and from this cross came the first seedlings of this plant. During the last thirty years I have crossed the Japan Lily with various other species of the Lily tribe, and have produced some fine varieties, as have my friends Mr Parkman and Mr Honey, from whom we hope to hear in the course of our lectures in regard to their interesting and successful experiments in hybridising these and other plants. Among the most remarkable of my experiments has been the crossing of L. lancifolium rubrum with Gloriosa superba, the seedlings from this hybrid being now in growth. I have also crosses of different species of the Lily genus, which have produced singular variations, one of which is a flower with two rows of petals." The cross alluded to above between the climbing Lily-like Gloriosa and L. lancifolium is highly interesting, and we hope our American friends will let us have full particulars of the seedlings. Tulipa (Tulips).— The Tulip is one of the earliest of all " florists' flowers," and Parkinson figures several varieties which were popular in London gardens in 1629; while at a later period " Tulipomania " spread throughout Holland and Bel- gium, and other countries of Europe, and the prices realised for bulbs of notable new varieties frequently exceeded that now paid for the rarest of tropical Orchids. There are numerous species, mostly natives of Europe, the florists' varieties having originated from T. Gesneriana (striped), introduced from the Levant in 1577, and T. suaveolens, a red-and-yellow sweet- scented S. European species, first cultivated in English gar- dens about 1603. The varieties which have originated from the last-named plant are less gorgeous in colouring than the 374 GENERAL REVIEW. seminal forms of Gesner's Tulips, but they possess the advan- tages of earliness and perfume. There is a wide field for the intelligent skill of the hybridiser in this genus, but in order to effect some startling changes we must cross distinct species with the finest of existing varieties, or, better still, with other species possessing distinct and desirable characteristics. T. Cclsiana crossed with T. sylvestris might, as suggested by M. Lecoq, give some charming yellow-flowered hybrids; or by raising seminal forms or hybrids from T. cornnta, we might obtain some elegant flowers — a distinct race of long, narrow- petalled flowers, which would be valuable for decorative pur- poses, and somewhat analogous to the Japanese race of Chry- santhemum. The two or three species having a yellow-edged blotch on their petals, of which the spotted-leaved T. Greigii (Caucasus) (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 6177) is the type, might also furnish a race if intercrossed either with themselves or with other species or varieties. The species of Tulip do not receive that cultural attention in our gardens which they deserve. Nearly all the species supply pollen copiously and seed freely. Gather the seed just before the pods burst, and hang them in a cool dry shed until the spring (February), when sow in boxes or pans of light rich soil in a gentle heat. Plant out the seed- lings in June in prepared beds of rich well-drained soil, where they can remain until they bloom. The Dutch florists raise hundreds of seedling Tulips annually, but, singularly enough, they keep plodding on with the forms of T. Gesneriana and T. suaveolens, instead of cross-breeding with some of the other distinct species, so as to originate new and more beautiful races. Tulipa sylvestris -is figured in the 'Bot. Mag.,' t. 1202; T. stellata, t. 2762; T. stiaveolens, t. 839; and T. Breyuiana, t. 717. The last is a Cape species, introduced in 1787. Tulipa Clusiana (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 1390) is an old, slender- growing, white-flowered species, the outer segments being feathered with purple behind, and the flower is improved by a deep-purple eye. Native of Sicily. Yucca. — A very distinct and beautiful genus of hardy and half-hardy evergreen caulescent Lilyworts, principally from the N. and S. American states. They rarely produce perfect seed in this country, but imported seeds germinate freely in a genial bottom-heat, after which they should be hardened off and planted out in nursery beds when sufficiently advanced in size. Seeds germinate in a few weeks after they are sown, but the young plants are of rather slow growth. The caulescent species may be multiplied by dividing the stem so as to retain a latent THE LILY FAMILY. 375 eye or bud to each portion, and a large proportion of these buds develop themselves if planted in boxes or pans of moist earth, and subjected to a genial bottom-heat. They may also be propagated by ringing the stems below the crown of sword- shaped leaves, and covering the cut part with a pot filled with moist earth, into which roots will be emitted, after which sever the stem entirely, and plant at once where it is to remain. A box of earth is often more convenient than a pot in opera- tions of this kind. If the roots of many of the strong-growing hardy Yuccas are examined, they will be found to produce tubers or " knaws," and these often develop roots and shoots if removed and planted in pans or boxes on a genial bottom- heat. They are simply fleshy root-buds, and they succeed best if they are only partly buried in the soil. Y. aloifolia and its beautiful variegated forms may be propagated either by stem-cuttings (eyes) or cuttings of the thick fleshy portions of the root. I am not aware that any attempt has been made to fertilise or hybridise these plants in our gardens ; and if this is attempted, it must be remembered that their flowers open at night. It appears possible that on their native plains these plants are fertilised by nocturnal lepidoptera or other insects, and this may account for their not often bearing perfect seeds in cultivation. Plants artificially fertilised would doubtless furnish plenty of seed ; and now that their stately beauty is beginning to be admired, they will be much sought after, and increase in value. Since the above was written, I find that Prof. Riley of St Louis, the state entomologist of N. America, has discovered that Yuccas are fertilised by a small white moth, which he calls Pronuba yuccasella, an insect which forms the type of a new genus. The female insect only has maxillary palpi, wonder- fully modified into a long prehensile tentacle, with which she collects the pollen and thrusts it into the stigmatic tube ; and after having thus fertilised the flowers, she consigns a few eggs to the young fruit, the seeds of which afford the food necessary for the existence of the newly-hatched larva. The Yucca is the only entomophilous (insect-loving) plant known which absolutely depends for fertilisation on a solitary species of insect,* and it is curious to note how admirably that insect is modified in its structure, as if especially for this purpose. It is curious also to observe that the pollen of Yuccas is glutin- ous, and is expelled from the apex of the anthers before the * The same thing is suspected by Darwin to be the case with one of the most singular and the largest- flowered of all Orchids, Angracum sesqui- pedale of Madagascar (see Darwin, " Fertilisation of Orchids "). 3/6 GENERAL REVIEW. flowers expand (see ' Garden,' iii. 499., for a highly-interesting illustrated account of the way in which Yuccas are fertilised by Pronuba yuccasella, Riley). More recent observations show that the Yucca moth does not insert her eggs into the stig- matic cavity, as was originally supposed, but that she lays them in the side of the young ovary by puncturing it with her ovipositor, after which she carries pollen and fertilises the stigma. Yuccas do occasionally, although rarely, produce seed in this country, and apparently without insect agency, although it is next to impossible to be certain on the latter point. The late Dr Englemann of St Louis, writing in 1872 (see ' Gard. Chron.,' 1872, p. 941), says that it is impossible for the heavy, sticky pollen to reach the stigma without some extraneous aid ; and adds that he has succeeded in fertilising the flowers just after they open in the evening. Yucca quadricolor variegata has fruited in the gardens of La Muette. This plant is a variety of Y. aloifolia, of which it presents the general appearance and habit. The leaves, how- ever, have a broad whitish-yellow band running through the centre. The fruit is also curiously marked, like the leaves, with a broad whitish - yellow band. M. Carriere considers that a large proportion of the seeds will reproduce the vari- egation. The seeds of Yuccas germinate in a very curious manner. Instead of throwing up the plumule from the apex of the seed, and pushing the roots downwards, as in most Dicotyledons, Yucca seeds, in common with those of Palms, Clivias, and many other Monocotyledonous plants, throw out a long, curved, neck-like growth (tigdlum), the swollen end of which contains the embryo ; and after the neck has attained the length of about an inch, more or less, the embryo throws up a leaf and pushes down root - fibres nearly simultaneously. Cyclamen seeds germinate in much the same way, and this is the only instance of a Dicotyledon germinating in this curious manner that I can just now remember to have seen. With respect to seeds of this description, the question naturally arises, Why is the embryo thrown out of the seed before ger- mination has taken place ? Naturally, as we know, seeds are scattered on the surface of the soil; and this is undoubtedly one of Nature's ways of burying the embryo, and, until it forms roots and leaves, it is nourished by the feeding-bottle- shaped mass of cellular matter which remains on the surface of the soil. We have instances of plants which bury, or attempt to bury, their seeds, such as Trifolium subterraneum , THE FLAX FAMILY, 377 all the Cyclamens, Arachis hypogcea, and others ; and in the case of Yuccas and Palms this power seems vested in the seeds themselves, or rather in that portion of the seed which repre- sents the young plant. It seems probable to me that the seeds of Yuccas and Palms are especially fitted for germination in dry or barren soils ; inasmuch as where soft seeds, which vege- tate in the ordinary manner, would be dried up, these are pro- tected from drought by a hard horny coat, and have the power of throwing out the embryo and of pressing it down into the soil, while at the same time it is amply fed by the albuminous pabulum stored up under the seed-coats until the roots can strike down deep enough to draw up food and moisture. THE FLAX FAMILY (Linacece). A small group of annual, perennial, herbaceous, or sub- shrubby plants, principally natives oPEurope and North Africa. De Candolle remarks that this group is intermediate between Cloveworts, Mallows, and Cranesbills. One species, L. usitat- issimum, is much cultivated for its tough fibre and diuretic seeds, which forms the basis of the " oilcake " used for cattle- feeding purposes, after the oil (linseed) has been expressed. Linum (Flax\ — A genus of annual or sub-shrubby plants, represented in our gardens by L. grandiflorum, L. trigynum, and others; while the common Flax, from the fibre of which our linen is prepared, has been cultivated for ages. It is one of the first plants mentioned in the Bible, and has been discov- ered in a manufactured state in the most ancient of Egyptian tombs. Flax (Linum usitatissimum) is now only known in a cultivated state, or has become so altered as to be unrecognis- able. Mr Baker thus writes on this subject in his •' Botanical Geography,' p. 87 : " One of the most noteworthy points about the common plants of cultivation is that many of the common- est and best-known so-called specific types, as the Sugar-cane, Wheat, Oat, Tomato, Artichoke, Tobacco, Gossypium her- baceum, and G. barbadense, are totally unknown anywhere in a wild state. But of all these, what are called distinct species of the same genus are known ; and it can scarcely be doubted, judging from the amount of variation which we see in types of which the origin is known, such as the Cabbage, Apple, Pear, and Cherry" (Carrot, Parsnip, &c.), " that the original types of these others are not really lost, as was commonly supposed till lately, but that an amount of change, equivalent to that of an 3/8 GENERAL REVIEW. ordinary species, has been wrought by domestication. Heer has lately traced the common cultivated Linseed (Linum usi- tatissimuni) of the present day down into Linum angustifolium at the date of the Swiss lake-dwellings." The annual and her- baceous species are easily propagated from seeds, and cuttings of the shrubby section root freely in heat. THE LOBELIA FAMILY A group of acrid or poisonous plants, principally natives of the West Indies, Brazil, North India, the Cape of Good Hope, and New Holland — some representatives being also found in Chili and the Sandwich Islands. Most of the species are char- acterised by the syngenesious anthers which, in nearly every case, discharge their pollen before the stigmatic surface of the style is exposed, or capable of being impregnated. As in Com- posites, the hairy tip of the style forces its way through the tube formed by the adherent anthers ; only in Lobeliads the tips of the anthers form a closed bilabiate mouth, fringed with hairs, and from this mouth the dry bluish pollen is forcibly ex- pelled, if these marginal hairs are irritated, either by the pencil of the observer, or by insects in their struggles to enter the hairy orifice of the curved flower-tube. The pollen of Lobe- liads, if inhaled, produces symptoms of nausea analogous to " hay fever." Lobelias are readily propagated, either by seeds sown in pans of light, rich, sandy earth, and placed in a pit or frame near the light, or by cuttings. Sown as soon as ripe in a gentle bottom-heat of 60° to 70°, they germinate readily. L. erinus and most of its varieties seed freely, but if any par- ticular form is desired, the individual must be increased by •cuttings. We learn from the * Florist ' that the following mode of pro- pagating Lobelia fulgens has been successfully practised at Mr Ware's, Hale Farm Nurseries, Tottenham: "The pots con- taining the Lobelias are plunged in cocoa-nut fibre ; then the flowering-stems are nearly cut through about an inch from the base, and laid down on their sides, partially covered by the fibre, using pegs or stones at intervals, to keep them in position and close to the plunging material. The result is that plants are formed at every joint of a shoot, for the joints root readily ; and thus an abundant supply of plants can be obtained. This plan, moreover, aids the working of the old method of taking off the young growth that comes round the base of the stem, as THE LOBELIA FAMILY. 379 the severance of the main spike directs the vigour of the plant mainly to the production of this growth." Ctntropogon and Syphocampylus are readily multiplied by cuttings of the young growth in heat, or by seeds, which are readily obtainable by artificial fertilisation. Rhynchopetalum montanum is a rare and distinct plant, with a stem something like a Cycad or " Grass-tree " (Xanthorrhcza). It is difficult to propagate, but offsets are produced from the scaly stem, if it is kept moist by a thin layer of damp sphag- num moss. Lobelia. — A showy genus of herbaceous plants* principally natives of America, and represented in our gardens by L. car- Lobelia erinus, var. speciosa — Flower enlarged, a, Style ; b, Ovary, calyx, stamens, and style. dinalis (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 320), L.fulgens, and Z. longiflora (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 2563). Z. gigantea is a strong-growing species, with large yellow flowers (see 'Bot. Mag.,' t. 1325), andZ.' tupa (ibid., t. 2550), bears a large panicle of crimson flowers. There are numerous other species of this large-growing section, but some of the fine old kinds are lost. The modern varieties of Lobelias have originated from Z. cardinalis and Z. fulgens, and are very variable in colour, the various shades of rose, scar- let, crimson, purple, and blue being most prominent. Of the 380 GENERAL REVIEW. small-growing or L. erinus section, we have also numerous seminal and cross-bred forms, the prevailing colours of which are blue and white. The dwarf-growing varieties of the L. pumila section closely resemble the old L. minuta (see * Bot. Mag.,' t. 2590), which has a low tufted habit, and bears small blue flowers. Z. minima (ibid., t. 2077) is another pretty little plant, similar in habit to the last, but bearing small flowers of a rosy pink and white colour. The old L. erinus is a weak straggling plant, often nearly two feet in height, and quite dis- tinct from the now popular races of seedlings which have been selected from it, since the rage for low free-flowering bedding- plants commenced. Z. coronopifolia is a distinct low-growing plant, bearing large deep blue flowers on one or two flowered scapes. It was introduced from the Cape about 1787 (see 'Bot. Mag.,' t. 644). A still finer species, Z. cczrulea (ibid., t. 2701), somewhat similar in habit to the last, bears three or four flowered panicles of large Pinguicula-like light-blue flowers. Cultivated Lobeliads are represented by species of Lobelia, Centropogon, Syphocampylus, and Rhynchopetalum. The old Lobelia surinamensis (see 'Bot. Mag.,' t. 225) very closely re- sembles the new hybrid Centropogon (hybridus) Lucyanus. Koelreuter was one of the first who attempted hybridising the species in this genus, and he obtained a very interesting series of hybrids between the " Cardinal Flower," Z. cardinalis, and Z. syphilitica, as early as 1771. . Lobelia Fabrii is a garden-hybrid, raised in French gardens It is supposed to be the result of a cross effected between Z. cardinalis (Cardinal Flower) and Z. syphilitica (see /Revue Hort.,' 1866, p. 269). Lobelia Lowii (' Bot. Reg.,' 17, 1455) is said (Herbert's ' Am.,' P- 34-6, 352) to have been an accidental hybrid between Z. syphilitica and Z. fulgens, and the former is supposed to be the female parent, as it seeds more freely than L. fulgens. Koal- reuter ('Act. Acad. Pet.,' 1780) raised hybrids between Z. syphilitica and Z. cardinalis reciprocally, and found them fer- tile when crossed back with either parent, but sterile with their own pollen. Z. Lowii, cited above, is, however, said by Her- bert to have produced seed with him, when planted in a border together with its parents ; but the offspring, with one or two exceptions, did not approximate to either, but resembled the hybrid, with some variability in colour. Centropogon (hybridus) Lucyanus (see 'Revue Hort.,' 1868, p. 291) is a very attractive winter-flowering plant, raised by M. Desponds of Marseilles in 1856. The female parent was Centropogon fastuosus, fertilised with pollen of Syphocampylus THE LOBELIA FAMILY. 381 Syfihocampylus Humboldtianus. a, Stigma with its two divisions firmly closed; b, Stigma with, its two divisions open or expanded— that is, in a recepti-ve state ; c, Syn- genesious anther-case, showing how the pollen is ejected on tfte apex being irritated; d, Old and partly withered JJower, showing recepti-ve stigma after it has emerged from the syngenesions anther-case; e, Anther-case and style, twice natural size; f, Pollen- grains magnified. 382 GENERAL REVIEW. betiilctfolius, and it was named in honour of M. Lucy, Pre- sident of the Horticultural Society of Marseilles. The flowers are of a bright rosy colour, borne in axillary fascicles. Syphocampylus Humboldtianus (S.fulgens), see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 5631. Anther-cases syngenesious, blue-black in colour, striate, and of a peculiarly hard texture, almost horny. When irritated at their hairy, tea-kettle-like mouth, the yellow flour-like* pollen is ejected with considerable force, to a distance of one to three inches. When confined inside the syngenesious tube formed by the anthers, the two lip-like lobes' of the stigma are firmly closed and adpressed, as at a, the object of this arrangement being to prevent self-impregnation! The stiff ring or ellipse of hairs (which is analogous to those on the outer surface of the stig- mas of Composites) is doubtless intended for brushing the pollen from the anthers, as the growth of the style gradually pushes it up the tube formed by the anthers. Thus, while the stigma is confined inside the tube, it is not fully developed or receptive, and its use is to push out the pollen for the benefit of other flowers. When it does effect its escape, a curious change, here also analogous to that in Composites, takes place. The two lips of the stigma open, as at b, and become viscid, and are then readily fertilised by pollen from younger flowers. THE MISSELTOE FAMILY (Loranthacece). Loranthus. — A genus of dichotomous plants, usually para- sitic, and having opposite or alternate bright green entire leaves, and hermaphrodite or unisexual flowers, often freely produced, and of various colours, these being succeeded by a succulent one-seeded fruit, which, like the flowers and coloured stems, is also very ornamental. They are for the most part natives of tropical Asia and America, a few being found in Africa, and the species are still more rare in Europe. One or two Euro- pean species have been established in the Botanic Gardens at Glasnevin. The late Dr Welwitsch * often alludes to the beauty of the tropical Loranths, especially those native of S.W. tropical Africa, and he collected about thirty species when travelling in Angola, where they are parasitic on evergreen, and more rarely on deciduous, trees and shrubs. Some of the species are very beautiful, having red, pink, or yellow, erect or pendulous stems, often clothed with bright green leaves and delicately-tinted flowers. They evince a predilection for the Adansonia trees, * See a paper in 'Jour. Royal Hort. Soc.,' 1873 (New Series), iii. 120. THE MISSELTOE FAMILY. 383 but many species also occur on Tamarix articulata, on intro- duced Orange and Lemon trees, and copiously on the com- mon cultivated Fig (Ficus carica). Some of these species, if introduced, might give additional interest to our plant-houses and conservatories. I believe Mr W. Bull did introduce one or two species a year or two ago, but these lovely and variable plants do not seem to have obtained the attention they de- serve. " The greater number of the Angolan Loranthi glitter with flowers of a more or less pink . or scarlet hue, but about half-a-dozen of the species are adorned with golden or orange- coloured blossoms, and all the species are exceedingly free- flowering. They flower in Angola in the spring — *>., from September till November ; but many of the finest species con- tinue their blooming during almost the whole summer, when they may be found not unfrequently covered with ripe fruits at the base, while they are still in full bloom at the top of one and the same branch of their foster-tree." Viscum. — A curious genus of parasitic plants, represented by the common Misseltoe ( V. album] in our orchards and woods. The flowers are unisexual and dioecious, — that is, borne on separate plants, the female plant being more luxu- riant in its growth than the male; and there are many varieties, doubtless of seminal origin, which vary in habit and size of the leaf and fruit. It is commonly found growing on the Apple, Lime, Poplar, Hawthorn, Maple, and more rarely on the Oak and Chestnut. It can best be propagated by seeds, which should be gathered when ripe in April or May, and pressed on to the bark on the under side of the branches of the trees on which it is desirable that it should grow. Some make slits in the bark, but the berries will grow quite as readily if allowed to adhere to the bark by their natural viscidity. If placed on the upper side of the branches, they are liable to be pecked off by birds. Many fail to propagate this plant through attempting to do so at Christmas, when the berries are abujndantly used for indoor decorations, but the seeds are then in an unripe state, and this accounts for their non-germination. The seed throws out roots, and takes hold of the bark in two or three weeks after being rubbed on the tree. . It is necessary to pro- tect the seeds from birds. Grafting succeeds in spring just as the sap of the Apple or Lime begins to move. Cut a sprig of Misseltoe, wedge-shaped at the base, and make an oblique slit in the bark of the stock to receive it, after which cover the wound with cold grafting-wax. For an account of this curious parasite, see 'Trans. Linn. Soc.,' xxiv. 175, or 'Jour, of Bot.,' 1864, p. 361. In the 'Garden,' iv. 12, is an in- 384 GENERAL REVIEW. teresting account of this tree-pest; and the following list of about twenty trees on which it has been found growing may be useful to those who wish to propagate the plant as a curio- sity or for decorative purposes. It is singular to find that this evergreen plant nearly always selects deciduous trees on which to develop itself : — Apple. Robinia. Medlar. Aspen. Ash. Birch. Sycamore. Lime. Black Poplar. Oak. Elm. Maple. Whitebeam. Silver Fir. Hazel. Briar. Whitethorn. Mountain Ash. Pear. Willow. Hickory. The Misseltoe furnishes us with one of the few known in- stances of duplicate or self-parasitism. Mr Corderoy, of Did- cot, has recently sent to the ' Gardeners' Chronicle ' some specimens of Misseltoe parasitic on itself. The young seedlings have attached themselves to the parent branches just in the same way that they usually do to branches of the Lime or any other tree. Mr Corderoy mentions also a variegated form, produced as a sport, and alludes to other variations in habit. THE LOOSESTRIFE FAMILY (Lythracetz). A small group of attractive decorative plants found in Europe, N. America, and the tropics of both hemispheres, and represented in our gardens by the genera Ly thrum, Cuphea, Lagerstraimia, and one or two others. Lythrums generally seed freely, and Cupheas are easily multiplied either by cuttings of the young growth or seeds. Lagerstroemias are Indian shrubs, which are in the gardens of India what the Lilac is here at home. L. indica is a well-known plant, bearing dense masses of rosy-lilac flowers, with long-stalked crisped petals. Cuttings of the young wood root freely in heat ; and seeds germinate readily, sown as soon as ripe, on a gentle bottom-heat of 70° to 80°. Lagerstrocmia elegans carnea is described in the ' Garden ' as a new variety, raised from seed of Z. elegans by M. F. Sahut of Montpellier. It has the habit and vigorous growth of its parent, resembling it also in the structure of the flowers, which, as is well known, differs from that of the flowers of L. indica ; but the flowers of L. e. carnea, instead of being of a brilliant deep rose colour, like those of L. elegans, are of a delicate rose or flesh colour, becoming almost white when they begin to fade. THE HOLLYHOCK AND COTTON FAMILY. 385 In the coloration of the flowers, this variety differs essentially from the three other varieties of Lagerstrcemia at present in cultivation, and forms a fourth type, not less free-flowering and not less remarkable than the others, in a genus which up to the present has exhibited few variations. In this respect it is a valuable acquisition, for few plants flower more splendidly than the Lagerstroemias. THE HOLLYHOCK AND COTTON FAMILY (Malracea). A wall-defined group of herbaceous plants, annuals, shrubs, or trees, mostly natives of the tropics and sub-tropical regions. In Europe they are represented by Mallows (Malva) ; and from one species of Althcea, A. rosea, all the lovely forms of our garden Hollyhock have originated. The most important plants, from an economic point of sight, are the different species and varieties of Gossypium, from the seed-pods of which the cotton of commerce is obtained. The following are the principal genera in this group : Althcza, Lavatera^ Malva, Malvastrum, Sida, Abutilon, Malvaviscus, Abdmoschus, Hibiscus, and Gossyp- ium. As a rule, seeds are freely produced by nearly all the plants in the order, and these germinate readily if sown as soon as ripe — the hardy species in a cold frame, and the tender or tropical kinds in heat. On the other hand, some species, as Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, very rarely produce seeds even in India. Mr W. Williamson of Belair, Dulwich, has however received seeds of this plant, ripened in Devonshire, from which young plants were obtained. Abutilon. — A well-known genus of greenhouse plants, with cordate or palmate foliage and drooping bell-shaped flowers, — A. venosum, A. striatum, A. braziliense, A. Darwinii, and others, being well-known examples. All the species are readily multiplied by seeds and cuttings, or by grafting the choice variegated kinds on A. striatum as a stock. Several beautiful hybrid- or seminal forms have been raised in Continental gardens, one of the best of these being the pure white A. " Boule de Neige," which flowers very freely in the open air in summer and in a warm conservatory in winter. This plant somewhat resembles the old Sida globiflora (see 'Bot Mag.,' t. 2821), which was introduced to our gardens from the Mauritius as long ago as 1827. By hybridising this plant with A. Darwinii, a new and very attractive race might possibly be produced. Hybrid Abutilons have frequently been raised in Continental gardens, but I can find no record 2 B 386 GENERAL REVIEW. of any having been raised in this country. In 1848, hybrids were obtained, two of the most interesting being A. venoso- striatum and A. striato-venosum, which are the result of recip- rocal crosses between A. striatum and A. venosum. In 1855, M. Lambotte of Namur exhibited several interesting hybrid Abutilons, which were the produce of A. striatum fertilised with pollen from Sida albida, and to these mules an extra prize was awarded by the Ghent Horticultural Society. It has often been observed that when the golden-blotched Abu- tilons are grafted on the green-leaved A. striatum as a stock, the latter is frequently induced to produce golden-blotched foliage below the junction of the scion with the stock. A case is mentioned (see 'Gard. Chron.,' 1875, p. 750) in which M. Jean Driessche of Ghent succeeded in grafting the new Abu- tilon Darwinii on to the variegated A. Thompsonii as a stock, the result being that subsequent leaves produced by the graft also became variegated as in the form A. tesselatum. Althaea. — A genus of hardy malvaceous, annual, biennial, and perennial plants, represented by the Marsh-mallow in marshes near the sea, and by the stately Hollyhock in our gardens. The last-named plant is one of the very few hardy flowers which are noble enough in habit to produce landscape effects. Mr Chater of Saffron-Walden, a well-known grower and exhibitor, who has done much to improve and popularise this noble-habited flower, recommends their being propagated by single eyes in July and August, also by cuttings in the spring, placed on a slight bottom-heat. Plants raised in summer are best preserved by re-potting them in October into large pots — the larger the better — in light, rich, sandy earth, and placing them in a cold frame or greenhouse, giving plenty of air on all favourable occasions : they will then grow during the winter. In March or April turn them out into the open ground, and they will bloom as fine and as early as if planted in the autumn. Plants even put out in May will flower the same year. New varieties are, of course, only to be raised from seed ; and the usual practice adopted by raisers is to grow a select collection of smooth, round-petalled, semi-double varieties close together, from which seeds are saved, which, like Stocks and Asters, produce a certain proportion of perfectly double flowers ; and the better the strain or selection, the larger is the propor- tion of perfectly double seedlings obtained. The parent from which the present race of Hollyhocks has been produced is A. rosea, a herbaceous biennial introduced from China in 1573. The common single-flowered seedlings may be used as stocks on which to graft the tender double kinds. Cleft-grafting or THE HOLLYHOCK AND COTTON FAMILY. 387 crown-grafting on the neck or collar of the root in April and May are the best plans to adopt. M. Baltet recommends that the scions or grafts be prepared beforehand, and buried in dry sand, as they are liable to rot. They should be sheltered from frost. Graft close to the ground, or better still, take up the roots, cut off the stems of the stock at the collar, and insert the grafts on the junction between the stem and root. This plan prevents, to a great extent, suckers rising from the stock. In the 'Gardeners' Chronicle,' 1845, p. 475, a curious in- stance is related of a double-yellow Hollyhock which suddenly produced single white flowers, and then a cluster of yellow flowers, very double, again made its appearance among the other lateral spikes. M. d'Auch, who originally communi- cated the information to the ' Revue Horticole,' remarks that this case is all the more singular, since varieties of Althaa rosea once obtained are very permanent, and produce themselves again by their seed. This last fact is corroborated by Dean Herbert in his ' Amaryllidaceae,' p. 366, where he says : " It is to be observed that in some cases the seminal varieties of plants preserve themselves almost as distinct in their genera- tions as if they were separate species : for instance, the culti- vated double Hollyhocks, of which at least the orange, the yellow, the white, the black, the red, and the pink may be raised with certainty by seed from plants of the several colours, although planted near together in the garden ; yet it is probable that if gardeners were to take the trouble of crossing them with pollen from plants of a different colour, a greater multiplicity of hues would be procured." Gossypium (Cotton-plants). — The plants of this group, or at least the species which yield the cotton of commerce, are found in Asia and America. In India, Egypt, and other Asiatic countries, Cotton has been cultivated from time im- memorial, just as Flax (Linum) has been also grown for ages. From the 'Treasury of Botany,' p. 544, we learn that "the use of Cotton dates from prehistoric ages, both in the Old World and the New. It is frequently mentioned in the ' In- stitutes of Menu,' a work written eight centuries before the Christian era." The aboriginal Americans used it for clothing long before North America was discovered by Europeans, and manufactured articles of Cotton have been found in the tombs of the Peruvian Incas. G. barbadense is the species culti- vated in the American States; and cultivation and selec- tion have supplied varieties, each of particular excellence, in different localities, or as supplying finer-stapled fibre than the type. G. herbaceum is the native Indian or Asiatic species, its 388 GENERAL REVIEW. forms being largely grown in British India. G. peruvianum, or Kidney Cotton, is the type cultivated in South America. All the species are perennial shrubs or herbaceous plants, but in cultivation they are treated as annuals and raised from seed, which germinates readily in a genial bottom-heat of 70° to 8oc. The varieties of Cotton interbreed readily, and numerous kinds were raised prior to 1871 by Col. Trevor Clarke, and these plants were exhibited in a greenhouse especially erected for them near the Exhibition of 1871. Col. Trevor Clarke has very kindly given me the following remarks on cross-bred varie- ties of Cotton : " In Gossypium, cross-bred plants were pro- duced for purposes of improvement many years ago by Mr Burns and others in India, and afterwards largely by myself. In a series of experiments, extending over many years, I found that the Eastern Cottons, G. herbaceum, with its innumerable forms, and the nearly-related purple-blossomed G. arboreum, would interbreed freely amongst each other. The occidental or New World Cottons were also found to cross with each other, and to produce fertile offspring ; but no union could be effected by artificial impregnation between the Asiatic and American plants. Note here, that the rough or hairy-leaved type of American Cotton, represented by the New Orleans, has been frequently cultivated experimentally in India, and in one district successfully; various other members, too, of the occidental type have also been brought thither for the same purpose. These would all cross or interbreed with each other. It is, however, an unfortunate circumstance that the American New Orleans plant has become confused by planters with the true Asiatic race, under the common name of G. herbaceum, and that thus has sprung up the erroneous notion that the two races were capable of hybridisation. The results of artificial breeding amongst the Cottons may be summed up briefly as follows : The Asiatic sorts were not improved in any very marked degree. Some of the best of the multitudinous local varieties were crossed with each other with the usual and well-known result in such cases — to wit, strengthened constitu- tion, and greater development of parts ; but at present the most improved examples will not bear comparison with the ordinary American kinds. The cross between arboreum and herbaceum was verified, and the produce had some marked good qualities. The occidental or American family was also experimented upon largely ; the numberless related forms were crossed and recrossed with each other over a period of nearly twenty years, and the produce sent out to be tested in the various Cotton- growing countries. The physical results were in the highest THE MAGNOLIA FAMILY. 389 degree successful, and the importance of using highly-developed cultivated sorts to improve the inferior forms used by native cultivators was fully confirmed. An elaborate trial of these is now being made by Mr Empson of Williston (South Carolina), with every prospect of success." It is very interesting to know that Cotton-plants may be grafted readily when in a very young state; and in the 'Gardeners' Chronicle,' 1871, p. 1260, is a figure of a grafted seedling, the scion being united to the stock just below its (the scion's) seed-leaves. Hibiscus. — A group of shrubby garden plants, of which H. syriacus (Althcea frutex), H. sinensis, and the numerous semi- nal forms of each type, may be cited as examples. They are readily propagated by seeds, which are produced only as a rule after careful artificial fertilisation, and these should be sown at once in light rich sandy compost, and placed in a gentle bottom-heat of 65° to 70°. Cuttings of the young wood root freely ; or the rare and choice varieties may be splice or cleft grafted on the common kinds. It would be interesting to know whether the beautiful single and double forms of H. sinensis would succeed grafted on pieces of the root, or on seedlings of the hardy H. syriacus. Hibiscus syriacus is a showy rosy-flowered shrub from Syria, and of this there are numerous white, red, crimson-striped, and double varieties in our gardens. It is increased by layers, and occasionally by seeds, which are sparingly produced. Miller remarks that the scarce varieties may be propagated by grafting them on each other, or on common sorts, which is the usual method of propagating the kinds with striped leaves (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 83). M. Gaudais of Nice raised a hybrid some years ago between Hibiscus moscheutos — which has persistent foliage and a dry fruit — and Achania malvaviscus — which has deciduous foliage and a berry-like fruit. The last-named was the seed-parent, and the hybrid is said to have resembled it in bearing decidu- ous leaves and habit, while the flower was double. THE MAGNOLIA FAMILY (Magnotiacece).. A very ornamental family of evergreen and deciduous trees or shrubs, bearing conspicuous, and in many cases fragrant flowers, their foliage being also generally noble in form and large in size. The species are natives of North America, China, Japan, and Northern India, and belong to Liriodendron or Magnolia. 390 GENERAL REVIEW. Liriodendron (Tulip-tree]. — Only one species is known in this genus, this being a native of North America, and common in our gardens. L. tulipifera forms a tree forty or fifty feet high, and is easily recognised by its curious saddle-shaped foli- age. Its cup-shaped red and yellow or greenish flowers are produced in the summer months. Imported seed grows freely sown in the spring, either in a cold frame or in sheltered nur- sery beds. L. tulipifera, var. obtusifolia, bears larger flowers than the type, and may be propagated by grafting, as in Mag- nolia. The Tulip-tree rarely ripens its seeds in this country ; but if seeds cannot be obtained, hillock-layering may be resorted to, as in Magnolia. Magnolia. — A well-known genus of highly ornate deciduous or evergreen flowering trees and shrubs, many of them, as M. Entire flower of Magnolia grand/flora. Magnolia grandiflora, L. Mass of pistils or carpels of pistils. grandiflora and its varieties, M. glauca, M. purpurea, and others, being quite hardy in this country, and admirably adapted for sunny walls. All the species are readily increased by imported seeds, which ripen well in Italian, Spanish, and even French gardens, but rarely in this country, except on very warm soils, . artificial fertilisation being advisable in order to induce the fruit to set well. M. conspicua ripened its seeds in 1871 at Carclew, Cornwall. Seeds should be sown in shallow boxes of light rich earth in the spring, and placed on a genial bottom-heat of 60° to 70° : they germinate well, although rather irregularly. Hillock-layering is employed, and with M. gran- diflora and other strong-growing kinds it is successful ; and the plants so obtained do not grow so grossly, and bloom earlier THE MAGNOLIA FAMILY. 39? than seedlings. Cuttings of the young wood root freely in heat, and may be resorted to when seeds or layering cannot be adopted. Layers, seeds, or grafting are the methods, however, most generally made use of in good tree -nurseries. The weak-growing or other deciduous kinds do best on seedlings of M. discolor or M. glauca ; the method generally adopted being to side-graft pieces of the young growth, when tolerably hard, on to the neck of the stock, without heading it down. July and August are the best months for this operation, the stocks being grown in pots and worked in a close frame. The union between the parts generally takes place in five or six weeks. Some use layers as stocks, but fresh young seedlings are to be preferred. The evergreen kinds do best on M. grandiflora as a stock. Some of the deciduous kinds, as M. Soulangeana, M. discolor, M. purpurea, M. Lennei, and others, are so beauti- ful, even in a small state when grown in pots, that they deserve culture for conservatory decoration in the spring ; and, with a little care in hybridising, a race of dwarf, bushy, free-flowering forms might be obtained. I have seen plants of M. Lennei in a thirty-two-sized pot bear eight or ten of its deliciously fra- grant flowers, which are satiny- white within and deep purple outside, being so elegantly bell-shaped or vasiform withal, that one can only wonder why it is so rarely seen cultivated in pots. The fruits of Magnolias are long and fleshy, the seeds being exposed when fully ripe ; and in this country pot-culture in a greenhouse and careful fecundation would be the most certain means of obtaining them. Numerous seedlings of M. grandi- flora have been raised in this country — M. grandiflora, var. exoniensis, being the best. M. Campbellii is a magnificent rosy-flowered species, figured in Hooker's ' Himalayan Plants,' and is quite hardy in Ireland — a tree having stood out several years near Cork. It is certainly one of the finest of all the species, and ought to be invaluable to the hybridiser. Her- bert, in his oft - quoted ' Amaryllidacese,' observes : " The French have favoured us with some desirable Magnolias from M. Yulan, fertilised by M. obovata and M. gracilis ; but the mixture of the Chinese species with the magnificent M. grandi- flora, and with the very hardy M. tripetala, is probably still in expectation." M. Porcher, in his interesting work, ' Du Fuchsia,' tells us that M. Soulangeana was obtained in 1826, and that it is a seedling from M. Yulan, fertilised with pollen from M. obovata discolor, and that it was named by the Societe d' Horticulture de Paris in compliment to the raiser, M. Soulang-Bodin, and it may possibly be one of .the French hybrids alluded to by Herbert, but which he does not name. 392 GENERAL REVIEW. M. Lennei is a garden hybrid, and is one of the finest of the deciduous group. It is of Italian origin, and is sup- posed to be the result of a cross between M. Yulan and M. purpurea (see ' Flore des Serres,' t. 1693-94). M. Thom- soniana is a garden hybrid between M. glanca and M. tripetala, and M. conspicua Nobertiana is supposed to be the result of fertilising M. conspicua with pollen of M. purpurea. Magnolia macrophylla is a noble, large-leaved plant, which bears salver- shaped white flowers, which, being open and loose, remind one of an enormous Mallow. The flowers are fully twelve inches in diameter (see ' Bot. Mag./ t. 2189). THE CANNA FAMILY (Marantacecz). A small natural family of tropical herbaceous or evergreen plants, represented in our gardens by many beautiful-leaved species and forms of Maranta and Calathea. Thalia dealbata, and the numerous species and still more numerous improved hybrid or seminal forms of Canna or " Indian Shot," also belong to this group. Marantas and Calatheas are easily multiplied by dividing the rhizomes of established plants. Seed is rarely produced except by careful cross-fertilisation, and the floral envelopes should be removed as early after the flower decays as possible, or they induce the seed-vessels to decay. Thalia and Canna are also easily multiplied by dividing the tuberous rhizomes, and the last named produces fertile seeds in abundance on warm rich soils. Seeds should be sown in the spring in a genial bottom -heat of 70° to 80°, and may be planted out on a warm border in June. Nearly all the beauti- ful-foliaged and flowering varieties of Canna, now so popular in our garden arrangements, have originated in Continental gar- dens. Parkinson figures a variety of Canna in his ' Paradisus ' (1629), and describes a form with yellow flowers spotted with red, so that this plant is an old one in our gardens. There is every reason to believe that the Canna will some day ere long rival the Gladiolus in the beauty and variety of its flowers. Numerous seminal varieties, cross-bred forms, and hybrids have been raised in French and Belgian gardens ; but hitherto the object has been to obtain fine-foliaged varieties rather than to develop their inflorescence. C. iridiflora (see 'Revue Horticole,' 1875, p. 29J) bears splendid spikes of crimson-scarlet flowers, and a very fine form raised by M. Jean Sisley, named C. Jean Vandael (see ' Revue Hort.,' 1869, p. 171), deserves the attention of hybridists. The THE MEADOW-SAFFRON FAMILY. 393 last-named plant was obtained by crossing the varieties C. Marechal Vaillant, and C. Depute Henon, its flowers being two to three inches in diameter and deep crimson-scarlet in colour. Other large-flowered varieties have been raised by M. Annee, M. Sisley, M. Chate, and others; and some of the best of these which seed freely might with advantage be crossed again with C. iridiflora, so as to obtain a race of large-flowered kinds hav- ing fixity of character. The following is a select list of the best- flowering kinds, which may be used either as pollen or seed bearing parents by the cultivator. The first class includes dwarf kinds only — say not above two feet in height ; the second class grows three or four feet ; and the third class from four to seven feet, or even taller. It will be seen that these plants are of far nobler habit than the Gladiolus, and are also of easier culture, and we hope to see many handsome seedlings raised in English gardens as well as on the Continent, and we may reasonably expect that some of these will rival the tropical Marantas in foliage, and at the same time delight us with their handsome flowers. First class — Prince Imperial, bright scarlet; Bihorellii, or- ange-scarlet ; Bihorellii elegans, Indian yellow ; Bihorellii sple?i- dens, bright scarlet ; Michel Bonnett, bright crimson ; Gustave Bonnett, orange-scarlet ; Mullerii, crimson ; grandiflora flori- bunda, orange ; compacta, yellow, spotted red ; Ferrandii, bright crimson. Second class — Senateur Chereau, yellow, with red spots ; lutescens, yellow ; Impemtor, dark scarlet, orange-spotted ; gigantea floribunda, orange-buff ; rotundifolia rubra, orange ; picturata fastuosa, light yellow, spotted red. Third class — Premice de Nice, canary-yellow; Auguste Ferrier, scarlet and orange ; Rendatlerii, orange-buff; Depute Henon, yellow and rosy-red, shaded ; Ernest Benary, orange-red ; Van Houttei, bright orange-red. THE MEADOW-SAFFRON FAMILY (Melanthacece). Very few plants in cultivation belong to this order, the prin- cipal being different species of Veratrum, Tricyrtis, Bulbo- codium, and Colchicum or autumnal Meadow-saffron. The flowers are very variable in form and size, being either uni- sexual or hermaphrodite. Nearly all the cultivated species are hardy ; but the order, although a small one, is widely dis- tributed over the earth's surface. They are very poisonous. The herbaceous section, like the Japanese Tricyrtis and the European or American Veratrums, are readily multiplied by 394 GENERAL REVIEW. carefully dividing large established clumps, while seed ger- minates freely if procurable. The bulbous species of Bulbo- codium and Colchicum are readily propagated by seeds sown on pans of sandy earth as soon as ripe or in the following spring, and placed in a warm frame to vegetate. Offsets or division of large clumps affords another way of multiplying these beauti- ful plants. THE BERTOLONIA FAMILY (Melastomacea}. A large order of tropical plants, many of which are grown in our gardens for decorative purposes. De Candolle remarks of this group as follows : " Although composed entirely of exotic plants, and established at a period when but few species were known, it is so well characterised that no one has ever thought of putting any part of it in any other group, or even introducing into it genera that do not rightly belong to it." The distinctive characters of Melastomads are the opposite and generally three- nerved leaves, the veins running from the base to the apex, and the curious long-beaked anthers. The principal genera cultivated are Centradema, Lasiandra, Pleroma, Melastoma, Monochczton, Rhexia, Medinilla, Bertolonia, Sonerila, SpJmro- gyne, Phyllagathis, Cyanophyllum, Platycentrium, and others. Nearly all the species are readily multiplied from cuttings of the young or partially-hardened growth, while leaf-cuttings are successful, especially in the case of Phyllagathis, Sonerila, Ber- tolonia, and some species of Medinilla. Layers and circum- vallation are successful methods — in particular cases the last- named process being handy, in order to secure the tops of old specimens of Cyanophyllum and Sphcerogyne. But little has been done by hybridisers in this group, notwithstanding which the few results obtained have been remarkably beautiful, notably the hybrid Bertolonias of M. Van Houtte and the Somrilas of Messrs E. G. Henderson & Son. These triumphs ought to stimulate others, especially when we consider what handsome species might serve as a groundwork of the hybridist's experi- ments. Fancy the lovely purple flowers of Lasiandra macrautha borne on a good-habited plant like Pleroma elegans ! Then, again, the Monochcetons would doubtless give a beautiful race of hybrid decorative plants. Seeds are rarely borne by these plants unless the flowers are artificially fertilised ; but when ob- tainable, they germinate very readily sown on a pan of light leaf- mould and sand placed in a genial bottom-heat of 70° to 80°. A pane of glass or a piece of brown paper should be placed over the pan to prevent undue evaporation. The sexual organs THE FIG-MARIGOLD FAMILY. 395 of nearly all Melastomads, and especially their anthers, seem specially formed for securing cross - fertilisation by insect- agency, and every group of plants, which depends more or less on insects for fertilisation seems to be especially liable to pro- duce hybrids. The curious structure of the long curved-pointed anthers, and the curved stamens and long connective, seem to act in a manner analogous to that of Salvias ; while the pollen is by some species ejected on the stamens being irritated, just as in Lobeliads. For figures of the sexual organs of these curious plants, see 'Trans. Linn. Soc.,' vol. xxviii., part i. Several hybrid or seedling forms of Bertolonia have been raised. To M. Van Houtte, of Ghent, we are indebted for B. Van Houttei (one of the handsomest), B. Mirand&i, and B. Marchandii. The first-named variety was exhibited in England in 1875. THE FIG-MARIGOLD FAMILY (Mesembryacece). A natural group of succulent, sub-shrubby, or herbaceous plants, having opposite 'simple leaves, and showy purple, rosy, yellow, or white flowers, similar to those of Composites or Por- tulaceas in general appearance. They are principally natives of the Cape of Good Hope, a few being found in South Europe, North Africa, China, and Peru. In our gardens they are represented by two or three hundred species and varieties of Mesembryanthemum, and by Lewisia rediviva, an American plant bearing showy rose-coloured flowers. All the species of Fig-Marigold are readily multiplied by cuttings inserted in dry sandy compost in the summer months ; and, like other succu- lents, the cutting pots or pans should be placed on a sunny shelf near the glass of a warm greenhouse or vinery. Nearly all the species seed freely ; but the seed-vessels, being fleshy, are liable to damp. Seed-bearing plants should have the flower- buds thinned, and the petals should be cut away from the seed- vessel as soon as they fade, or they cling around it and cause damp and mould. A dry and sunny shelf in a warm greenhouse or pit is the best position for seed-bearing plants. Seed should be sown either as soon as ripe or in the spring — say March or April — on the surface of a well-drained seed-pan filled with sandy compost. Water very carefully with a fine rose after sowing, and cover the whole with a flat pane of glass, and set the pan on a gentle bottom-heat of 65° to 70°, until the young plants appear, after which remove the pane, or tilt it so as to admit air freely, and set the seedlings on a sunny shelf near the glass until fit for potting off. 396 GENERAL REVIEW. THE FIG AND MULBERRY FAMILY (Moracecz). An order of useful fruit-bearing or ornamental plants, natives of temperate and tropical latitudes in both hemispheres, but espe- cially abundant in the tropics, where numerous climbing Figs abound in the forests. The principal genera are : Morus (Mul- berry), Broussonetia (Paper Mulberry), Madura (Osage Orange), Ficus (Figs), and Dorstenia. The plants in this group are monoecious, and remarkable for the flat or fleshy receptacle in which the seeds are immersed. In the case of the common Fig, cross-fertilisation — generally so easy in monoecious plants — is next to impossible, the male and female flowers being crowded together inside the fleshy fruit. The Mulberry is readily propagated by cuttings of the old wood ; large branches, three or four feet long, root freely if driven into the earth like stakes. M. Baltet recommends grafting or budding on the seedling white Mulberry as a stock, flute-grafting in April or shield-budding in August being most successful.. Budding is most successful in warm soils, and may be performed as early as midsummer. Budding with a pushing eye in April is also recommended by the same author, the scion branches having previously been preserved by burying them in sand behind a north wall. Mulberry-trees were introduced into England, early in his reign, by James I., who spent .£935 'in planting them near his palace ; and by royal edict, about the year 1605, offered packets of Mulberry-seeds to all who would sow them, for the purpose of encouraging the cultivation of silk-worms for the promotion of silk-manufacture in this country. The royal patronage ren- dered the tree so popular that there is scarcely an old garden or gentleman's seat which existed in the seventeenth cen- tury, in which a Mulberry-tree is not to be found. In 1609, Sieur de la Foret, who had in France a nursery of 500,000 plants, travelled over the midland and eastern counties of Eng- land for the sale of Mulberry-trees, and distributed not less than 100,000. The Osage Orange (Madura) strikes from cuttings as freely as the Willow ; and M. Neuman observes that new terminal buds are developed from the cambium layer more freely than lateral ones from latent buds on the old stems. Nearly all the Figs root freely from cuttings of the young or hardened wood ; and the common Fig, like the Grape Vine, is easily propagated by burying branches for two or three months, after which they are found to root freely when placed in a genial bottom-heat. THE FIG AND MULBERRY FAMILY. 397 Layers are also successful. The Banyan-tree is one of the noblest examples of natural layering in the vegetable kingdom. Many of the ornamental kinds root freely from herbaceous or woody cuttings in a close heated case, or they may be multi- plied by grafting cuttings on thick bits of the roots of common kinds, after which pot carefully into small pots, and plunge them in a close heated case. Fruiting branch of the Fig (Ficus Carica). a, Fig cut longitudinally to show the collection of flowers inside; b, One of the staminate flowers ; c, One of the pistillate flowers', d, Ripe flg crtt open to show the collection of fruits; e, One of the fruits ', f, Seed with embryo. Ficus religiosa, F. indica, F. elastica, F. Chauvierii, and others, may be propagated by inserting eyes or short pieces of the stem, each having a single leaf and the bud at its base attached. Dorstenias are readily propagated by herbaceous cuttings or by division. Seedlings of the edible Fig vary very much in size, flavour, form, and colour; and the numerous forms — upwards of a hundred — now grown in this country have been raised in French, Spanish, or Italian gardens. Doubtless some are merely cultural varieties, and, as we have 39$ GENERAL REVIEW. before observed, any systematic course of intercrossing is next to impossible, unless, indeed, the fruit can be partially severed — i.e., slit open when the open orifice indicates the perfection of the flowers — and the foreign pollen introduced, after which the fruit might be held together by an elastic band until the margins united again ; or it might be possible to insert the point of a fine brush or feather, moistened with honey or nectar, and charged with pollen. The variety of fruits obtained when seeds of imported Figs are sown seems to point to hybridisa- tion having previously been effected at some time or other, unless, indeed, we can ascribe this seminal variation to a long course of cultivation. THE BANANA FAMILY (Afusacece). A small genus of large-leaved plants, principally natives of the Cape of Good Hope, Madagascar, and pretty generally throughout the tropics, where Musas are largely grown for their edible fruits under the names of Plantains and Bananas. A dwarf-growing Banana from China is often grown in our hot- houses as a choice fruiting -plant under the name of Musa Cavendishii. The principal genera are : Musa, Strelitzia, Heliconia, and Ravenala or Urania, the " Travellers' tree " of Madagascar. Strelitzias and the edible Musas are readily pro- pagated by separating the offsets or suckers, which are freely produced. Musa ensete does not throw up suckers, but is readily raised from imported seeds, which, like those of Rav- enala, germinate freely in a genial bottom-heat. Heliconias may be propagated by division, or if seeds can be procured, they germinate readily in a close heated frame. Musa Caven- dishii and M. sapientum are the most useful as fruit-bearing plants in this country ; and it is interesting to notice that in the tropics, where they have been long cultivated, there are numerous varieties differing in the size, colour, and flavour of their fruits. The varieties having short plump fruits, with deli- cate rose-tinted pulp, are the best, and are as much sought after as are the finer Pears or Grapes here in our gardens at home. The pendulous flower-spike of Musa, with its unisexual female flowers above the male blossoms, seems a simple provision to favour cross-fertilisation with other varieties occasionally; and it would be worth while to try the effect of pollen of M. sapientum on M. Cavendishii, and vice versa, whenever and wherever this is practicable. It is singular to observe that the edible-fruited Musas, like the Pine-apple, rarely bear fertile seeds — a state of THE MYRTLE FAMILY. 399 things favoured by the system of propagating them by suckers or offsets in cultivation. Strelitzia. — A small genus of gorgeous orange and purple or white-flowered Musads from the Cape, and represented in our gardens by S. regincE, S. juncea \S. parvifolia), and S. humilis. The flowers remind one of those of Irids, and con- sist of six segments, the three outer (sepals) usually of a bril- liant orange colour (white in 6". augusta), while the three inner ones are unequal, the two lower ones united, forming an arrow- head-like hood, of a rich purple colour, and concealing in a slit or fold the five perfect stamens and an imperfect one. The three- celled capsule contains numerous seeds, each having an orange- coloured tuft of hairs. These fine flowering and foliage plants are much hardier than is generally supposed, and well deserve more general culture. Numerous beautiful seminal varieties, which, if not actually true hybrids, are of equal practical im- portance, have been raised in Belgian gardens (see ' Ann. de la Soc. d' Agriculture et Bot. de Gand,' t. i. p. 419). The Belgian varieties are : S. aurora, S. imperialis, S. rutilans, S. citrina, S. vitrea, and others ; and these have been raised from seeds of the well-known S. regince fertilised with pollen of 6". angusti- folia, S. juncea, and S. humilis. The pollen of these plants is well worth examination, being spherical, and having a hard thick outer membrane, finely punctate or pitted, and scarcely separable from the internal coat. THE MYRTLE FAMILY (Myrtacecz). A group of trees and shrubs, mostly evergreen, and repre- sented in our gardens by different species of Eucalyptus, Calli- stemon, Metrosideros, Leptospermum, Babingtonia, Punica (Pome- granate), Psidium (Guava), Pimenta (Allspice), Myrtus (Myr- tle), Caryophyllus (Clove), Eugenia, Jambosa (Rose-apples), and several other genera. Nearly all the plants in this group are natives of hot countries, and abundant in the tropics. New Holland and. the South Sea Islands contain genera peculiar to their shores, while the most northern species is the Common Myrtle {Myrtus communis}, which, although originally a native of Persia, is now abundantly naturalised in Europe. Aromatic properties characterise the order; while some genera, as Psidium, Jambosa, and Eugenia, produce edible fruits, even in cultiva- tion. Most of the species are evergreen. Seeds germinate freely in a bottom-heat of 70° to 85°, and cuttings of the young growth root freely in a warm plant-case or frame. It does not* 400 GENERAL REVIEW. appear to be generally known that Myrtle-branches, five or six inches long, root freely in water, even in a dry window, although a close case would be better if at hand. Many other plants root freely in tepid water", but extra attention is required in transferring the cuttings to the soil in potting. Hybridism is of rare occurrence in this group ; but there are many seminal varieties of Psidium (Guavas) and Eugenia. Myrtles are readily multiplied by grafting in heat, and the double-blossomed Myrtle grows and blooms much better when worked on the common single-flowered type (M. communis) as a stock. THE PITCHER-PLANT FAMILY (Nep€nthacc&\ Nepenthes ( True Pitcher-plants]. — A very curious and inter- esting group of plants, natives of the tropics, many fine species being found in Borneo and the other islands of the Malayan archipelago. Some of the finest species, as N. Edwdrdsiana, N. Lowii, N. Rajah, and others, are as yet unknown in this country, except by dried specimens. The male and female flowers are borne on separate spikes; and careful artificial fecundation is necessary to insure the production of good seed. Several beautiful hybrids have originated in the Chel- sea nursery of Messrs Veitch & Son, a descriptive list of these being given below. Seed should be sown, as soon as it is ripe, on the surface of a pan or pot filled with spongy peat and surfaced with living sphagnum moss ; and in a high moist tem- perature these germinate readily. Imported seeds treated in the same way seldom fail to grow ; but if sown in soil in the usual manner, they never succeed. Cuttings of .the lateral shoots or breaks, which are produced near the base of the main shoots, strike root readily if placed in a close heated case on a layer of living sphagnum moss. If the cuttings are set upright between strips of lath, so much the better. Some insert the base of the cuttings in shell or Derbyshire spar, instead of moss, with equal success ; while in the Belgian nurseries we have noted an ingenious plan of rooting Nepenthes by setting small inverted flower-pots on a bed of sphagnum moss, and placing the base of the cutting through the drainage-hole. This plan may also be used for cuttings of Dracaenas and many other kinds of plants which root better in moist air than in damp earth. Dr Moore, of Dublin, has succeeded in grafting N. Hookerii .on N. ampullacea as a stock; but little is to be gained by this THE PITCHER-PLANT FAMILY. 40 1 mode of propagation. Still it is interesting to know that this method is practicable.* Some of the species naturally exhibit a tendency to vary : thus JV. Hookerii is a form of N. Rafflesiana, having shorter, rounder, and more highly-coloured pitchers ; and the red and green pitchered varieties of N. rubra (Hort.) are natural sports or seminal forms of N. khasyana, a plant often met with in gardens under the name of N. distillatoria. The pitchers of these plants are so variable even on the same individual plant, that no reliance can be placed on them as marks of specific distinction. The following hybrid forms, raised by Messrs Veitch, are in cultivation, our descriptions being abbreviated from the ' Florist : '— N. Chelsonii. — Stem downy; leaves, including the petiole, 1 6-1 8 inches long, 3-4 inches broad, glabrous; pitcher 3-4 inches long, 2^ inches broad, purple-spotted. This form is a cross between N. Rafflesiana (Hookerii), which was the male parent, and N. Dominii, the female parent, the latter being itself a hybrid. The pitchers are somewhat like those of JV. Rafflesiana, but broader, and with the mouth less prolonged at the back. N. Sedenii. — Stem glabrous; leaves 7 inches long, i^ inch wide, coriaceous, glabrous ; pitcher (probably not fully de- veloped) 3 inches long, i inch wide, oblong. This form is stated to have been raised from the pollen of N. khasyana (distil- latoria] applied to the female flower of an undetermined species. N. Dominii. — Stem purplish, slightly downy ; leaves gla- brous, elliptic-lanceolate, tapering at the base, and decurrent along the sides of the petiole ; pitcher 6 inches long, 2 inches wide, oblong, deeply winged, wings purple, spotted and fringed at the margin; mouth infolded at the edge, furrowed, prolonged at the back into a long tapering striated process about an inch in length ; lid oblong, 2 inches long by i ^ inch wide, smaller than the mouth of the pitcher, speckled with purple glandular dots, ribbed at the back, and provided at the base with an ex- current recurved process. This form is stated to have been the result of the fertilisation of the female flowers of N. Raffles- iana with the pollen of an undetermined species from Borneo. N. hybrida. — Stem glabrous ; leaves oblong-acute, tapering at the base into a short stalk, glabrous ; pitchers 5 inches long, membranous, green, or with a few purple spots within. This form, and the succeeding one, are stated to have originated * For an illustrated account of the origin and development of the Pitchers of Nepenthes, and descriptions of new species, see 'Trans. Linn. Soc.,' xxii. 415. 2 C 402 GENERAL REVIEW. from seeds taken from the same capsule. The male parent is stated to have been N. kkasyana, the female an unknown species from Borneo. N. hybrida metadata. — Stem glabrous; leaves glabrous, coriaceous, oblong-lanceolate ; pitchers 5 inches long by i ^ wide, cylindric, oblong, purple-spotted. This form resembles N. Bosckiana in the pitcher, but is winged. N. intermedia. — This is evidently a robust and free-growing variety, and is the result of a cross between N. Rafflesiana and an unnamed species with small spotted pitchers. The pitch- ers are about the size of those of N. hybrida maadata, but resemble those of N. Rafflesiana in shape and colour. This interesting hybrid was obtained by Mr Court, one of Messrs Veitch's foremen, and was first exhibited in 1875. Wherever N. Rafflesiana has been used in raising the above hybrids, no matter whether as male or female, its prepotence over the other species used with it is very evident in the off- spring. THE MARVEL OF PERU FAMILY (Nyctaginacece). This is a small group containing but few garden plants of especial interest. Mirabilis jalapa (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 371), the common Marvel of Peru, is still a^ favour- ite flower in some gardens, on account of its evening and night-blooming habit, and fragrance. Although often grown from - seeds and treated as an annual, it is a perennial, and its roots may be taken up and preserved in sand just like Dahlias. In the work above cited the different coloured varieties are said to come true from seed. The species are all natives of Peru and Mexico. They are very readily propa- gated by seeds and by careful division of the tuberous roots. Cuttings root readily in heat, and form tubers and flower the same year. The type of M. jalapa bears rosy flowers, and of this, two of the earliest variations were two sports, the one bearing yellow and the other white flowers. The flowers opening in the evening gives this plant an especial value, as it forms an attractive companion to the night - scented Stock, Mignonette, and other fragrant flowers. Between 1846 and 1862,* M. Lecoq obtained numerous self-coloured, bicolor, and tricolor, or striped forms of M. jalapa ; and in 1847 ne obtained plants intermediate between M. jalapa and M. longi- * For a full and interesting account of M. Lecoq's hybrid and cross-bred Mirabilis, see ' De la Fecondation et de THybridatiori,' p. 300 ; see also Naudin on Hybridism, 'Jour. Royal Hort. Soc.' (New Series), i. 5. THE WATER-LILY FAMILY. 403 flora, the last being a deliciously-perfumed species, having long- tubed flowers. -It is singular to observe that when M. longi- flora was made the female parent, all attempts at hybridisation proved abortive, while an inversion of this cross gave numerous hybrids, and these, when crossed, gave a numerous progeny in the second generation. M. Lecoq has also hybridised M. jalapa with M. dichotoma, the result being plants bearing yellow flowers, or flowers striped with yellow and white. THE WATER-LILY FAMILY (Nymphaac&z). A group of very beautiful aquatic or floating plants, inhabiting the whole of the north- ern hemisphere, occa- sionally met with in Southern Africa, while in South America the highest beauty in the whole group is met with in Victoria re- gia. In Nymphaeas we find a gradual transition from sepals and petals to anthers and stamens, and this group is one of the very few in which semi-double flowers are the normal state. All the plants in the order are readily propagat- ed from seeds, which should be sown in a pot of loamy soil and sand, and plunged be- neath the surface of a warm tank, fully ex- posed to the sun. The rhizomes may be divid- ed in the case of the hardy kinds. Imported seeds should be sown as soon as received. The Victoria is .generally and most con- veniently treated as an annual plant in our gardens, but it is a Nymphcea alba, JL. a, Flo^vering plant entire, showing flowers, expanded leaves, and others in in- volute vernation ', b, Fruit with scars an the ontside ; T, Transverse section of the fruit ', d, Seed cut longi- tudinally ; e, Seed showing embryo ; f, Seed natural size and magnified. 404 GENERAL REVIEW. perennial like the other species. It does not appear to be generally known that manure has a wonderful effect on the common white Nymph&a alba, causing it to grow with tropi- cal vigour, and produce leaves and flowers fully twice the ordinary size, and so distinct in appear- ance that one would readily imagine plants so stimulated to be a dis- tinct variety. A hardy crimson - flowered variety is said to grow in Sweden, and with this we might produce some charming effects by grouping it with the ordinary snowy-flow- ered species. JV. pygmcea is a Liliputian plant, with flowers little larger than half-a-crown and leaves in proportion, and this is well adapted for aquarium culture ; and if fertilised with pollen from N. rosea, JV. carulea, or other species, a race of elegant miniature Nym- phaeas might be the welcome result (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 1525). It is said to be really a native of E. Siberia, but has long been a favourite with Chinese gar- deners. In 1851, M. Ortgies obtained fertile seeds from N. r ubra (flowers of which he had carefully emasculated) fertilised by pollen from N. Ortgiesiana, and the seeds produced plants which flow- ered the year following, and are described in ' Flore des Serres,' t. viii. p. 69, as being intermediate between the par- ents in colour (rose), but tend- ing towards the female in habit, time, and duration of flowering. The hybrids also possessed increased vigour, and produced flowers more pro- Entire flower of Nympfuea alba, L. (JVhite Water-Lily}. H alba, L., series of forms through which the petals (E F G), each of which bears an anther, pass to the state of the normal stamen (H). THE WATER-LILY FAMILY. 405 fusely than either parent ; and so late as December one plant bore seven flowers in one day ! This hybrid, JV. Ortgiesiano- rubra, is sterile — i.e., will not produce fertile seeds if fecun- dated with its own pollen, notwithstanding that the organs are all healthy and pollen abundant. It is singular to find, how- ever, that this pollen which fails to fecundate its attendant stigmas, will fertilise flowers of other species. M. Planchon attributes this to the absence of the necessary heat in the flower of JV. Ortgiesiano-rubra at the time the stigma is recep- tive, and it would be interesting to know whether the same reason can be assigned for similar effects .in the case of some Passifloras. A rise of temperature has been noted to take place in Nymphaea flowers during the time the stigmas are receptive, which is generally at night or in the early morn- ing. In 1853, M. Bouche, of the Berlin Botanic Garden, obtained a very pretty hybrid Nymphaa, with pale rosy flowers, by fertilising the stigmas of N. rubra with pollen from N. lotus ; and a second batch was raised by M. Bouche in 1857, seven of which were the result of fertilising emasculated flowers of N. rubra with pollen of N. lotus, and others were seedlings from the first hybrids fecundated with pollen of N. lotus. M. Donkelaar fertilised the Victoria and different species of Nym- phcea reciprocally, but obtained no striking results, although fertile seeds were obtained (see ' Belg. Hort.,' t. viii. p. 280). Some years ago Mr Gower, when at Kew, made some interest- ing experiments which proved very conclusively that cross-fer- tilisation of the Victoria regia — i.e., fertilisation with pollen from other flowers on a distinct individual plant — conduces to increase fertility (see p. 101). JV. Devoniensis (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t 4665), or N. hybrida, as it is sometimes called, is a hybrid raised at Chatsworth from N. rubra, fertilised with pollen of N. dentata, or its near ally, N. lotus. It is one of the finest of all the crimson-flowered Nymphaeas. Seeing that Nymphaeas hybridise freely, and afford such splendid results, we hope some cultivator will be bold enough to attempt hybridising our chaste N. alba with pollen from some of the more brilliant tropical species or vari- eties. Why should we not have crimson, rose, and cerulean Water-lilies as well as gorgeous Rhododendrons ? It may be impossible, but hybridists should never give that word a place in their vocabulary until they have tried and failed. 406 GENERAL REVIEW. THE OLIVE FAMILY (Oleacece). Trees or shrubs with hermaphrodite or unisexual flowers, and for the most part natives of northern latitudes. The fol- lowing genera are represented in our gardens : Chionanthus, Olea, Phillyrea, Ligustrum (Privet), Myospyrum, Fraxinns (Ash), Fontanesia, Syringa (Lilac), Forsythia, and a few others less well known. One or two species are of economic im- portance, notably Olea europcea, the fruit of which affords Olive or Salad oil, and O. fragrans, the flowers of which are used by the Chinese in flavouring tea. Most of the species are readily multiplied by seeds, which in the case of Olives, Ash, Privet, and Lilac, are freely produced in favourable localities. Cuttings may also be employed, and layering in autumn is successful. Grafting is generally resorted to in propagating the Flowering Ash (Fraxinus ornus) and the Manna Ash (F. rotun- difolia), both of which succeed on the Common Ash as a stock. M. Baltet recommends shield-budding in July or English cleft- grafting in March and April, and observes : " Reject the buds at the base of the branches, — they do not develop readily. After budding the tops of the scion, shoots may be utilised by side-grafting them under the bark. When the graft or bud begins to sprout, the stock should be closely disbudded ; but a few leafy shoots should be retained here and there, to draw and keep up the flow of the sap." All the seminal and hybrid Lilacs may be grafted on seedlings of the common kinds. De Candolle, in writing on Olive-worts (see ' Essai Me'd.,' p. 204, and Lindl. 'Veg. King.,' p. 616), remarks: "However heterogeneous the Olive-worts may appear as at present limited, it is remarkable that the species will all -graft upon each other — a fact which demonstrates the analogy of their juices and their fibres. Thus the Lilac will graft upon the Ash, the Chion- anthus, and the Fontanesia ; and I have even succeeded in making the Persian Lilac live ten years on Phillyrea latifolia. The Olive will take on the Phillyrea, and even on the Ash ; but we cannot graft the Jasmine on any plant of the Olive tribe — a circumstance which confirms the propriety of separating these two orders." Syringa (Lilacs). — A group of spring-blooming shrubs found in most gardens, the Common Lilac (S. vulgaris] and the Persian Lilac (S. persica} being the best -known species or types. S. mdgaris and some of its lilac-purple varieties are much used for forcing by the French florists ; and being sub- jected to a humid heat and total darkness, the flowers as- THE OLIVE FAMILY. 407 sume a pure white colour. Bush-lilacs in pots are extremely useful for greenhouse or conservatory decoration in the spring, and these are obtained by working the best of the new seminal varieties on seedlings of the common species in heat. Two centuries ago the Lilac was worked on suckers and seedlings of the Common Privet as a stock ; but plants grafted on either Privet or Ash are short-lived. Spring is the best time for grafting, and the operation should be performed in a close case. If seedling stocks are not handy, suckers are gene- rally obtainable from the shrubberies ; and these, if potted and placed in a gentle heat, soon root afresh, and form excellent stocks. Among the older varieties we must name S. rothoma- gensis (the Siberian or Rouen Lilac). As to the history of this shrub there are differences of opinion. It was first intro- duced to our gardens in 1795. Some writers assert that it is a native of Siberia, and a distinct species ; others that it is a hybrid raised about the latter end of the last century by M. Varin, the then director of the Botanic Gardens at Rouen, the parents being persica and vulgaris. The probabilities seem to be in favour of the latter theory, as in general appearance it is just what might be expected from the blending of the styles of growth, foliation, and flowers of the two species. Numerous improved seedling and cross-bred forms have of late years made their appearance in French and Belgian gardens, one of the best being the richly-coloured form known as " Charles XII." Among the new varieties, Ville de Troye, a dark-flowered and late-blooming variety, promises well ; and Rouge ponctue, of very bright colour, is equally good. Geant des Batailles and De Croncels are both of them brilliant varieties. The blossoms of Gloire des Moulins are flesh-coloured, and said to be very fragrant ; while Aline Mocqueris, of dwarf growth and a very abundant flowerer, may prove extremely valuable for planting nearer to the front of shrubberies than the taller-growing kinds. Notwithstanding all this wealth of novelty, one still finds the old kinds — the common broad-leaved (Syringa vulgaris] and the Persian or narrow-leaved kind (S. persica) — being alone used (with very rare exceptions) in the planting of new shrub- beries, even the magnificent and well-known variety distin- guished as S. Lindleyana being, as yet, found in very few gardens. Mdlle. Legrave, florist, of Liege, has succeeded in raising a new variety of White Lilac, which is described in the ' Belgique Horticole ' as being exceedingly fine, the flowers being of large size, good substance, and of the purest white colour, with 408 GENERAL REVIEW. anthers of a golden yellow, and arranged in large well -fur- nished clusters. The jury at the International Exhibition at Maestricht awarded the plant a first prize, and also bestowed on it the title of Reine des Pays-Bas (Queen of the Nether- lands). S. Souvenir de Billiard is a vigorous seminal variety raised by M. Ch. Billiard, Fontenay-aux-Roses, and was sent out in October 1875. THE FUCHSIA AND EVENING PRIMROSE FAMILY (Onagracece). A small group of shrubs or herbaceous plants widely scat- tered in both hemispheres, but principally natives of temperate countries. They are represented in our gardens by the following genera : Isnardia, Sphczrostigma, (Enothera, Godetia, Clarkia, Epilobium, Zauchneria, Fuchsia, Lopezia, Gaura, and others. There is a tendency in this order to lose the petals, or rather not to develop them, several species of Fuchsia being apetalous, and Lindley observes that Clarkia pulchella sometimes exhibits the same peculiarity. The. shrubby species are for the most part readily multiplied by cuttings of the young or partially- hardened wood. Herbaceous kinds are easily propagated by division, and seeds of all the species germinate readily, and are in many cases borne profusely, especially by the annual sorts. The hybridist has improved some of the Clarkias ; and the genus Fuchsia has been so much improved, that it is rare to meet with pure species in cultivation. Gaertner remarks that he failed to hybridise those CEnotheras with rough and angular seeds with those having smooth and round seeds ; and we have several other instances where the two or more sections of a genus will not interbreed : thus Primroses having a valvular orifice, as P. acaulis, will not breed with P. auricula, which has an open throat ; Ericas with cylindrical blossoms with those having bell-shaped corollas ; nor blue Linums with the yellow-flowered species, to say nothing of the aversions shown by Pelargoniums, Begonias, and Lilies. Fuchsia.* — A genus of free-growing plants, all South Ameri- can, if we except F. excorticata, F. Kirkei, and F. procumbens, which are natives of New Zealand. It is nearly a century since F. coccinea was introduced to this country ; but florists' varieties * Cultivators and hybridists interested in Fuchsias should see the His- toire et Culture du Fuchsia, suivies d'une nomenclature methodique des plus belles varietes connues, par M. Felix Parcher. Paris, 1874. Auguste Coin, Rue des Ecoles, 62 (ancien 82), pres le Musee de Cluny. FUCHSIA AND EVENING PRIMROSE FAMILY. 409 appear to have been first produced about 1837, or soon after the introduction of the long vermilion -flowered F. fulgens. Then came F. corymbiflora, F. cordifolia, F. serratifolia, and others ; and the cross-breeding which took place between the long-flowered kinds and the globose varieties produced many beautiful forms, including those named in the following list, which was contributed to the ' Gardeners' Chronicle ' by Mr W. B. Hemsley :— Varieties of Fuchsia sent out from 1837 to 1844. Raised by John Salter, then living at Versailles— Albino, Audoti, Bau- douin, Brennus, Ed^vardsii, Geant, Gloriot, La Chinoise, Mirabelle, Oreste, Princesse de Joinville, Paragon, Salterii, Sanguinea superba, Thibauti, Victoria, Vulcan. Cattleugh — conspicua arborea. Chandler — Chandlerii. Cripps — Venus victrix, a beautiful and elegant variety, which has given issue to several more vigorous ones, such as Sydonie (P. Smith & Co.), Lady Franklin (Smith, 1853), Thalia (Turner, 1855), Venus de Medicis (Banks, 1856), which it was attempted again to send out as new in 1873. Dickson — Dicksonii,floribunda. Epps — Bridegroom, Eppsii, Hero of Kent, and Marion. Harrison — Amanda, Admirable, Clio, "Desdemona, Enchantress, Fairy, Fama, Formosa, Florence, globosa longiflora, Goldfinch, Madonna, Meteor, Prima Donna, Queen, Rosabella, Vesta, venusta, and Zenobie. Ivery — Iveryana. Lane — Lanei, Low — bicolor. Lucombe — exoniensis (1842), a hybrid between cordifolia and globosa. May — -floribunda magna, pendula, terminally, pulchella, stylosa maxima. ,' Miller — Constellation, between fulgeus and corymbifiora. Pontey — tricolor, remarkable for its beautiful colouring. Smith — Queen Victoria (1842). Standish — Aurora, delicala, Hebe, Standishii (F. fulgens x F. globosa} (1840), Attraction, Colossus, and President (obtained in 1843). Todd — Toddiana. Thomson — Formosa, elegans (1841). Youell— Youdlii ( 1 843 ?) According to M. Porcher, the true hybrids in this genus are but few — F. exoniensis (F. cordifolio-globosd] (see * Paxt. Mag. of Bot.,' x. 151), F. Standishii (F. globoso-fulgens]. F. Toddiana is another hybrid from the same parents (' Bot. Reg.,' t. ii., 1 840). F. Dominiana is from F. spectabilis fertilised with pollen of F. serratifolia, and was sent out in 1854. Hybrids between F. globosa and F. magellanica have been obtained, together with numerous half-breds, and hundreds of beautiful cross-bred varieties. Hybrid Fuchsias, like hybrid Calceolarias, are as fertile as the true species. The first white-sepalled Fuchsia was Venus victrix. This 4io GENERAL REVIEW. plant was raised by Mr Gulliver, gardener to the Rev. S. Mar- riott of Horsemonden, Kent. It was sent out in May 1842 at 2 is. each by Messrs Cripps, of Tunbridge Wells, who at the time described it as follows in their advertisements : " The flowers of this unique variety are white, sepals delicately tipped with green, with a superb bright purple corolla, the stamens of a delicate rose, and the pistils white. The plant is of excellent habit, with foliage about the size of F. gracilis, of which it is believed to be an accidental variety." This plant was the fore- runner of a whole race of beautiful white-sepalled flowers. Mr Dominy informs me that he knew an instance where this variety, Venus victrix, was used as a seed-bearing plant crossed with pollen from F. serrati- folia, and all the seedlings were like the male parent in every particular — a very interesting fact, as proving in this case the prepotence of the male parent. Venus victrix has recently been reintroduced to commerce by Mr H. Cannell of Woolwich, and is one of the best of all the white- sepalled varieties for hybridising pur- poses. One of the first of the varie- ties having a white corolla and red sepals was F. " Madame Cornellison," which originated on the Continent in 1860. Interesting and in many cases de- scriptive lists of hybrid and seedling Fuchsias may be found in the adver- tisement columns of the * Gardeners' Chronicle' for 1841 and subsequent years, the principal raisers then being Youell, Epps, &c. Fuchsias are all very readily and quickly propagated by cuttings of the young growth in a gentle bottom-heat — indeed even old leaves and cuttings of the roots develop into plants readily. If a heated case is not handy, slips or cuttings root well pricked into the soil of any pot in the win- dow. To use a popular expression, cuttings of the Fuchsia " root like couch-grass," and this is the quickest and readiest way of increasing well-known varieties. New varieties are easily raised from seed ; and as nearly all the cross-bred forms seed freely, any desirable variety may be selected as the seed-parent, its flowers Longitudinal section of the flower of Fuchsia splendens. FUCHSIA AND EVENING PRIMROSE FAMILY. 411 being emasculated as soon as the buds open, and fertilised with pollen from another good variety which has bright colour or other qualities to infuse into the seed of the female parent. The fertilisation of Fuchsias is easy to effect, as the stigma is prominent, and the anthers of nearly all the species and varieties furnish a copious supply of fertile pollen-grains. Many varieties, indeed, produce a copious supply of seed without any artificial fertilisation ; and if a house or frame full of good varieties is grown, the bees or other insects, or the wind, do the work of the hybridist, and often very successfully. It frequently happens, however, that Fuchsia-seed is hollow or otherwise defective ; but the good seed is readily known, after it is separated from the pulp and dried, by its being firm or plump, and of larger size than the sterile or barren seeds. When the fruit are ripe, cut them open and lay the produce of each cross on a clean towel or linen cloth, between the folds of which rub the seeds until dry. A fine cloth is best, as the seeds are small. Sow at once in pots or pans of leaf-mould and sand, placing them on a gentle bottom-heat until germination takes place, when they should be placed on a sunny shelf in a warm pit or greenhouse until large enough to be separately potted. If well- grown seeds are sown in the autumn as soon as ripe, they bloom the following summer. Some prefer, however, to sow in the spring, which is best, unless a heated house is at com- mand. Good Fuchsia-seed saved from fine varieties is worth ^"50 per ounce. Fuchsias are so easy to grow, so easy to fer- tilise artificially, and the result is known so quickly, that they are well adapted for trial by the amateur ; and if distinct and good varieties are carefully crossed, the result is sure to give some good flowers. There is yet plenty of new ground to be broken up in this genus ; many of the Chilian species have not been hybridised ; and the newly-introduced F. procumbens, with its upright or erect flowers and slender drooping habit, fruits freely, and will probably give a new race in the hands of the hybridiser. We have erect-flowered Gloxinias, and let us hope to see more erect-flowered varieties of Fuchsias, with large flowers, since much of the beauty of the Fuchsia is lost at pre- sent unless its drooping flowers are seen from below, just as used to be the case with the pendent-flowered Gloxinia speciosa. We have already one erect-flowered variety — viz., F. erecta superba (see ' Revue Hort.,' 1868, p. 407). During the past ten or twelve years, great improvements have been effected by Mr Banks, Mr Cannell, and other well-known raisers. We have very fine forms with white corollas, others trumpet- 412 GENERAL REVIEW. shaped, and numerous double varieties, yet there is room for a gracefully-habited race of the F. gracilis type ; and the pretty little F. microphylla is distinct, and might be improved. Be- sides F. coccinea* there are several other species and old varieties now at Kew, among them F. alpestris, globosa, gracilis, micro- phylla,fulgens, corymbiflora, radicans, splendens,thymifolia, and others, all valuable to the hybridiser for crossing with some of his newer forms, so as to infuse fresh life and vigour into them, and perchance obtain some novelty in form or colour at the same time. The distinct race of which F. fulgens is the type deserve careful attention on the part of the hybridiser, since they are easily grown, and having tuberous roots and herba- ceous stems, can be stored away in sand or dryish soil just as readily as Gloxinias. Mr H. Cannell, of Woolwich, thus writes on the raising of new florists' or decorative Fuchsias in the ' Gardeners' Maga- zine,' 1875, p. 251 : "Many of those who have not made Fuchsias a special study think that the improvement of these flowers has been pushed to its utmost limits. But I need hardly say that this is a mistake. Years ago — I am unable to say how many — we were told precisely the same thing, and yet immense strides have been made during the last few years. Depend upon it, there is plenty to be done in this direction, especially with the varieties bearing flowers with a white tube and sepals. Surely we must not be satisfied with these, al- though some of them are very fine. We want varieties of a more free and graceful habit, and bearing flowers of larger size and better shape. I see no reason why we should not have these with flowers quite equal in every way to those of the dark sorts. There is also a possibility of obtaining a quite new type of flower. If we inquire into the history of the Fuchsia, we shall find that some remarkably distinct forms have made their appearance in the seed-beds of the raisers, and, in my opinion, at a time when they were least expected. There is, for ex- ample, Venus victrix, which Mr Cripps gave us thirty-three years ago. This is the first variety with a white tube and sepals raised and introduced into cultivation, and for some time it was thought to have quite disappeared, but after great difficulty I succeeded in procuring a plant. This being the first break from the dark varieties, there is more purple in the corolla than in the corollas of the other varieties, and by crossing it with the newest sorts some really fine things may be reasonably * For an interesting account of the true F. coccinea of Aiton, see ' Jour. Linn. Soc,,' x. 458. FUCHSIA AND EVENING PRIMROSE FAMILY. 413 expected. About twenty-two years ago, Mr Storey gave us the first of those with white corollas, which included Queen Vic- toria, Mrs Storey, and Lady of the Lake, all of which have now been surpassed ; and about sixteen years ago Mr Banks gave us a decided new colour in Venus de Medici. I should like to see something more done with the hardy sorts, such as Riccartonii, cocdnea, and gracilis. Mr Bland has been successful in 'raising several really good hardy hybrids, and, for the sake of those who admire Fuchsias and have no place in which to grow the tender sorts, I would like to hear of more making their appearance. There are also the winter-flowering species, which of themselves are capable of affording plenty of work during the next ten or fifteen years, for those who are prepared to take them in hand with a determination to do them justice. There is, for example, serratifolia, and the well-known hy- brid Dominiana, both of which are capable of immense im- provement ; and, in addition, there is the robust-growing ful- gens, which has flowers of immense size and of a very bright colour." Since the above was written, Mr E. J. Lowe has crossed some of the best modern varieties with F. fu/gens, and some very distinct seedlings are the result (see 'Gard. Chron.,' 1875, P- 655)- There are two beautiful old species apparently lost to our gardens. I allude to F. Lycioides, a dwarf, profuse-blooming, crimson-purple species (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 1024), and F. arborescens, which bears large erect panicles of rosy flowers (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 2620). It should be generally known that Fuchsias may be grafted as readily as Camellias, or even more so, since stocks are to be raised in a week or ten days. Grow the stocks in heat, and take the apex of a young shoot of any desirable variety as a scion. Splice or whip grafting are the best methods ; and if the operation is performed in a close case, not one in twenty will fail if young wood in an almost herbaceous state be operated on. I have grafted seedlings when only an inch or two in height on cuttings as stocks plunged in a close case, and so treated seedlings flower a ^nonth or two earlier than when left on their own roots. If the leaves of the graft are large, clip them through the centre. F. procumbens, F. microphylla, and other delicate or slender kinds, may be worked on strong-root- ing cuttings, or several varieties may be worked on the same stock. A correspondent of the ' Gardeners' Chronicle ' men- tions that he grafted Fuchsias as long ago as 1844. 4H GENERAL REVIEW. THE ORCHID FAMILY (Orchidatea)* We have here a large natural group, comprising some four or five thousand perennial evergreen or herbaceous plants, distributed over nearly every part of both hemispheres. For practical purposes, they are divided into terrestrial kinds, which are for the most part deciduous or herbaceous tuberous-rooted species, found in temperate regions ; and epiphytal species, or such as grow upon trees, sending both roots and growth into the air, as in Denbrobium, Angr&cum, some Odontoglots, as O. Alexandra, O. Pescatorei, &c., Cypripediums, as C. Lowii, Aerides or " air-plants," Vanda, Renanthem, and many others, nearly all natives of hot, moist regions in Asia and South America — a few coming from moist parts of tropical Africa. Many Orchids, and more especially species of Vanda, Aerides, Phal&nopsis, Angrtzcum, Cattleya, Oncidium, and Saccolabium, are noted as being amongst the most rare and beautiful of all tropical flowers ; and of late years they, and others, have occupied prominent positions in our gardens here at home. Many species have thickened stems or pseudo -bulbs, these being formed by the cohesion of the thickened leaf-stalks or petioles, and their use is to serve as reservoirs of nutriment, so as to enable the plant to withstand the hot and dry or rainless period of the year in its native habitat ; and this thickening of the growth is somewhat analogous to the succulence of Cacti, different species of Euphorbia, Sedum, Semperuivum, Eche- veria, and other plants, and it enables them to resist periods of unsuitable climatic conditions, and at the same time retain their permanent or evergreen character. In their native habi- tats, Orchids are naturally multiplied by seeds; and the fertil- isation of a very large proportion of them is dependent on insect agency. This also accounts for the extreme variability of some species of Phalanopsis, Odonloglossum, and Cattleya — different forms, and probably different species, becoming fer- tilised with the pollen of other species or varieties. Thus, Phal&nopsis Veitchiana is supposed to be a natural mule be- tween P. (equestris] rosea and P. Schilleriana. In alluding to supposed natural hybrids in the 'Gardener's Chronicle' (March 6) 1875, P- 3OI'2> Prof- Reichenbach remarks that Phalanopsis * The reader interested in the cross-fertilisation of Orchids should see Darwin's work, ' On the various contrivances by which British and Foreign Orchids are Fertilised by Insects, and on the good effects of Intercrossing' (Murray) ; also, ' Experiments on the Fertilisation of Orchids in the Royal Botanic Garden of Edinburgh' (Scott). THE ORCHID FAMILY. 415 intermedia, Lindl. (see ' Paxt. Fl. Card.' iii. fig. 310), may be a hybrid between " P. Schilleria?ia as the male and P. amabilis as the female," while P. leucorrhoda appears to be a reversed mule between the same parent plants. Odontoglossum Cora- dinei is by Prof. Reichenbach (see 'Garct. Chron.,' 1872, p. 1068) supposed to be a natural hybrid between O. trtumphans and O. odoratum, or some nearly-allied species. O. Murrcl- lianum (see 'Gard. Chron./ 1875) is another supposed natural hybrid, intermediate between O. Pescatorei and O. ncevium. O. Humeanum (see 'Gard. Chron.,' 1876, p. 170) is seemingly inter- mediate between O. cordatum and O. Rossii ; and Prof. Reich- enbach assumes that it is a natural hybrid between these two species. If the last-named species are found associated in the locality whence O. Humeanum was imported, it is quite pos- sible that this view of the case is a correct one ; but it would be a more satisfactory solution of the question if Mr Seden, or some other equally clever hybridist, would cross the two (supposed) parent species, and raise us a batch of O.Humcanum. The majority of Orchids are very readily multiplied; still there are some that can only be propagated at long intervals. The value of an Orchid depends not only on the beauty of the plant or its flowers, but also on the small quantity im- ported, or the difficulty of its being multiplied in our collec- tions. Dendrobiums are perhaps as easy to propagate as any other Orchids. The old flowering-bulbs of D. nobile may be cut into lengths, the latter being inserted in a common cutting- pan, covering them with a bell-glass, and plunging them in bottom-heat. So treated, they break freely. D. Devonianum, D. transparens, and many others, may be propagated in a similar manner ; or the old bulbs may be twisted round the tops of the pots and pegged down among the sphagnum. It is a good plan to have a close case in the Orchid-house, the bottom being covered with a layer of living sphagnum. Then, as back bulbs are cut from the plants, they should be labelled and laid on the moss, which should be watered or syringed occasionally to keep it fresh and moist. Nearly all Orchids will break freely from the old bulbs in a close humid atmo- sphere, provided always that there are latent buds on the parts removed. Old back bulbs of Oncidiums, Odontoglossums, Zygopetalums, Miltonias, Maxillarias, and Lycastes, may be placed in a cutting-pan, or laid on a layer of moss in a warm, moist situation, where a large proportion of them will root and break freely. Aerides, Vandas, and Saccolabiums can only be propagated by lateral breaks. These last are produced very freely by some strong imported plants that have accident- 416 GENERAL REVIEW. ally lost their leading growth. The same remark applies to Camarotis — a beautiful, though neglected, old Orchid — and to the Angr&cums. Thunia alba and T. Bensonice are very easily multiplied by cutting up the old pseudo- bulbs into pieces, 3 to 4 inches long, and treating them as recommended for Dendrobiums. Phalcenopsis often produce lateral breaks, and occasionally young plants on the flower - stems. P. Luddemanniana frequently does this ; while Cypripediums Masdevallias, Disas, and most other Orchids, are readily multi- plied by division after the plants have attained to a good size. Calanthes are very easy to propagate, for if an old bulb has its top broken off, it will often produce two or three young plants round the fracture, or the old flowering-bulbs may be cut into lengths and inserted in white sand; and thus treated, every piece will produce buds and roots, while the base should be left to develop itself as usual. The delicate little Pldone humilis propagates itself very freely, producing numerous little bulbils on the apex of its old decaying pseudo-bulbs. These fall off and root freely into the living sphagnum on the pot- tops. The preceding methods are those generally adopted in the nursery trade, and are equally applicable to private estab- lishments. There is nothing particularly difficult in the mere mechanical operation of fertilising Orchids ; for, in the generality of cases, the pollen has only to be applied to the stigma in order to induce fruitfulness. It may, however, be as well to note that both the pollen and stigma vary in structure and general con- formation from those of most other plants. The pollen-masses are of a waxy consistence, and may be reached by removing the little cap (anther) at the end of the column. The stigma, or stigmatic surface as it is generally called, lies immediately beneath the apex of the column, and is often of considerable size. Any small point, such as that of a quill toothpick, may be used to remove the pollen, and to place it in a stigmatic cavity. The pollen-masses of some genera are furnished with a viscid or gummy disc, which readily adheres to the point used. Those, however, of some Orchids, such as Cattleyas, and especially Dendrobiums, will not readily do so; but to obviate any little difficulty this may occasion, insert your tooth- pick into the stigmatic cavity, when it will become coated with the viscid matter or mucus therein contained, and to which the pollen-masses will readily adhere, no matter how dry and glossy they may be. In a few hours after the flower is fer- tilised, it commences to wither, and an interesting change takes place with regard to the stigmatic cavity. This cavity THE ORCHID FAMILY. 417 a, Phahenopsis seeds (magnified) ; b, Fruit of Aerides crispum IVarneri ; c, Fruit of Dendrobium uobile ; d, Fruit of P hat us albus. 2 D 41 8 GENERAL REVIEW. is widely distended previous to fertilisation ; but as soon as that actually takes place, the sides begin to contract, and finally close in, in some cases even overlapping, and thus effectually preventing the possibility of the pollen being removed by in- sect or other agency, or becoming damaged by water or other foreign body coming in contact with it. The ovary enlarges rapidly after fertilisation ; the capsules of Phalaenopsis, which are rarely half an inch long before, attain a length of from 4 to 6 inches, and the thickness of the little finger, in about sixty days after that has taken place, and contain many hundreds of minute ovules. The great difficulty, however, does not lie in the mere fertilisation, but in obtaining a fair percentage of seed- lings. The structure of Orchid seeds is nearly the same as those of Burmanniads and Pyrolads or Winter Greens; they consist of one or more finely-netted or cellular hygrometrical coats of an oblong form, something like an old-fashioned chain purse, while the nucleus may be likened to a small rounded or oblong gold coin inside. The seed-coats are transparent in nearly all the species, if we except Vanilla, where they are more dense and scobiform, like those of Nepenthes in colour, and perfectly opaque. Seen under the microscope, the seeds of most Or- chids form beautiful objects. It is generally thought that all Orchids are epiphytal in their .earliest stages of germination ; hence the desirability of sowing their seeds on living moss or other vegetation, which will supply moisture regularly to their hygrometrical tissues. As before mentioned, it is requisite for the parent plant to be in the highest state of health, in order to produce seed in good condition. In order to favour the pro- duction of well-developed seeds as much as possible, the hy- bridiser should be content to take only a small quantity from each seed-parent, however vigorous it may be. I have re- peatedly noted in the course of my own experiments that one pod on a vigorous Cattleya or Phalaenopsis is quite sufficient to stop the growth of the foliage for a whole season ; and this does not appear so surprising when we consider that each cap- sule contains thousands of hungry little ovules, which collec- tively require a deal of nourishment.* After many careful experiments, I have come to the conclu- sion that perfect seeds are produced much more rarely than is generally supposed ; indeed, I believe Orchids produce good seed but very seldom, especially if more than one capsule is left on a plant, and to this may be attributed the many failures * Valuable notes on the structure and gerrnination of Orchid seeds are given in'Beitrage zur Morphologic und Biologic der Familie der Orchideen,' by M. J. G. Beer. (See also 'Revue Horticole,' 1872, p. 244 and 331.) THE ORCHID FAMILY. 419 that cultivators have experienced in their attempts to raise hybrids. When Orchid seeds are obtained, they should be examined under a good microscope ; if they are perfect, the nucleus ought to be seen beneath the translucent, membranous, reticulated testa or seed-coat. If the nucleus is not developed, it is useless to expect germination to take place ; we might as well expect to obtain a batch of young Ferns after having sown the empty spore-cases, which last is far from being an uncom- mon occurrence. Not forgetting what has already been achieved in the way of hybrids, it will be generally admitted that as cultivators we have still much to learn, in so far as the raising of Orchids from seed is concerned. That which has already been done in this direction, and a glance at our com- plete list of hybrids, ought to induce those who have the opportunity to undertake more extended researches. Two growers at least have succeeded in rearing seedling plants of the beautiful and rare Cypripedium {Sdtnipedium) Schlimii — viz., M. Leroy, Passy (France), and Mr Pilcher, gardener to S. Rucker, Esq. of Wandsworth. Perhaps the most brilliant success has attended the patience and perseverance of Mr Dominy, of the Royal Exotic Nursery, Chelsea, who has succeeded in crossing several genera, amongst which may be mentioned Cattleya with Lselia, Phaius with Calanthe, and Calanthe with Limatodes. Disa grandiflora comes up from seed very freely, and some of the beautiful varieties into which it sports have doubtless originated in this manner. Disas and Cypripediums are ob- tained from seed quicker than any other Orchids. Cattleya seeds also germinate well ; but the perfection of the seedling plants is effected very slowly. Orchid seed when obtained should be sown immediately on some fresh living sphagnum in a moist situation, where there is no danger of its being dis- turbed for twelve months at least. After the seed is sown, it should never be allowed to become dry, for on this depends all hope of success. Even after the seed does germinate, it takes the seedlings a long time to make flowering plants ; still the raising of seedling Orchids is very interesting for those who have the leisure and inclination to devote to the sub- ject. Only a few genera have as yet been operated on suc- cessfully by the hybridiser — Chysis, Dendrobium, Cattleya, Cypripedium, Goodyera, Phaius, Calanthe, Laelia, Anaecto- chilus, Aerides, and Limatodes being all. There would appear to be a natural affinity between Calanthe and Phaius, seeing that they cross most readily, although botanically one belongs to the Vandae and the other to the Epidendreae. -420 GENERAL REVIEW. Vanilla.* — Orchidaceous Plants from the West Indies and tropical America, of scandent habit, easily propagated by division. V. planifolia yields the " vanilla " of commerce, one of the rarest and most valuable of spices. Dr Morren of Liege was the first to prove, experimentally, that the fruit of Vanilla may be produced as freely in our own hothouses as in Mexico. In the year 1836, a plant in the Botanic Garden of Liege produced fifty-four flowers, which, being artificially fecun- dated, produced the same number of pods equal to those brought from Mexico. In 1837, a fresh crop of about one hundred was obtained from another plant, by the same means. He attributes the fecundation of the plants in Mexico to the ac- tion of some insect which fre- quents the flowers, and hence accounts for the non-production of fruits in those plants which have been introduced into other countries. This plant has fruited freely in the stoves at Osberton, Notts, and Mr Bennett thus describes his method of procedure : "I attribute failure in the bloom- ing to not getting the wood well matured, for if it is not well har- dened it will not flower freely. I allow my plant at times to get almost dry and parched." The failure in the production of fruit arises from a want of knowledge of the art of fertilising the stig- ma, an operation which requires both care and skill. In the flowers of the Vanilla, besides the sepals and petals, there is the column which bears the anther and stigma. The anther (a) is a dilated appendage attached to the summit of the column (clinandrium) by a narrow curved neck, and contains the pol- len-masses (pollinia) within a cavity on its lower surface. This appendage, by means of its curved neck, bends downwards towards the lower surface of the column, where it rests upon an organ called the rostellum (r), interposed between the * See a paper "On the Cultivation of 'Vanilla in Mauritius," by John Home, communicated by Dr Hooker to the. 'Jour. Hort. Soc.,' vol. ii. (New Series), p. 61. Column of Vanilla flower, front and side views, a, Anther-case ; r, Rostellum ', 2, Stigmatic cavity. THE ORCHID FAMILY. 421 anther and the stigmatic surface (2), which latter lies imme- diately under the rostellum, and terminates the bearded glan- dular process which covers the lower surface of the column. The rostellum, which is concave towards the stigma, effectually prevents all contact between that and the anther, and it is therefore necessary to remove it. This is best effected by means of a pair of narrow-pointed forceps, which should be carefully introduced sideways between the anther and stigma, so as to seize the rostellum and tear it off in the direction of the anther. The pollen-masses are then drawn out and pressed down on the stigmatic surface, and the operation is completed. If this is properly performed, the setting is certain. The fruit takes about twelve months to mature, and when full-grown, should be tied at the point with a bit of matting to prevent the pods splitting and losing their grateful aroma. Hybrid Orchids* — It is now nearly twenty years since Mr Dominy, the well-known manager of the plant department of Messrs Veitch & Sons' Nursery at Chelsea, turned his attention to the hybridisation of Orchids, and this was not at Chelsea, as many suppose, but in Messrs Veitch's establishment at Exeter. Mr Dominy 's attention was drawn to this subject by Dr Harris of Exeter, and the first hybrid Orchid raised was Calanthe Do- minii (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 5042), for the production of which Mr Dominy received the Medal of the Exeter and Devon Hor- ticultural Society. Since then he has been most successful in the production of hybrid Orchids and other rare plants ; and we need only allude to Cattleya Exoniensis and Calanthe Veitchit as illustrative examples, these being not only the best of hybrid Orchids, but also two of the best of all Orchids at present in cultivation. It must be remembered that when the fertilisation of Orchids commenced at the Exeter establishment, compara- tively little was known on the subject. Francis Bauer had made microscopic drawings of the structure and formation of many curious Orchid flowers, but these were not distributed or so accessible as now. Darwin's work was not written until Mr Dominy had made considerable progress with hybridising Orchids, and had acquired a large amount of practical experi- ence as to the best way of treating their minute sawdust-like seeds in order to insure germination. It must be borne in mind that Orchid seeds do not germinate so readily as those of most other plants, and it is often years before the little seedlings are discerned peeping out of the living sphagnum on which * " I would once more declare that the raising of such hybrids [Orchids], whose origin is candidly and clearly stated, must by-and-by assist us very much in improving our views about species." — H. G. REICHENBACH. 422 GENERAL REVIEW. they were sown. Some of these hybrid plants which now de- light us with their glowing colours and grateful fragrance have been watched and tended for a dozen years or more before the anxious cultivator has been rewarded with the sight of their first blossoms, and then many of them have been found worth- less, or nearly so ; for it must not be supposed that every hy- brid obtained has been so valuable, either from a floral or scientific point of view, as those we here enumerate. One remarkable fact in connection with these hybrids is their intermediate nature, this being so obvious in many cases that any Orchid - grower could easily guess the names of their parents directly he saw the hybrids in flower. In MrSeden's Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium Sedan) we have one of the best- authenticated instances of perfect reciprocity of fertilisation. This hybrid was produced by crossing C. Schlimmii with pollen from C. longifolium (C. Reichenbachianum, Ho.rt. Bull); and another batch of seedlings in which this cross was reversed, C. longifolium having been made the seed-parent, gave plants precisely similar in every way. From a scientific point of view the crosses effected not only between distinct species, but also between supposed genera, have taught us much. Laelias and Cattleyas cross with each other as freely as species of either genus, and the same remark holds good with Phaius and the deciduous section of Calanthe. This, in our opinion, fully bears out the views of Professor Reichenbach, who does not consider the numerical arrangement of the pollen-masses a character sufficient to separate Cattleyas from Laelias. The cross-fertilisation or hybridisation of Orchids by man's agency is as yet in its infancy, while insects have unconsciously car- ried pollen from flower to flower for ages past, thus adding much to the perplexity of modern botanists, and to the delight of all lovers of the beautiful. In performing experiments for all intelligent purposes, Orchids and Asclepiads, which have wax-like pollen, are peculiarly well adapted, since the danger of accidental or self- fertilisation is here reduced to a minimum. HYBRID ORCHIDS. Cattleyas. HYBRID. PARENTS. C. Exoniensis, C. Mossiae, x Lselia purpurata. C. Dominiana, C. amethystina x C. maxima. C. Dominiana alba, C. amethystina x C. maxima. C. Dominiana lutea, C. amethystina x C. maxima. C. hybrida, C. granulosa x C. Harrisonii. C. Sidneana,'. C. crispa x C. granulosa. C. Brabantise, C. Loddigesii x C. Aclandke. THE ORCHID FAMILY. 423 C. quinquecolor, C. Aclandiae x C. Forbesii. C. Devoniensis, C. crispa x C. guttata. C. Manglesii, C. Mossise x C. Loddigesii. C. Veitchii, C. crispa x C. labiata. C. hybrida maculata, ....C. guttata x C. intermedia. C. Fausta, C. Loddigesii x C. Exoniensis. Cypripediums. C. Dominianum, ..C. Pearcei x C. caudatum. C. Harrissianum, C. barbatum x C. villosum. C. vexilla/ium, C. barbatum x C. Fairreanum. C. Sedeni, ..C. Schlimmii x C. longifolium. C. Arthurianum, C. Fairreanum x C. insigne. C. Marshallianum, ..C. concolor x C. venustum pardinum. C. selligerum, C. Isevigatum x C. barbatum. C. hybridum, ..C. Stonei x C. barbatum. C. tessellatum, C. concolor x C. barbatum. C. Ashburtonise, ..C. insigne x C. barbatum. C. euryandrum, * ..C. Stonei 6 x C. barbatum ?. C. Crossianum,t ..C. venustum x C. insigne. C. cenanthum, ..C. Harrissianum x C. Stoneii. C. marmorophyllum, . . ..C. Hookerioe x C. barbatum. C. Swanianum, ..C. Dayanum x C. barbatum. C. superciiiare, C. superbiens x C. barbatum. C. pycnopterum, ..C. barbatum x?C. Lowii. MISCELLANEOUS. Calanthe Veitchii, J C. Calanthe Dorainii,§ C. Phaius irroratus P. Anaectochilus Dominii, A. Goodyera Veitchii, G. Goodyera Dominii, A. Aerides hybridum, A. Lselia Pilcherii,|| L. Lseliaalba, L. Dendrobium Dominii, D. Lselia nammea,1T L. Zygopetalum Sedeni, Z. Chysis Chelsoni. C. Dendrobium Ainsworthii,** D. Dendrobium endocharis, D. Dendrobium rhodostoma D. vestita d x Limatodes rosea 9. masuca x C. furcata. grandiflora x C. Veitchii. xanthophyllus x G. discolor. discolor x A. Veitchii. Lowii x G. discolor. affine x A. Fieldingi. Perrinii ? x C. crispa 6 . Perrinii x C. crispa. nobile x D. moniliforme. cinnabarina x L. Pilcherii. maxillare x Z. Mackayi. bractescens x C. Liminghei. nobile x D. heterocarpum. heterocarpum x D. moniliforme. sanguinolentum x D. Huttonii. * Card. Chron., 1875, P- 772- f Gard. Chron., 1873, p. 877. This plant is similar to C. Ashburtonia, and was a seedling in the same batch. It must not be confounded with C. Crossii, a variety of C. .barbatum. £ Bot. Mag., t. 5375. § Bot. Mag., t. 5042. || See Fl. Mag., t. 340. Tf Florist, 1874, p. 133. * Florist, 1874, p. 113; Floral Magazine (N.S.), t. 196. This hybrid is the result of seeds sown in March 1-867, on a moss-covered block of wood, and it flowered for the first time on February I, 1874. 424 GENERAL REVIEW. Cypripedium Harrissianum is a fertile hybrid — that is, it has borne good seed when fertilised with pollen from C. Stonei, a batch of seedlings raised by Messrs Veitch between these two parents showing great diversity of habit; and one of these — C. cenanthum, above mentioned — has already flowered. At first sight one would say that it had the greatest resemblance to its female parent ; but there is abundant evidence of the influence of the male parent. The lip is exactly that of C. Harrissianum , and the petals also, with the exception of a few purple spots at the base ; then the upper sepal has more white at its apex, and there is just a flush of vinous purple on its upper half, while the greenish base is spotted with brown, much in the way of C. insigne. The lower sepal is pale green, also spotted with brown ; so that we find very little of C. Stonei in the flower itself, if we except the vinous suffusion on the upper sepal. Passing from the flower, however, we find the ovary exactly like that of C. Stonei — viz., pale green, with broad purple lines; but instead of its being glabrous, it is clothed with purple hairs. The scape itself is that of C, Harrissianum. The handsome leaves are intermediate, but approach C. Stonei in being slightly glossy, and in having a sharp keel behind. They are, however, shorter, and this greatly alters their appearance by making them look broader ; and, moreover, there is just a suspicion of the markings of a marbled leaf, while at the base we have the char- acteristic dotting as seen at the base of the leaves of the grand- father, C. villosum. If the other hybrid Lady Slippers are fertile, as we may now reasonably suppose, the production of varie- ties innumerable is but an affair of time. Prof. Reichenbach assumes that C. insigne Maulei is one of the parents of this hybrid, and not C. Stonei. Phaius inquilinus is a garden hybrid raised in the nurseries of Messrs Veitch & Sons, but unfortunately the records of its parentage are lost (see ' Gard. Chron.,' 1867, p. 544). THE WOOD-SORREL FAMILY (Oxalidacece). This is a small natural group of herbaceous plants or small shrubs, principally natives of the Cape of Good Hope and South America, and a few species inhabit the temperate parts of Asia and Europe. They are nearly related to Geraniacese, from which they may be distinguished by their beakless fruit. Many species are grown in gardens as ornamental plants, and some of the tuberous-rooted South American species, as O. crenata, O. Deppei, and others, produce edible tubers, which may be used like Potatoes ; but their culture is not general. THE PALM FAMILY. 425 One or two species have sensitive leaves, and this is especially noticeable in O. sensitiva and our native O. acetosella, as well as in O. stricta. Nearly all the species seed freely ; some, in- deed, like O. corniculata, become weeds in our hothouses and gardens. Sow as soon as ripe, the tender species in heat, and the hardy species in a sheltered border, where they will be safe from birds and mice. The tuberous-rooted kinds are readily multiplied by dividing old plants. Little or nothing appears to have been done to improve these plants by artificial hybridisa- tion, which is much to be wondered at, considering their beauty and easy culture. The pollen is ripe soon after the expansion of the flowers, and the two sets of stamens seem intended to facilitate cross-fertilisation. The elasticity of the capsules is a little singular, the seeds being suddenly thrown out by the contractibility of the lining of the ripe carpels. This, like similar arrangements in Balsams, Mormordica, Broom, and other plants, seems intended to distribute the seeds, and is one of the most potent of nature's methods of securing a rota- tion of crops. The seeds are beautifully pitted, and form pretty microscopic objects under a low power. THE PALM FAMILY (Palmacece). A natural and extensive family of hard-leaved plants, princi- pally natives of tropical and intertropical countries, where they vary in height from only a few inches to one or even two hun- dred feet. In South America, and especially in the Amazon and Orinoco valleys, Palms of very diverse habits are found in large numbers. Wax, oil, wine, flour, sugar, and salt are afford- ed by these plants, together with leaves for thatch, fibre, and writing materials. One of the best-known imports produced by this family is sago, which is prepared from the stem-tissues or pith of Sagus Icevis and S. genuine*, both cultivated largely in the Moluccas, each individual furnishing seven to eight cwt. of prepared starch or sago. Caryota urens, Phoenix farinifera, and other Palms, yield inferior sago. Phoenix dactylifera is the Date-palm, and oil is largely produced from the fruit of the Oil-palm — Eldis guinensis — and also from the Cocoa-nut Palm — Cocos nucifera ; while the Wax-palm — Ceroxylon andi- cola — affords a kind of wax or sperm of considerable economic importance in the manufacture of soap and candles. Nearly all the species, which number upwards of seven hundred, are graceful in habit, having fresh, glossy, evergreen leaves, which, being hard and permanent, render these plants eminently use- ful as decorative plants. Popularly they are divided into Fan- 426 GENERAL REVIEW. leaved and Pinnate-leaved groups ; and it is a little singular to note their present popularity in our gardens, when we remember that ten years ago a Palm was scarcely to be found in England, except in our great botanical or other public gardens. All Palms are readily propagated by sowing imported seeds in a heat of 80° to 90°, taking care not to supply moisture too lib- erally until germination commences. Few Palms will germin- ate in a low temperature ; but in this respect the Date-palm appears to be one of the hardiest, as its seeds germinate in a sitting-room window, and it can be readily raised by sowing the Date-stones of the shops. The best plan is to sow the seeds as soon as they are received on a genial bottom-heat in a high temperature. Cocos Wedddliana bore fertile seeds at Manley Hall, Manchester, in 1871-72, and it has also done 'so since elsewhere. The csespitose species, as Rhapis, may be multiplied by division ; but seeds are to be preferred in all cases where attainable. It is rather singular that none of our lynx-eyed propagators have succeeded in hybridising Palms. Their bisexual flowers would rather facilitate cross-breeding than otherwise : and if fruit-bearing plants can be procured of Cocos Weddelliana, Cha- nuzrops humilis, Calamus dliarts, or any of the dwarf-growing species of -Geonoma, Areca, or Chamadora, pollen could in most cases be procured from such allied species or genera as continue flowering nearly all the year round in one or other of our great botanic or public gardens. A hybrid Palm was grown by M. Denis, Hyeres, and was obtained by fertilising Cham&rops humilis, var. arborescens, with pollen of the Date-palm — Phoenix dactlyifera. The leaves are described as being like those of the male parent, as are also the small, ovate, Date-like fruits. The seed, however, occupies nearly the whole of the interior of the fruit, is rounded in form, not grooved, as in the Date, and the embryo, instead of being in the centre, is at one end of the hard albumen. It would be very interesting to know if progeny of this hybrid are in existence. THE SCREW-PINE FAMILY (Pandanacece). A small family of tropical plants, having for the most part sword-shaped, sharply serrate leaves, curiously arranged in a spiral or screw-like manner, on a more or less woody stem, the latter being often supported several feet above the surface of the earth by stout buttress-like roots. The flowers are borne on a wholly-covered spadix, and are either unisexual or poly- gamous. They are most abundant in the tropical islands of THE POPPY FAMILY. 427 the Old World, especially in the Isle of France. Pandamis, Freydnetia, and Carludovica are the principal genera of this family represented in our gardens. Imported seeds germinate readily if treated like those of the tropical Palms. In cultiva- tion, however, offsets or breaks from near the base or root- stock of the plant are resorted to, these being taken off with a slice of the old bark and rooted in a close case, like cuttings of endogenous plants. In the case of Pandanus, cuttings of the fleshy root, if placed on a hotbed or in a. close heated case, often develop adventitious buds, and so produce young plants. If there is any difficulty in obtaining offsets, the central growth of the plant may be destroyed or checked, so as to facilitate the development of the lateral buds, as recommended in the case of Bromeliads. THE POPPY FAMILY (Papaver acece). A rather large group of annuals or herbaceous plants, often characterised by a milky juice. Lindley says they are un- known within the tropics in a wild state. Two species are peculiar to Siberia, three to China and Japan, one is found at the Cape, and six or eight are natives of America. These plants are represented by the following genera in our gardens : Bocconia, Chelido7iium, Argemone, Meconopsis, Papaver, Glau- cium, Eschscholtzia, and Romneya. Poppies are well known both in corn-fields and gardens. Romneya Coulterii is a large white- flowered Californian annual of remarkable beauty and fra- grance. The Indian species of Meconopsis are very handsome. The only species of important economic use is the Opium Poppy — Papaver somniferum — the native country of which is unknown. Nearly all the species produce seeds in great abundance, and these grow freely sown in a gentle bottom- heat. The Californian and European annuals may be sown in the open air in May or June. Papaver {Poppies). — A group of showy annual or herba- ceous plants, readily propagated by seeds, which germinate if sown in the open border or flower-beds in spring. P. brac- teatum, P. orientale, P. ?iudicaule, P. somniferum, and others, are cultivated in our gardens, and as might be inferred from their extreme multiplicity of stamens, double -flowered varie- ties are common. A hybrid has been raised between P. bracteatum and P. orientale, as also one between P. orientale and P. somniferum* P. bracteatum has also been fertilised with pollen from P. Rhceas, the result being a dwarf hybrid * Revue Hort., 1863, p. 333. 428 GENERAL REVIEW. known in Continental gradens as P. hybridum meldense ; and the union of P, bracteatum and P. somniferum has produced a race of showy garden plants. The hybrid between P. orientate and P. somniferum was known to Linnaeus; and the fact is noted in the ' Journal de Physique,' t. xxxii., p. 459 : "I have seen in the Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, a hybrid plant pro- duced by the Oriental Poppy and the Opium Poppy. The stamens were removed from the flowers of P. somniferum just before they expanded, the stamens of P. orientate being placed on the stigmas after they became well developed. This experi- ment was repeated several years with equal success." THE PEA FAMILY (Papilionacea). A large group of plants, for the most part readily recognised by their irregular Pea-like flowers, while some of the species are among the most nutritious of all our food-plants. The prin- cipal genera in our gardens are Baptisia, Brachysema, Gom- pholobium, Hovea, Goodia, Lupinus, Ulex (Furze), Spartium (Broom), Genista, Laburnum, Trifolium (Clovers), Ononis (Rest-harrow), Indigo/era (Indigo), Glycyrrhiza (Liquorice), Wistaria, Robinia, Clianthus (Glory Pea) Colutea, Pisum (Peas), Ervum (Lentils), Lathyrus (Sweet-peas), Orobus, Ara- chis (Pea-nuts), Coronilla, Desmodium, Hedysarum, Erythrina, Phaseolus (Scarlet -runner), Dolichos, Abrus (Crabs' - eyes), Sophara, Virgilia, Cassia, Brownea, Amherstia, Jonesia, Bau- hinia, Cercis, Acacia, Fab a (Beans), and others. They are distributed over nearly every part of the earth's surface, many being annuals, while the Acacias, Robinias, and others, are large trees; many others being either herbaceous plants, as Lupins, or scandent undershrubs, as Kennedya and Harden- bergia. As a rule, all the species produce fertile seeds freely, and in most cases these germinate if sown as soon as ripe in autumn, or in the following spring. The herbaceous peren- nials are easily increased by seeds or division ; and most of the shrubby kinds are propagated successfully from cuttings inserted in heat, or by layers. Grafting is employed for the numerous beautiful varieties of the Robinia, the stocks used being seedling plants of R. pseud-acacia. There is a great deal of variation in the structure, arrange- ment, and curvature of the stamens of papilionaceous or Pea- flowered plants; and this variability seems, in the majority of cases, to favour cross-fertilisation by insect agency. In Cassia we have two very long stamens, while the rest are much shorter, and curved, or set at different angles. In Amherstia THE PEA FAMILY. 429 there are long stamens and almost sessile anthers alternating in the same flower ; and I believe this plant has never been known to fruit in this coun- try. The noble specimen in the ducal gardens at Chats worth might possibly be induced to fruit by care- fully cross - fertilising the flowers with pollen from the long or short stamens, particular attention being paid to fertilise at the ex- , , Longitudinal section (magnified} of the act time \Vhen me Stigma flower of a leguminous plant. is in a receptive condition. • I have not examined the structure in Jonesia and Brownea, both nearly - allied genera. Apart from the structure and curvature of the sexual organs, the floral envelopes seem in most cases especially constructed and arranged so as to favour cross - fertilisation by insects. This subject has re- peatedly, however, been alluded to by different observers, and the reader interested will find notes on the structure and fer- tilisation of Indigofera in the 'Jour. Linn. Soc.,' ix. 327 and 355, and also notes on Dr Hildebrand's paper on Medi- cagOj Indigofera, and Cytisus, published in the ' Botanische Zeitung' (March 1866); and to the same paper a note of Mr Darwin's is appended, on the contrivances by which cross- fertilisation is effected by insect agency in the Common Broom (Cytisus scoparius). When we remember the immense diver- sity of structure and arrangement in this large order, also the variation in colour and odour, Sir John Lubbock's views as to the modifications of flowers by insect agency seem to possess especial weight. Clover depends for fertilisation on bees ; and it has been found necessary to send these useful insects out to New Zealand as aids to agriculture. It has been pointed out by Darwin and others that the large humble-bees aid agri- culture very much by fertilising Clover, and thus increasing the yield of fertile seeds. Acacia. — This genus is well known as furnishing many ornamental species, which are largely grown as greenhouse or conservatory shrubs. They belong to the Mimosa section of Papilionacese, and bea* globular clusters of bright yellow flowers among their glaucous or bright green phyllodia. A, armata, A. lophanta, A. dealbata, and others, are well-known examples. They are propagated from layers, or imported or home-grown seeds, which, to facilitate their germination, ought to be soaked 430 GENERAL REVIEW. in hot water for several hours previous to their being sown, as the seed-coat is very hard and horny in texture. Cuttings of the root are successful in some cases; and A. armata, A. Drum- Plant which chiefly yields the gum-arabic {Mimosa arabica); flowering branch (a), and fruit (V). mondii, and others of the free-growing species, may be multi- plied from cuttings of the young growth. A. dealbata and its allies, on the other hand, refuse to root from stem-cuttings, and invariably damp off, although layers are more successful. Amherstia (Tree of Heaven}. — A showy genus of Pea-flowers, represented in one or two of our gardens only by A. nobilis, an Indian or Malayan species, with handsome pinnate leaves like those of a Brownea, and bearing great pendent spikes of scarlet golden-eyed flowers. It is slowly increased by cuttings or layers inserted in a genial bottom-heat of 85° to 95°. It is quite possible that cuttings of the roots might develop latent buds, and form plants ; or cuttings of the young growth, with the apical halves of their leaves removed to prevent flagging, might be grafted on pieces of the root as a stock, either by THE PEA FAMILY. 431 cleft or side grafting, after which they should be potted and plunged in a genial bottom-heated case, with a temperature of 80° to 90°. Circumvallation is the method employed by the Hindoo gardeners, who place the split stem of a Bamboo around a young branch after having girdled it — i.e., removed a ring of bark ; and the Bamboo is then filled up with earth, which is kept moist until roots are formed. It might be worth while trying the roots or stems of some species of Brownea orjonesia ' as stocks for this gorgeous plant. Imported seeds lose their vitality ere they reach this country; but home-grown seeds might be more successful, and these might possibly be secured by careful artificial fecundation. Pollen from both sets of anthers should be placed on the stigmas of flowers borne on another inflorescence, and the growth of the pollen might be stimulated by nectar from Hoya or other plants. Brownea. — A small group of tropical trees nearly related to Amherstia and Jonesia, but more generally found in gardens. One of the most complete collections is in Mr Crawford's gar- den near Cork. These plants, like the last-named, are rather difficult to propagate from cuttings, either layering or circum- vallation being more successful (see Amherstia]. I am glad to record that seedlings, and in all probability hybrids, have been raised. W. E. Gumbleton, Esq., writing to the ' Garden,' re- marks that " Mr Crawford's gardener has succeeded in crossing several of the kinds that have flowered with him, one with the pollen of the other, and has got them to ripen seeds which are of immense size, resembling a very large flat bean, about two only being produced in each pod. These, on being sown, have germinated freely, and he has now an exceedingly nice healthy lot of young seedlings of from the age of a few weeks to several years, whose foliage, in many instances, shows plain indications of partaking of the nature of one or both parents, and from these, when they bloom, some most interesting results may be expected." Caragana (Siberian Pea-trees}. — A group of very ornate, spring-flowering trees, well worth a place in every garden land- scape. C. arborescens is perhaps the best-known species, and as it is plentiful, and seeds freely, it forms an excellent stock on which to graft rare or more tender kinds, and especially its own varieties, of which C. altagana, C. chamlagu, C. spinosa, C. microphylla, and C. arenaria may be cited as examples. Hali- madendron argenteum also grows well on C. arborescens as a stock. Cytisus. — A group of Pea-flowered plants, represented in our greenhouses by C. elcgans, C. racemosa, and other free-flowering kinds, which are readily propagated either by cuttings or seeds 432 GENERAL REVIEW. sown in a gentle heat. The common Laburnum is one of our most beautiful spring-flowering trees, and being principally raised from seed, is very variable in habit. What is known in nurseries as Waterer's Laburnum is so much superior to the ordinary Laburnum that it seems inexplicable why it has not been everywhere planted. It is not so large in the foliage nor in the individual flowers as the Scotch Laburnum (Cytisus alpinus}, although it may possibly be a cross between it and the common sort. Darwin (see ' Animals and Plants,' i. 416) says that "the belief that Cytisus Adami is a spontaneously-pro- duced hybrid between C. laburnum and C. purpureus is sup- ported by the fact that such hybrids have arisen in this genus. In a bed of seedlings from C. elongatus, which grew near C. purpureus, and was probably fertilised by it through the agency of insects (for these, as I know by experiment, play an import- ant part in the fertilisation of the Laburnum), the sterile hybrid C. purpureo-elongatus appeared. Thus also Waterer's Laburnum, C. alpino-laburnum, spontaneously appeared, as I am informed by Mr'Waterer, in a bed of seedlings." There is a very beautiful golden-leaved variety of Laburnum, which originated as a sport; and this, together with some of the rarer hardy species of this genus, are propagated by grafting or budding on seedlings of the common Labur- num as a stock. Half the seedlings raised are worthless as flowering-plants, and either Waterer's Laburnum or some other good variety should be worked on the seedling stocks, so as to insure good varieties only in cultivation. M. Baltet recommends seedlings of C. alpinus as stocks on which to graft in March and April, or propagate by shield-budding in July and August. Seedlings of Cytisus alpinus form good stocks for Genista multiflora, and seedlings of G. hispanica serve for other varieties, cleft - grafting in spring (March or April) being the most successful method. Scions should con- sist of young growth, with a heel of old wood at the base. All .the slender-flowering kinds, as C. purpurea, C. rosea, C. alba, C. carnea, C. elegans, and C. trifolia, are said not to succeed except cleft-grafted at the desired height. The strong-growing kinds, such as C. Adami, C. biflorus, C. grandiflorus, and others of similar habit, are best propagated by budding or grafting close to the ground, as they are vigorous enough to form stems. WTien the stock is headed off for cleft-grafting, it is essential to the success of the operation that a shoot or bud be left to attract the sap to the scion. Snails are troublesome when the scions are worked near the ground ; place quicklime or barley-chaff around the stocks to keep them at bay. THE PEA FAMILY. 433 One of the most interesting plants in this genus is the supposed graft hybrid * C. purpuraceus, or C. Adami, as it is called in some gardens (see Grafting). Erythrina (Coral - trees). — A group of very ornamental shrubs, the species of which are principally natives of the tropics or sub-tropical countries. E. crista-galli is one of the oldest and best of the cultivated species ; and, together with the hybrids and seminal forms, which have of late years been raised in French and Belgian gardens, most of the species, and especially E. crista-galli, E. herbacea, E. laurifolia, seed freely if cross-fertilised, and the seeds germinate readily sown in February in a genial bottom-heat of 65° to 75°. Cuttings root freely if taken off when the plants break in the spring, and should be inserted in a heated case. M. Duchartre alludes to some of the earliest hybrids (see ' Jour, de la Soc. Imp. et Cent. d'Hort.,' t. vii. p. 81), which, it appears, were raised by M. Bellanger, formerly of Charonne, who commenced operations by fertilising E. crista-galli with pollen of E. herbacea, the result being three hybrids, not of any special beauty in them- selves, but which served as the parents of more beautiful forms. M. Bellanger followed up his experiment by fertilising these hybrids and their seedlings reciprocally with one or other of the two original parents ; and in 1855 he succeeded in raising E. " Marie Bellanger " from seeds of E. crista-galli, fertilised by one of his unnamed seedlings. E. Bidivellii, another elegant hybrid, was obtained from seeds of E. herbacea, ferti- lised with pollen of E. crista-galli. Many beautiful cross-bred forms are now used in our summer flower-garden arrangements ; and by cross-fertilising the best of these, other new and more effective forms are obtainable. Pisum (Peas). — Papilionaceous or Pea-flowered climbing an- nuals and perennials, easily propagated by seeds, and the peren- nial section by division. The edible Peas, now so much improved by cross-breeding, and so largely grown in our gardens, have originated from two types — P. arvense, a red-flowered annual, commonly known as the " Field-pea," and P. sativum, a white- flowered annual, and, like the last-named kind, a native of Southern Europe. Seeds sown in succession enable the gar- dener to procure this delicious vegetable from May to Novem- ber in favourable seasons. New or improved varieties are obtained either by the careful selection of seminal varieties or by judiciously crossing any two varieties which individually possess qualities it is desirable to unite in the progeny. The anthers of Peas and many of their allies shed their pollen * See Herbert's Amaryllidaceae, p. 376. 2 E 434 GENERAL REVIEW. before the flowers expand, and this is especially the case with the earliest flowers, so that it is necessary to emasculate the female or seed-bearing parent some days before the bud is ready for opening its petals to the sun, and this is best done by slitting the bud with a keen penknife, after which carefully cut out all the anthers with a pair of sharp-pointed scissors, and if the surface of the stigma is moist or glutinous, apply the pollen from the desired male parent. The pods from fertilised flowers should be labelled with the names of the parents, and need careful protection from birds. The late Dr Maclean raised some very fine varieties of Peas, his " Advancer " and " Best of all " being two of the best. The late Mr John Standish 'commenced hybridising Peas in 1869, with the view of obtaining dwarf early marrow-fat varieties, combining the quality of our richly-flavoured marrow-fats with the precocity of our earliest round sorts. With this object in view, he took "Ne Plus Ultra," one of our best but latest marrow Peas, as the female parent, and hybridised it with " Laxton's Supreme," an unquestionably fine second-early pea, but wanting in flavour. In 1870 the selection from the previous year was further crossed with " Climax," an early dwarf marrow- fat, but possessing the disadvantage of not filling the pods well, yet having the rich flavour of the marrow-fats. A selection was again made, and in 1871 these were crossed with Laxton's " Alpha " and Macleah's " Little Gem," and the race of seed- ling Peas growing this (1875) Year at Ascot show that earliness, combined with flavour, has been obtained. The "Criterion" is one of the best of these seedlings. One of the finest of all new Peas is " Dr Maclean," sent out by Mr C. Turner in 1876. Mr Laxton, of Stamford, has originated a race of very valu- able large-podded varieties, and also some dwarf early kinds of great merit, and some of the best of these are included in the following list : — Alpha. — Blue wrinkled marrow. Raised from Laxton's Pro- lific, crossed with Maclean's Advancer. 3 to 4 feet. Supreme. — Early green marrow, the result of a cross between Laxton's Prolific and Little Gem. 3 to 4 feet, very prolific, 8 to 10 peas in a pod. William the First. — Early green marrow, 4^ to 5 feet high, with habit of the frame class, but related to Prizetaker. Superlative. — Second early marrow, 7. to 8 feet in height ; a cross between Ne Plus Ultra and a variety from Supreme. Supplanter. — Second early blue, very prolific, a great im- provement on Scimitar ; a cross between Veitch's Perfection and Little Gem. THE PEA FAMILY. 435 Fillbasket. — Second early blue ; a cross between Laxton's Standard and Supreme. Omega. — Late green wrinkled marrow; a cross between Ne Plus Ultra and Veitch's Perfection. Unique. — Early dwarf green marrow ; a cross between Pro- lific and Little Gem. Dr Hogg. — Early green wrinkled marrow; the result of a cross between Prolific Long-pod and Little Gem. Harbinger. — Early round blue ; a cross between Alpha and Ringleader. Robinia (False Acacias], — A group of very ornamental North American trees, represented in our gardens by R. pseud-acacia and its forms R. viscosa and R. hispida or " Rose-acacia," the last-named being one of the prettiest of all our summer flower- ing-shrubs or small trees, and one of which improved varieties might possibly be raised from seeds, if the flowers were care- fully cross-fertilised just before they open. Robinias are propa- gated by layers and by seeds sown in the spring on open-air beds. Grafting may be performed in April — cleft-grafting being the common method in the best nurseries, the common R. pseud- acacia from seed being used as a stock. M. Baltet observes : " Slender -wooded kinds, such as R. tortuosa, R. rosea, R. Imifolia, and R. Van Houttei, should be grafted at the projected height of the branches. The vigorous kinds, R. Decaisneana — itself a good stock — R. unifolia, and R. pyra- midalis, may be grafted on the collar of the stock, even when intended for tall standards. The Robinia may be taken up and transplanted without injury at the time of grafting. In certain localities it succeeds when budded." The seminal forms of Robinia pseud-acacia are very numer- ous ; and while many form distinct and beautiful trees, others are barely worth notice. They have mainly originated in Con- tinental nurseries. R. dubia is said to be a hybrid between the common R. pseud-acacia and R. viscosa. It forms a middle- sized tree, has short spines on its branches, and bears pale rosy flowers. Its synonyms are R. hybrida, R. ambigua, and R. echinatd. Wistaria. — A very ornamental genus of Chinese, Japanese, or North American Pea -flowered shrubs, of scandent habit. W. (Glycine) sinensis is a well-known and very beautiful spring bloomer, often grown on walls in the south of England as an ornamental climber. There is a fine but rather rare white- flowered variety of the last, and it is even more beautiful than its lilac-flowered parent. Imported seeds grow freely sown in a genial bottom -heat of 60° to 70°; and the young plants GENERAL REVIEW. should be gradually hardened off after the young leaves appear. The plant rarely fruits in this country ; and this, Mr Meehan thinks, is the result of some deficiency in the supply of food, not that it requires either insect or artificial agency to effect fertilisation. Layers root freely ; and to obtain a number of plants, one of the long, slender branches may be lay- ered and a cut made, or the branch girdled at every joint so as to induce it to produce roots, and develop the latent buds at each of the nodes throughout its entire length. A still bet- ter and more expeditious plan is to dig up the thick roots and cut them into lengths of 3 to 4 inches, after which plant them in boxes, and place them on a gentle dung-bed or other slight genial bottom-heat, so as to excite vegetation, and aid the production of adventitious buds. Grafting in February or March on thick pieces of its own roots is, however, one of the best possible methods of multiplying this plant. S0- phora and Cerris may also be increased in this manner, or on seedlings of their respective types. The white-flowered variety of Wistaria may be grafted on roots of the common or normal form as a stock ; but it does equally well on its own roots on warm dry soils, especially if planted near a sunny wall. A double-flowered variety of W. sinensis has been imported by Mr James Hogg, a well-known American nurseryman, from Japan, the purplish rosette-like flowers being borne in grace- fully drooping clusters, as in the normal form. A figure of this plant will be found in the * Garden,' ii. 51. R oof-grafting, Wistaria. THE PASSION-FLOWER FAMILY (Passifloracece)* This is a small natural order, represented in our gardens by something like a hundred species and varieties of Passifloras arid Tacsonias. They are nearly all climbing plants. The true Passiflora arborea is, however, an erect-growing shrub or small tree. All the species may be most easily propagated by herba- ceous cuttings, taken off when the plants start into growth in * For a revision of the species and remarks on germination, fertilisation, movements of reproductive organs, £c., see 'Trans. Linn. Soc.,' 1871, vol. THE PASSION-FLOWER FAMILY. 437 the spring, each having a heel of the old bark. These root readily in sandy soil under a bell-glass, or in a heated case, which must be well ventilated, otherwise they are liable to damp off. Layers, if tongued below a joint, and the part buried beneath any light rich soil, root freely in a few weeks. Seeds are by many species freely produced, and germinate readily if sown in a gentle bottom-heat as soon as ripe. If the seeds are to be preserved, they should be cleaned as recom- mended for Melons, and sown in the spring. Seedling plants generally bloom the second year. Several species bear eatable fruit not unlike small Melons in shape and flavour, and known by the general name of " Granadillas." One of the best is P. edulis, a West Indian species, bearing purple fruits the size of a hen's egg; P. macrocarpa, a large-fruited kind, resembling P. quqdrangularis, and, like the last, bearing large olive-green fruits the size of small oblong Melons. P. maliformis, " Sweet Calabash," and P. lanrifolia, or " Water - lemon," also bear edible fruits. The species of this genus interbreed with Passiflora Loudoniana, Hort., entire flcrwer. d d, Numerous coralline filaments ', e e, Stamens ; p, Pistils. tolerable precision ; and the hybridiser should bear in mind the fact that some species, of which P. . racemosa (P. princeps, Hort., ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 2001) may be cited as an ex- ample, never fruit unless artificially fertilised, owing to their GENERAL REVIEW. pollen being impotent, so far as self-impregnation is concerned, although potent when applied to the stigma of other species. M. Delaire, of the Orleans Botanic Garden, long occupied himself in hybridising Passion-flowers ; and he was one of the first to record the fact that some species are sterile when their own pollen is used, but fertile when .that from another species or variety is applied. P. amabilis (see List) is a hybrid ob- tained by M. Schachter, of Loos-les, Lille, and is the result of fertilising P. raccmosa with pollen of P. alata. M. Belat, of Moulins, also obtained hybrids in 1847 by fertilising P. alata with pollen from P. c&rulea. P. Lemicheziana was obtained be- fore 1845 by M. Lemichez, and is the result of seeds obtained from P. alata fertilised with pollen from P. Raddiana (P. kermesina, Hort.) Pollen of the last-named plant, according to M. Lemichez, will always fertilise the ovules of P. alata, and produce a fair percentage of perfect seeds ; but the cross cannot be reversed. This is one of the many exceptions to the rule of elective or constitutional affinity as laid down by Wichura (see p. 154). Many of the Passifloras, especially those bearing edible fruits, are widely cultivated in the tropics, espe- cially in South America and the West Indies— so that, what with seminal and cultural variation, together with natural and artificial hybridisation or intercrossing, there are many points in their history rather perplexing to the botanist and horticul- turist ; and previous to the monograph published by Dr M. S. Masters, the confusion of names was as bad as can well be imagined. P. ccerulea is perfectly hardy as far north as York, and fruits freely in London gardens, its fruit being of a soft orange - yellow colour, egg-shaped, and generally containing perfect seeds, artificial fertilisation not being ne- cessary. The following varieties known or supposed to be hybrids are given in Dr Masters's " Classified List of Passiflorese " (see 'Jour. Royal Hort. Soc.,' iv. 125) : — P. albo-nigra, Regel, 'Gart. Fl.,' 1852, t. 8.— Said to be a cross between P. alata and P. Raddiana. P. amabilis, Hort. ? — This is said to be a hybrid between P. racemosa as the seed-parent and P. alata. P. alato-ccerulea, W. Mast, in ' Bot. Reg.,' p. 848. — A hybrid between P. alata and P. ccerulea, raised at Canterbury. P. " Bijou." — Said to be a hybrid between P. racemosa and P. Raddiana. P. Belottii, Hort. Regel., 'Gart. Fl.,' 1852, p. 44; 'Card. Mag. Bot.,' vol. i. — Said to be a cross between P. ccemleo- racemosa and P. quadrangidaris. THE PASSION-FLOWER FAMILY. 439 P. Buonapartea, Hort. — Probably a hybrid between P. alata and P. quadrangularis. P. cceruleo-racemosa, Sabine, 'Trans. Hort. Soc.,' iv. 9; Lodd. ' Bot. Cab.,' p. 573. — A well-known hybrid between P. ccerulea and P. racemosa (see Herbert's ' Amaryllidaceae,' p. 354). P. carulea-Kermesina. — Probably a cross between P. ccerulea and P. Raddiana. P. Colvillei, Sw., 'Brit. Fl. Card.,' ii. 126. — Said to be a hybrid between P. ccerulea as the male parent and P. incarnata as the female. P. Decaisneana, ' Fl. des Serres,' viii. 848 ;• ' Revue Hort.,' 1855, P- J5- — Said to be a hybrid between P. quadrangularis and P. alata. P. Hartwiesiana, Hort. Rollison, is probably a seedling variety of P. ccerulea with white flowers. P. hybrida-floribunda, Hort. — Apparently a cross between P. ccerulea and P. Raddiana. P. Imperatrice Eugenie, '111. Hort.,' 1858, p. 175. — Appa- rently a cross between P. ccerulea and P. alata or P. quadran- gularis. P. Innesii, Mast, 'Gard. Chron.,' 1870, p. 891. — A cross between P. alata as the female and P. macrocarpa as the male parent. This was raised by Mr Munro. P. Lawsoniana, Mast., 'Card. Chron.,' 1868, p. 1288. — A cross between P. racemosa as the male parent and P. alata. P. Loudoniana, Hort. — Several garden plants exist under this name, but the original P. Loudoniana was probably a cross between P. Raddiatia and P. racemosa. P. Madonna. — Said to be a cross between P. racemosa and P. Buonapartea. P. Munroit, Mast, 353- Mr Rivers, who was one of the first to introduce the cul- ture of the Pear on the Quince stock recommends " double- grafting" in the case of such varieties as the Jargonelle, Marie Louise, and others, which are apt to overrule the Quince stock when budded or grafted upon it directly. All cultivators know how difficult it is to make some varieties of the Pear succeed on the Quince. M. Carriere has lately pointed out an easy road to success in this matter — namely, always to operate by cleft-grafting instead of by budding. By this means, in the case of those varieties which exhibit a reluc- tance to unite with the stock, the disastrous effects of high winds are avoided, and the union of the scion with the stock is secured sooner and more permanently. The following THE ROSE, POME, AND DRUPE FAMILY. 485 curious note on this subject has been sent by a Mr Tipton of Burlington, Kansas, to the ' Horticulturist ' (New York) : " Pears grafted or budded on bearing Apple-trees is the quick- est, surest, and cheapest way I ever grew Pears. I never picked better Pears from standards, or any other under-growth for the Pear, than I have picked from old Apple-trees topped and budded or grafted with Pears ; and they always bore early and profusely. In large Apple orchards are sometimes found worthless, scraggy trees : on such I have practised changing to Pear. I never failed in two years to get a good crop. In some trees the Pear would die out in five or six years, while others were healthy to my knowledge for eighteen years, and still doing well the last time I saw them, in 1865, in Franklin county, Ohio." M. Stole, Director of the Pomological Institute of Proskau, writing in the ' Monatsschrift ' for March 1876, recommends grafting the Pear on vigorous young Apple stocks, the chief merit being early and increased productiveness at the cost of longevity. This plan is said to find favour with many practical fruit-growers in Prussia and Poland ; and at Czerventzitz, near Posen, the writer saw considerable plantations laden with hand- some and high-coloured fruit. M. Carriere, writing to the 'Revue Horticole' in 1871, men- tions two Pears — Beurre de Malines and Beurre Spence or Fondante de Bois — which have done well grafted on the Doucin or Apple stock since 1856, the bark being clean and free, and the trees bearing fine crops of excellent fruit. The professor, in condemning the sweeping generalisations as to the incompatibility of the two trees as stock and scion — general- isations formed on a few, and in many cases imperfect, experi- ments— recommends that fifty varieties of Pears be taken, and two of each kind cleft-grafted on the Doucin or other Apple stock, and two of them inserted by shield-budding. Both cleft- grafting and shield-budding are recommended, because different results often follow the two operations. M. Carriere's statement is corroborated by a correspondent of the 'Gardeners' Chronicle,' 1871, p. 836, who inserted buds of Pears Marie Louise and Fondante d'Automne on Apple stocks, and both varieties were growing vigorously a year after they had been worked. Double-grafting will ultimately have a great effect on Pear- culture in gardens. It seems always to make healthy and prolific trees. It must not, however, be concluded that to graft a free-growing sort of Pear on the Quince, and then to regraft it with the desired sort, will always answer. Some 486 GENERAL REVIEW. kinds require the stock belonging to their race. This can only be found out by the clever cultivator — as, for instance, the Jargonelle on the Beurre d'Amanlis, the union of which is so perfect, and the trees thus formed so healthy, that an acre of double-grafted Jargonelle Pears would be a little fortune to a gardener. Gansel's Bergamot double-grafted becomes a marvel of fertility; and the sorts raised by the Rev. Mr Huyshe, all of which are of great excellence, become most fertile trees when double-grafted on the proper kind of stock. When this scien- tific method of cultivating Pears is fully understood, those who introduced the culture of the Pear on the Quince stock will have warm thanks from all lovers of fruit-tree culture. M. Baltet also recommends this method : " When the variety to be propagated is a tender one, such as Esther Compte, Brandes, Beurre Flou, Seckle, Van Mons, Bon d'Eye'e, Madame Millet, Prevost, and others, we graft as an intermediary some hardy and vigorous variety, such as Due de Nemours, Beurre d'Amanlis, Beurre Hardy, or Napoleon Savinien. These, grafted close to the ground on the Quince, soon rise into a stem, and after at least two years' growth are crown-grafted with the desired tender-habited variety." The same plan also answers for those varieties which do not form a good or perfect junction with the Quince stock. Another Continental nurseryman, M. Jourdain, adopts a method which is by no means a common one for the estab- lishment and formation of his Pear-trees. He raises them in his own nursery, the Quince serving as the stock; upon this he grafts the Cure' or Belle de Berry, upon which finally is grafted the variety chosen. It is true this plan is not altogether a new one. Many other vigorous-growing varieties are often used for super-grafting — as, for example, the Jaminette, Sucre Vert, Beurre d'Amanlis, &c. A rapid growth is thus obtained with varieties that push slowly when grafted on the Quince or upon seedlings. Amongst these may be mentioned Beurre' Clair- geau, Beurre d'Angleterre, Bon Chre'tien Ranee, or Beurre Noirchain, and others. But M. Jourdain's system differs from others, inasmuch as he allows the first graft — that is to say, the Curd — to grow vertically ; and, in order to obtain the tiers of his palmette, he inserts in the upright stem, at a distance of about ten inches apart, the buds of the variety he wishes to crop. By this means he is enabled to insure perfect regularity of form and extraordinary vigour. This satisfactory result is obtained by care in the choice of good one year's cuttings of the variety of Quince called La Quintaine, and by using the eyes of young and vigorous trees upon the young scion. It is THE ROSE, POME, AND DRUPE FAMILY. 487 impossible to overrate the importance of exercising the greatest care in the choice of eyes. Whilst admitting that the method adopted by M. Jourdain is worthy of all praise, it may be re- marked that it would be preferable if the variety chosen fol- lowed upon the second tier of branches placed upon the Cure, and was allowed to complete the shape of the tree. It is to be feared that, as often happens, the sap, flowing towards the centre of the tree, may weaken the lower tiers, and it would be better to place, for the formation of the last tier, a graft of a very productive but weak-growing variety. Experience has shown that the balance of certain forms may, by this means, be easily maintained. Lindley remarks that in the Pear the fruit becomes lighter- coloured and smaller on the Quince stock ; but this can only be on poor soils ; while on the Medlar stock this difference in size and colour is more apparent still, and in these two instances the ascent and descent of the sap is obstructed by the Quince more than by the Wild Pear or free stock, and by the Medlar more than either ; and he adds that similar effects are produced in the Apple by the Paradise and Siberian Bitter-sweet stocks ; but, as we have already observed, dwarfing stocks like those just named are most useful on rich deep soils ; while on poor soils, the robust, strong-rooting, or invigorating stocks are best. Nearly every man who has now an orchard of Pears would like to change some of his trees for other sorts. Fortunately the operation of regrafting is remarkably simple and easy with Pear-trees, and by the insertion of twenty grafts, more or less, on each tree, properly distributed, a new and perfect bearing head may be obtained in two or three years. Instead, there- fore, of digging up and throwing out such trees as do not bear good Pears, and leaving undesirable vacancies where they stood, they are readily changed to the very best. The first thing to do, after having secured the grafts, is to prepare the trees for regrafting, by trimming the branches, and cutting out any not wanted where they happen to be too thick. Then cut them off so as to form a regular pyramid, by leaving the bottom ones longest, and gradually tapering to the top. This opera- tion can be extended over two or three years, if desirable, so as to secure fruit off the old tree until the new grafts come into bearing. If the branches are small, they may be whip-grafted ; but usually they will be much too large, and will require cleft- grafting. We have seen large numbers of dwarf Pear-trees, which were eight or nine years old when worked over, that in three years were as perfect trees and as abundant bearers as those which had not been thus changed. 488 GENERAL REVIEW. Those interested in intelligent Pear-culture on the Quince stock cannot do better than obtain permission to see Mr F. Dancer's fruit-garden at Chiswick, where hundreds of bushels of the very finest dessert Pears are annually sent to the Lon- don fruit-markets from bush or pyramid trees all worked on this stock. There is no comparison between the fruit produced by standard or orchard trees on the Pear or free stock and bush trees on the Quince. Dr Bretonneau, of Tours, has succeeded in intergrafting Pears on Cotoneaster affinis, and also on Amelanchier as a stock. Attempts to graft them on evergreen Cotoneasters, such as C. buxifolia and C. microphylla, have failed. The Jargonelle and Josephine de Malines both succeed well on the White-thorn stock (see 'Card. Chron.,' 1873, p. 1732). A curious experiment in Pear-grafting is recorded in the 'Revue Horticole,' 1867 (see also ' Gard. Chron.,' 1867, p. 947). It appears that M. Carillet, of Vincennes, took two young Pears, each worked on the Quince, and one — Beurre d'Aremberg — was made to serve as the stock; the other — Beurre' de Charneu — was dug up with care, and grafted by approach in an inverted position — i.e., with its roots in the air, the head pointing downwards. This was in April ; and during the summer the scion tree threw out buds and shoots from the Quince stock and root, and the stock grew vigorously and flowered, and bore two fruits. To add to the strangeness of the union, M. Carillet grafted the exposed roots of the Quince with two other varieties of Pear. This experiment shows that the sap passes through stems either towards the apex or towards the root with equal facility, and that roots have the power of living fully exposed to light and air, and throw out shoots like branches. No intermixture of individual characteristics seems to have taken place here, although the sap passed first from the Quince roots, then through Beurre d'Aremberg, thirdly through the inverted stem of Beurre de Charneu, then into the Quince stock on which the latter was grafted, and lastly into two Pear grafts. For a very interesting essay on the variability of Pears, the result of experiments made in the Jardin des Plantes between 1853 and 1862, by M. J. Decaisne, see 'Jour. Royal Hort. Soc.,' new series, i. 36; or ' Annales des Sciences Naturelles,' 4 serie, xx. 188 (1864). Several seminal varieties of the Eng- lish Wild Pear are figured by M. J. Decaisne in the ' Jardin Fruitier du Musdum.' Pyrus domesiica, or " Witty Pear," of which there are at least two varieties, is apparently wild in Wyre Forest, and is THE ROSE, POME, AND DRUPE FAMILY. 489 by some presumed to be a hybrid, of which P. aucuparia, or " Rowan-tree," was one of the parents. Pyrus terminalis may be grafted on the Mountain-ash (P. aucuparia), but is said by some cultivators to be better on its own roots. The scarlet and yellow fruited varieties of the Mountain-ash (Pyrus aucuparid), or " Rowan-tree," as it is popularly called, are grafted on the seedling White-thorn (Cratcegus oxycanthd) stock; as also is the Service-tree (Pyrus domestica). The seedling or Wild Pear stock may, however, be employed. The modes of grafting employed are cleft or whip grafting in March, crown-grafting in April, close to the ground, and shield-budding in July in the open ground. Pyrus hybrida. — There is a fine old specimen of this in the Fulham Nursery of Messrs Osborn & Son, which every autumn is laden with its showy fruit. It is said to be a hybrid between the Mountain-ash (" Rowan-tree ") and the White Beam tree. Like its parents, it is readily propagated by grafting on the White-thorn stock; and probably the Pear or Quince stock might also be employed. Pyrus japonica is now referred to the genus Cydonia, or Quinces, along with P. Maulei, a native of Japan, similar in habit and fruit to P. japonica, except that its fruit is edible, and useful for conserves or marmalade, like that of its ally, the true Quince. Pyrus japonica is readily propagated by cuttings of the roots ; and in the ' Gardeners' Chronicle,' 1872, p. 1321, a portion of the root of this plant is figured, bearing flowers and buds as well as roots. Many seminal forms, bearing white, crimson, scarlet, rose, peach, flesh, and salmon coloured flowers, have been raised in Continental nur- series. This shrub forms an excellent stock for Chanomdes; cleft-grafting in January or February, or shield-budding in the latter month, are most successful. A tree of Pear Henri Capron, in the Royal Horticultural Gardens at Chiswick, sometimes produces a very attractive display of semi-double flowers one year ; indeed fully two-thirds of the flowers were in this state, those borne by one or two branches being entirely so, and the tree was far more conspicuous than any other of the numerous varieties on this account. If it were possible to perpetuate this tendency to semi-duplication by grafting or other means, it would be equally as ornamental as the double-, blossomed Plums, Peaches, or Cherries. There seems a ten- dency to duplication of late years among cultivated plants ; but by what specific causes this substitution of showy but useless organs for useful and sexual ones is brought about is still a mystery to the physiologist. In some plants over-luxuriance seems to favour the production of double forms, while the ex- 49O GENERAL REVIEW. pert florists half starve their seed-bearing stocks in pots, and so obtain about seventy per cent of double varieties. Pyrus spec- tabilis Riversii, a beautiful spring-flowering tree, is a hybrid raised at Sawbridgeworth from seed of P. spectabilis crossed with P.japonica, and is similar to P. spectabilis roseo-pleno. Mr T. A. Knight raised several good seedling Pears, a de- tailed account of which is given in the 'Trans. Hort. Soc.,' 1835, P- I03- Of these, Knight's Monarch is perhaps the best. Mr Rivers has also raised several useful sorts. Little has yet been done in the way of careful cross-fertilisation, most of the popular kinds now in cultivation being chance seedlings from self-fertilised flowers. See Hogg's ' Fruit Manual ' (fourth edition); Scott's 'Orchardist;' Lindley's 'Orchard and Kitchen Garden ; ' also Leroy's ' Dictionary of Pomology,' and the ' Transactions of the Horticultural Society,' for the origin and history of Pears, Apples, and other rosaceous fruits. Apple Stocks. — Seedling Apple or Crab stocks for standard or orchard trees. Seedling stocks are best, but hillock-layering is resorted to by some nurserymen in the propagation of Apple and Paradise stocks. Mr Rivers of Sawbridgeworth has raised two or three forms of the Paradise stock from seed, and he describes the Nonesuch Paradise and the Broad-leaved Para- dise as being both remarkable for the fertility they give to Apple-trees. The latter is like the French Doucin, but has leaves less pointed ; like the Nonesuch Paradise, it keeps pace with the graft, so that it does not swell over the stock, disturb the health, and shorten the life of the tree. These two vari- ties of the Paradise Apple were raised from seed here many years since, and they have proved of great value : from the same seed a variety was raised so dwarf as to form a perfect miniature Apple-tree ; yet, like the French Paradise, which is not nearly so minute in its proportions, it bears our climate bravely, and has been named the Pigmy Paradise Apple. The true French Paradise is now fairly established as the best dwarfing stock for choice Apples, such as Cox Orange, Reinette du Caux, Calville Blanc, and Ribston, and the fer- tility and beauty of young trees two or three years from the graft on this stock is most wonderful. Mr W. Robinson de- serves the thanks of all intelligent fruit-growers for his efforts, which have led to its general adoption in this country. See 'Gardeners' Chronicle,' vol. xxviii. (1869), for interesting dis- cussion on the best stocks for Apples. The Common Bur- Knot Apple forms an excellent stock for most Apples. A very interesting collection of Apple stocks has been formed in the gardens at Chiswick by Mr A. F. Barren. Among these THE ROSE, POME, AND DRUPE FAMILY. 491 are the following : Common Crab, which flowers in May ; Dutch Paradise, a straggling grower, flowering in April ; Rivers's Nonesuch or English Paradise, flowers in May ; Rivers's Minia- ture Paradise, equally late; Scott's Paradise, a distinct pyra- midal-habited variety, flowering in April ; and the true French Paradise, of straggling habit as a tree, flowering in April, and bearing a medium-sized golden-yellow fruit of excellent flavour. (See 'Florist,' 89, 187 5, p. 9 7, for excellent figure and description.) This last is one of the best of all stocks for bush, cordon, or espalier trained Apples, but is not suited for standard orchard trees. It exercises a wonderful dwarfing influence on any variety worked on it, and induces short compact growth and a profusion of blossom or fruit buds. It is an early bloomer, but this is not so desirable in stocks or fruit-trees as at first sight appears. As a rule, all our fruit-trees bloom too early for our climate, and as the result of this, we frequently lose our crops through the effects of severe spring frosts; and if we could transmit a late-blooming habit to our fruit-trees, either by working them on late-blooming stocks or otherwise, it is likely our chances of a regular crop of fruit every year would be materially increased. Early crops are readily obtainable under glass ; but for our general crops, late-flowering and hardy kinds, which escape spring frosts, are to be preferred ; and the question of stocks deserves careful study from all our fruit-growers. The ' Gardeners' Chronicle ' has the following remarks on this subject : Mr Dancer has been induced to plant large quantities of fine Apples and Pears on the Doucin, Paradise, and Quince stocks. The Chiswick soil is deep and holding, and highly manured, and where young trees on the common Crab or Pear stocks are planted, the result is seen in a coarse, barren growth that it is difficult to keep in check. On the other hand, trees on the foreign stocks give only a moderate growth, and fruit in great abundance, the fruit being second to none for size and quality. A most remarkable example of this divergence of character, as produced by stocks, we saw there a few days since. A number of small bush-trees of the Dutch Mignonne Apple, worked on the Paradise stock, have most marvellous crops of fruit, large and finely coloured. Some of these small trees had quite a bushel of fruit on them, and were literally borne to the ground with the weight. Yet close by were trees of the same variety worked on the Crab stock that had hardly a dozen fruit on them, but were at least of three times the size. The French stocks would hardly be suitable for poor gravelly soils ; but in deep, rich loams, and 492 GENERAL REVIEW. where manure is abundantly used as top-dressing, nothing can excel them in producing early and regular fruitfulness. M. Decaisne (* Jour. Royal Hort. Soc.,' vol. ii. (new series), 1870, p. 55), in an interesting paper on the "Paradise Apple," says : " There have been no important and comparative ex- periments whatever on the grafting of the Apple or of the Pear. All that has been done in this direction has been confined to individual observation, the results of which have been taken as proved without verification." In the nurseries of Germany and France, Pears and Apples sown for stock are mixed together ; and everybody who tries it will find that both, but especially the Pear stocks, grow much better and more vigorous that way than by themselves. The Apple may be grafted or shield-budded like the Pear, and the grafts should be gone over a fortnight or three weeks after the operation, and those that have failed may be replaced either by grafts or buds. The ornamental-flowering forms of Pyrus spectabilis or " Chinese Apple," and others, may also be propagated by grafting on common stocks. Apple scions may be preserved like those of the Pear by burying in sand, and roots may be used for stocks, as in the case of the Pear, if other stocks are not to hand. It is very possible that a good supply of stocks might readily be obtained by planting cuttings of Apple, Pear, or Plum roots in rows in nursery beds. After grafting on roots, tie firmly and paint the junction with wax or mastic, then plant the roots and scions, only leaving one or two buds of the graft above the soil. "Apples," says an American fruit-grower, " may be root or collar grafted success- fully as follows : Seedlings grown on rich loamy soil, either one or two years old, are lifted when there is no frost in autumn, cleaned and stored in sand, in a cellar, and not so damp as to be liable to mildew. The scions should consist of the previous summer's growth. Cut them into four or five inch pieces, each having from four to six good, sound, perfectly-formed buds. The lower end of each of these pieces should be cut, as in ordinary grafting, and the roots cut about four inches long. The best piece is the one at the collar. At the upper end of each piece of root make a vertical cut upwards, forming a flat surface, into which, from the upper end, cut a slit forming a tongue, which will fit a corresponding slit previously made in the scion. With a little practice, any one can make the bark of the scion, and that of the root on the ends where the flat surfaces are formed, fit so closely that the sap of the one can flow into the other and produce the granulation or healing pro- cess without failure. The fitting can be done so that the union THE ROSE, POME, AND DRUPE FAMILY. 493 will be quite strong ; but to make the matter doubly sure, the best way is to tie with a string which has been saturated with hot grafting-wax. Pears, Plums, and Cherries may be grafted in this way, only the root should be left longer, and only the collar cut used. The next important matter is the proper care of the grafts. I have been most successful by packing them upright in a shallow box, say one inch deeper than the grafts are long, after dipping one-half of the roots into a puddle made of clay and fresh cow-dung, and filling up with sand, leaving about an inch of the scion above the surface. The boxes of grafts should then be stored in a dark part of the cellar until frost is over and the ground is quite ready to receive them." The Apple is the finest and most universally useful of all our hardy fruits ; and lacking that great and much-to-be-hoped-for national garden, in which the rational principles of fruit-culture could be practically taught to our artisans, and from which scions or fruit-trees of the best kinds only could be distributed, let us hope that country gentlemen or clergymen will take up the subject of fruit-culture, and distribute trees to the working population who have gardens in their vicinity, or teach them how to raise stocks and graft them for themselves. Here is a field of noble labour for the philanthropist ; and in the case of the country gentleman or landed proprietor who urges the cul- ture of fruit-trees in the gardens and allotments on his estate, it brings its own reward. Surely while it is remunerative to import Apples from America, and dessert Pears from France and the Channel Islands, it would pay to grow them at home. An Apple-tree will grow in any hedgerow in the kingdom, it requires little or no care after planting, and will pay at least a hundred per cent more than hedgerow timber-trees, which in many cases are of no value except for firewood. In Belgium the railway embankments are now utilised for fruit-tree culture, and it is questionable whether any class of farming or market- gardening is more profitable than fruit-growing for market, as carried out by such intelligent cultivators as Mr F. Dancer or Messrs Rivers. The Siberian Crab (Pyrus prunifolia) deserves the more close attention of fruit-growers and hybridisers for two reasons — viz., it vegetates very early in the spring and is singularly hardy in constitution ; indeed, so marked is its power of resist- ing cold spring frosts that its blossoms rarely suffer, and a pro- fuse crop of fruit is invariably produced. There are two well- marked forms — one bearing golden-yellow fruit the size of Gooseberries, while the other bears smaller bright scarlet fruits, and is popularly known as the "Cherry Apple." For orna- 494 GENERAL REVIEW. mental purposes, and especially for planting on the margins of shrubbery borders or woodland walks, these trees are singularly beautiful in spring when a mass of rosy-white flowers, and in autumn when laden with golden-yellow or crimson-scarlet fruits. This hardy Apple is well worth a trial as a stock, or its hardy character might be infused into other larger-fruited varieties by hybridising. The late Mr T. A. Knight hybridised the Siberian Crab with Golden Harvey, and the result was " Sibe- rian Bitter-sweet" and "Siberian Harvey," both worthless except for cider. Another cross with the Golden Pippin pro- duced another worthless variety named " Foxley." More re- cently, however, a singularly handsome, highly-coloured variety of excellent flavour has been raised by Mr Jennings in his nur- sery at Shipston-on-Stour, from seed of the Scarlet Siberian Crab or Cherry Apple. The seed was sown with no intention of raising new varieties of fruit, but for 'stocks on which to graft the ordinary varieties of Apples. One of these showing signs of fruit, Mr Jennings grafted it upon a free Apple stock, and from one of the trees so produced this variety was obtained. The parent tree from which the seed was taken is growing in an orchard consisting of such varieties as Ribston Pippin, Wyken Pippin, Blenheim Pippin, Margil, Hanwell Souring, and Pearmain. That which is in closest proximity to it is Margil, and it is not improbable that this was the male parent (see ' Florist,' 1870, p. 49, for excellent figure and description). Paul's " Imperial Crab " is a handsome and prolific variety (see * Florist,' 1876, p. 13). It is a seedling raised by Mr R. Laing of the Twickenham Nursery, and is supposed to be the result of an accidental cross between the " Red Astrachan Apple " and the " Siberian Crab," the two trees standing close together with interlacing branches. It first fruited about 1865, and was sent out by Messrs Paul & Son in 1869. Like the Siberian Crab, the tree is very ornamental when in fruit, and its produce is valuable for preserving in various wrays. All these hybrids between P. malus and P. prunifolia are very ornamental in spring when a mass of rosy flowers, and also in autumn when laden with crimson and golden fruit and bright yellow foliage. They should find a place in shrubbery borders and plantations everywhere. Rosa (Roses). — A widely distributed and deservedly popular genus of flowering shrubs, found throughout Europe, Asia, and America. They are largely grown in India, Persia, and other Eastern countries, and extensively used in the preparation of otto or attar of roses, one of the most valuable of all vegetable THE ROSE, POME, AND DRUPE FAMILY. 495 perfumes. The double-flowered varieties of R. centifolia (Cab- bage or Provence), R. indica (China or Monthly), R. caninat var. Bonrboniana, and others, are largely grown in our gardens, hybrids innumerable having been obtained and cross-fertilised with other varieties. Thousands of seedling Roses are raised in the Continental rose-gardens every year, and in this country many of the finest show Roses have been obtained from seed. At least fifty species of Roses are known, some of these — as R. rugosa, R, Regeliana, R. bracteata, R. sempervirens (ever- green), R. alpina, R. damascena, R. moschata (Musk Rose), and others — being more beautiful from an artistic point of view than the Bourbons, Teas, Noisettes, Hybrid China, Hy- brid Perpetual, Boursault, Climbing, and other cross-bred or florists' varieties. For an extended account of the species and varieties of Roses, see J. Lindley's Rosarum monographia ; 1 Botanical History of Roses,' with coloured plates ; W. Paul's 'Rose Garden' (5th edition); S. Hibberd's ' Amateur's Rose Book;' S. R. Hole's 'A Book about Roses;' and 'Cranston on the Rose.' Roses are propagated on their own roots by seeds, layers, cuttings, or suckers; and on stocks by grafting in heat from November to February, • or budding in the open air in June, July, and August. The stocks used for Roses are the wild or seedling Brier, R. canina ; the Italian wild Rose or Manetti, propagated by cut- tings of the stem in July, August, and September ; and cuttings of the roots at any season. Seedlings raised from cultivated varieties are often more vigorous than their parents, and make excellent stocks. Roots of the wild Brier planted in trenches in the spring throw up clean growth and make excellent stocks for dwarf Roses of all kinds. Rosa indica (China), or R. quatre- saison of the French nurseries, is largely used as a stock for new varieties, and answers well for grafting in heat. One and a half year old seedling Briers form excellent stocks for dwarf Roses. Mr R. Smith of Worcester propagates 30,000 to 40,000 Tea Roses every season, by grafting them on Manetti stocks in heat. The operation is begun in November, and many of the plants flower in pots the following May. Stocks of the Manetti grown in pots may be splice-grafted through- out the winter and spring (see Grafting). Roots of the Manetti, Dog-rose, or any other variety, may be used as stocks, and worked in heat in the winter or spring. Pieces 4 to 5 inches in length, with a few young fibres, are best, and these can be crown or splice grafted and potted off at once, after which plunge them in cocoa-nut fibre or tan in 496 GENERAL REVIEW. a gentle bottom-heat. Gradually harden off the plants when the union is complete, and set the pots out of doors in May or June. An excellent plan is to dig up wild Brier roots in Jan- uary, and to cut them in 4 to 6 inch lengths, reserving the pieces next the stem or root stock, and throwing the rest away, as these answer best; and roots are plentiful in every wood 'and hedge. Now cut the scions with two or four buds each, and cleft or wedge graft them on the stem end of the roots, tie firmly with bast, give a coating with cold mastic to guard against damp, and the thing is done. If the roots are thin, never mind — whip or splice graft them. After grafting, plant them in the open ground, so as to just cover the graft, and then cover with three or four inches of sawdust. Try it yourself, and tell it to every one who loves the Rose. See an interesting paper on " Rose Stocks " in * Jour. Royal Hort. Soc.' (1850), vol. v. p. 70. Seed. — Some varieties seed freely, some only when artificially fertilised, and some not at all, owing to the suppression or change of their sexual organs. Crossing is performed as in other hermaphrodite flow- ers, by removing pollen from the stamens, they are now propagated after the method I have recommended for Roses with unvarying success. This is my Rose secret, to which the Rose world is most welcome. I may mention that Climbing Roses, Hybrid China Roses, the hardy Tea Roses, the Bourbon Roses, the hardy Noisette Roses, and, above all, the Hybrid Perpetuals, are all amenable to this mode of pro- pagation." Rose-cuttings taken off in summer with a heel of the old wood root freely in damp sphagnum moss, or in bottles of rain-water. Many of the rare old species, such as jR. rugosa and others, may be readily increased by means of root-cuttings. A few years ago Mr Shirley Hibberd published a method of raising Roses on their own roots from eyes, which are cut from THE ROSE, POME, AND DRUPE FAMILY. 501 the shoots exactly as if for budding, except that more wood is cut with the eyes. The leaves of the bud should be left on, and the buds inserted just below the surface of a well-drained cutting - pan, surfaced with sand (see fig.) Place them in a close shady case, and sprin- kle the leaves once or twice a-day with a fine- rosed watering-pot or syringe. They callus and root in about three weeks, and grow away freely, if carefully pot- ted off and placed in a Bud-cutting of Rose. close frame until well established. In the case of new or rare varieties, where a whole shoot cannot be spared as a cutting, this plan is useful and safe. Layering is a very certain method of obtaining Roses on their own roots. Partially-ripened shoots may be tongued, and laid in the earth or in pots, in sandy soil, about mid- summer, and will become sufficiently rooted to be separated and planted out by the autumn or spring, according to the soil, situation, and season. The following are the types or species from which the more popular sections of garden Roses have originated : — PROVENCE OR CABBAGE, Moss, .... FRENCH, ... . HYBRID CHINA, . HYBRID BOURBON. — The intercrossing R. gallica WHITE, DAMASK, AUSTRIAN BRIER, DOUBLE YELLOW, SWEET-BRIER, SCOTCH, AYRSHIRE, MULTIFLORA, EVERGREEN, , BOURSAULT, BANKSIAN, MACARTNEY, MUSK, . (- R. centifolid), (— R. ii muscosd) (= R. gallica), ( — R. indica hybridd) , Roses in this section , R. centifolia, and the ( = Rosa alba), ( = R. damascena), ( - R. lutea), ( = R. sulphured), (= R. rubiginosd), ( — R. spinosissima), CLIMBING ROSES. (= R. arvensis), (- R. nmltifiora), ( — R. sempervirens) , (= R. alpind), ( — R. Banksicz), (- R. bracteata), ( — R. moschatd)) Caucusus, 1596. Southern Europe, 1596. China, 1789. are hybrids obtained by Bourbon Rose. Southern Europe, 1597. Syria, 1573. Germany, 1596. Levant, 1629. Britain. N. Britain. Britain. China, S. Europe, S. Europe, China, China. (?) Bombay, 1822. 1629. 1683. 1807. 1596. 5O2 GENERAL REVIEW. Herbert, in alluding to the origin of the florists' varieties or races of cultivated Roses, as long ago as 1837, observes (see 1 Herb. Am.,' p. 362) : "In the lovely genus Rosa I believe little has been done, except by accident and the necessary conse- quences of cultivation (see p. 95) and the approximation of species in gardens. The first decided original cross that we know was brought by Fraser from America, where it had been raised between the Musk Cluster and the ever-blowing Chinese, probably by accident, and having been sold to M. Noisette, it has been made to bear his name, and being more fertile in France than in this country, it has become the parent of an extensive family of beautiful varieties. From this plant Mr Smith (of Surbiton) raised by impregnation with the yellowish Indian Rose a variety of some merit, but not a good flowerer under general circumstances ; and Rosa ruga is understood to have been raised in Italy from the Ayrshire Rose, by the pollen of the Chinese odorata, but the fact is not authenticated ; and, if I am rightly informed, the great variety of cultivated Roses is owing rather to accidental than artificial admixture." The Rose has been described by M. Rouillard in the ' Jour- nal de la Societe Imperiale et Centrale d'Horticulture,' vii. 480, as one of the most complete and glorious triumphs of the French florists ; and, without a doubt, until very recently we have imported all our new Roses from French raisers. The rosarian's heart has been gladdened over and over again by the productions of Descemet, Dupont, Cartier, Ecoffe, Desprez, Hardi, Vibert, Laffay, Verdier, Partemer, Margottin, Fontaine, Ducher, Lacharme, and many others, whose names are familiar wherever Roses are grown. Our own rosarians now, however, have a better opinion of our climate, and raise thousands of seedlings annually. Among those who have been successful in raising Roses in this country we may name Mr W. Paul, Messrs George Paul & Son, Mr Bennet, Messrs Cranston, Mr T. Laxton, Mr Ingram, Messrs J. Veitch, and others. From the ' Garden,' 1876, p. 149, we learn the following interesting details as to the parentage of English-raised Roses : — " In 1860 a batch of seedlings was in existence at Cheshunt, some the produce of seed obtained by hybridising General Jacqueminot (H.P.) with the Hybrid Chinese Rose of that name. Two were sufficiently good to have been numbered, and proved to be respectively No. 8, Beauty of Waltham (Wil- liam Paul), and No. 12, Lord Clyde (Paul & Son), sent out respectively by these two firms. The careful watching of the unbloomed seedlings left at Cheshunt proved interesting, and of these some were good, but did not survive. In 1865 Duke THE ROSE, POME, AND DRUPE FAMILY. 503 of Edinburgh (H.P.) first flowered, a brilliant crimson Rose of extraordinary beauty, and one of which thousands were sent out in 1868 ; indeed, the annual sale of this Rose has been the largest of any kind except Gloire de Dijon, General Jacque- minot, and Marechal Niel. During the hot summer of 1870 Roses ripened seed freely, and amongst others Duke of Edin- burgh proved a prolific parent. Some large beds of seed of this and of other leading sorts were sown in the spring of 1871. From these several Duke of Edinburgh seedlings were selected different from their parent, and amongst others Reynolds Hole (H.P.), now a general favourite; Sultan of Zanzibar, a deep crimson variety of good habit ; and a very vigorous and very double Rose, which after being tested for five years has proved to be one of the best autumnal varieties yet produced : this was exhibited at Nottingham, under the name of Dr Hooker ; and The Shah, a Rose which gained fresh laurels last summer — all these have been deemed worthy of distribution. A third generation of Duke of Edinburgh seedlings from Reynolds Hole are now under trial, and may next season prove interest- ing. From Madame Victor Verdier has been produced a seedling with thorny wood, which, when shown last summer as Duke of Connaught, was generally admired, representing, as it does, a steady march towards scarlet. Lastly, amongst seedlings raised at Cheshunt comes Tea Cheshunt Hybrid. Besides the beds of seed sown, the contents of a few choice pods were raised in pots, and amongst them a few seeds of Madame de Tartas (Tea), a bush plant of which grew beneath an overhanging roof-trained plant of Prince Camille de Rohan. The result was a singularly vigorous young seedling, showing clear traces in its leaves of its Tea Rose parentage. Without waiting for its flowering two plants of it were budded; they did not bloom the first season, but furnished shoots some 6 ft. long, which repaid the venture the ensuing year by giving two long flower-clad rods of a most distinct Rose, which by 1873 was sufficiently tested to be sent out. It was .named Cheshunt Hybrid, a name which denotes both its birthplace and charac- ter. It has won for itself a good report, and, owing to its gen- eral good qualities, will doubtless have before it, like Gloire de Dijon, a long career. Many other seedlings are under trial, and some, as John Bright, have been favourably noticed. Of Mr Laxton's seedlings intrusted to Messrs Paul & Son's care to distribute, Annie Laxton perhaps holds the first place ; like Edouard Morren, it is a seedling from Jules Margottin. In Emily Laxton, to which a certificate was awarded last season, we have one of the most promising Roses in the section to 504 GENERAL REVIEW. which it belongs. Prince of Wales (Laxton) is very distinct, but lacks vigour. Princess Louise, a variety obtained purposely for gaining the prize for a white seedling Rose which for some years appeared in the schedule of the York gala, is between Mrs Rivers and Madame Vidot, and is, singularly enough, one of the freest-flowering true hybrid perpetual Roses we possess. It may not be out of place to state that M. Lacharme, starting with the white hybrid perpetual Louise Darzens, has gone on bringing forward an increasingly beautiful series of white hybrid perpetual Roses, among which may be named Boule de Neige and Perle des Blanches. M. Guillot Pere has also followed a strain in the same way, beginning with Victor Verdier, Comtesse d'Ox- ford, and others of similar character." The beautiful climbing Devoniensis was raised by Mr George Foster of Oatland, Devonport, and is a seedling from Yellow China, fertilised with pollen from Yellow Noisette Elinthii. Mr Pince gave fifty guineas for it, and sent it out by the thousand, and even now it is one of the best of all climbing Roses. Rubus (Raspberries and Blackberries]. — A well-known genus of, for the most part, hardy plants, natives of Europe and America. The British Rubi are well known to botanists, and owing to natural cross-breeding, the forms of these are so variable and numerous that it is next to impossible to define species with certainty. The Raspberry (R. idceus) and the Blackberry (R. fruticosus) are the most useful for their fruits, and numerous improved or selected seedling forms of the latter are largely grown in America, and are well worth culture in our gardens here at home. Some of the ornamental species are very beau- tiful. R. biflorus, or whitewashed Bramble, is very distinct* its stems being white ; hence its popular name. It bears yellow Raspberry-like- fruits of tolerably good flavour. Raspberries are readily multiplied by division ; and it is curious as an example of a herbaceous shrub, if one may be allowed the term, its woody stems dying down annually. Seeds germinate readily, and should be sown as soon as ripe. Blackberries root freely from layers ; indeed the points of the shoots naturally take root wherever they touch the earth. Both Raspberries and Black- berries may be increased readily by root-cuttings. Dig up the plants to be propagated late in autumn, with all the roots that can be .secured. Cut the roots into pieces about two inches long, and place them in alternate layers with sand or fine moss in a box. Place the box in a cool cellar to prevent growth ; keep the sand or moss moderately damp. Early in spring the cut- tings will have well-developed buds. Plant them out in drills THE ROSE, POME, AND DRUPE FAMILY. 505 in rich ground two inches deep. If well cultivated, they will make good plants by autumn. An interesting account of cross-bred and seedling Raspberries, accidentally raised by Mr Thomas Rivers between the " Black Raspberry" and the Ohio Raspberry, which is a seedling variety of the Blackcap (Rubus ocddentalis\ is given in the ' Gardeners' Chronicle/ 1867, p. 516, 517. From selected seed of these cross- breds, hundreds of plants were raised, and these, besides vary- ing much in habit and vigour, bore red summer Raspberries ; red, pink, flesh-coloured, and white autumnal sorts ; and yellow summer and autumnal varieties, and small-berried black autumn Raspberries of enormous growth. In the 'London Journal of Botany,' 1873, p. 108, is a very interesting paper on the origin of Rubus idceus or common Raspberry, by M. F. W. C. Areschoug. This botanist states his reasons for believing that this plant has descended from some simple-leaved species, native of Japan, which has spread eastward over North America, and thence to Europe. From the same paper we learn that R. pseudo-cczsius and R. pseudo- idteus are real hybrids, produced between R. idaus and R. ccesius. Mr J. Anderson-Henry has raised hybrids between R. biflorus and R. idczus, the last-named being the seed-parent, but the seeds so obtained failed to vegetate (see p. 165). One of the most handsome ornamental-flowering species is R. odoratus, which grows 3 — 4 feet in height, and bears large, bright, pink, Rose-like flowers among its deep trilobed leaves. It was brought from North America in 1739 (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 323). Rubus arcticus, or Dwarf Bramble, is a charming little creep- ing Alpine shrub, found in Europe and North America. It has ternate leaves, bright rosy flowers, the size of a silver six- pence, and is little over a foot in height. Its fruit is used in jellies and conserves in Sweden, and is said to be delicious (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 132). Spiraea. — A well-known genus of herbaceous plants and shrubs, principally natives of the temperate parts of the world, some of the most beautiful species coming from China, Japan, North India ; two species — S. ulmaria, or " Meadow-sweet," and S. filipendula, or " Dropwort" — are natives of this country. S. palmetto,, S. japonica, S. venusta, S. aruncus, and others, are well-known perennial herbaceous species; while S. Fortunei, S. prunifolia, S. bella, S. tomentosa, S. Lindleyana, and others, are beautiful shrubby kinds. The first-named group may be propagated by seeds sown in pans in a cool frame, or by careful division in the autumn or spring. Herbaceous cuttings of the 506 GENERAL REVIEW. shrubby species root tolerably well in a close case, and layers are also successful. Spircea (Exocordd) grandiflora is a handsome shrubby species, rather difficult to propagate even from herbaceous cuttings. The readiest way to multiply this species is to graft cuttings of the partially-hardened wood on thick pieces of its own roots, just as is commonly done in the case of Wisterias, Tecomas, Petraea, Ipomaeas, Dammaras, Keteleeria Fortunei, and many other rare and beautiful shrubs or trees from which fertile seeds are not procurable for the time being. Grafting is best performed in a close frame or case in a genial temperature of about 60°. If this method is adopted we may soon hope to see this beauti- ful plant, and many other of the shrubby Spiraeas, more plenti- ful in our gardens. Many hybrid varieties of Spiraea have been raised by Mr Willison of Whitby, S. palmata being used as the seed-bearing plant, crossed with S. japonica. Most of these hybrid plants have pinnate leaves, and white, pink, flesh-coloured, or rosy- tinted flowers. THE CLEMATIS, PEONY, AND ANEMONE FAMILY (RanunculacecB). A well-known and widely-distributed natural order of plants, found in most temperate countries, and represented in our gardens by many beautiful species and varieties of Anemone, Clematis, Ranunculus, Hepatica, Trollius, Hellebore, Aquilegia, Delphinium, and Peony; and in our fields and ditches by "Buttercups" or wild species of Ranunculus. The flowers generally in this family resemble the flowers of some species of Rosaceae in form, and in having numerous stamens and clustered fruits, something like those of Blackberries ere they become ripe and succulent. The number of the carpels varies consider- ably, from one to three as in the Peony, to twenty or thirty as in the case of Ranunculus. All the species are easily fertilised artificially, although, from the excessive number of stamens, some little care and skill must be exercised in emasculating the female or seed-bearing flower. The artificial improvements made in this order are numerous — beautiful forms of Clematis, Peony, Delphinium, Anemone, Hellebore, Ranunculus, and Hepatica — but a vast field is still open to the intelligent hybrid- iser, who may, by blending the forms already accidentally, culturally, or designedly obtained, with pure and distinct species of their respective or other closely-related genera, fix new and THE CLEMATIS, PEONY, AND ANEMONE FAMILY. 507 beautiful races of some of our most popular and useful hardy and half-hardy flowers. It may be well to bear in mind that nearly all the plants in this order are acrid, and often danger- ously poisonous, especially Aconites, Hellebores, &c. Aconitum (Monk's-hood). — A genus of Ranunculaceous plants, natives of Europe, North America, and North Asia, and repre- sented in cultivation by A. napellus, a poisonous species, its roots having on many occasions been mistaken for those of Horse-radish. A.ferox is used in North India as a poison for arrows — the poison, which is obtained from the roots, being of remarkable virulence and activity when infused into the blood. Readily multiplied from seed or by division. Anemone. — A very attractive group of hardy, tuberous-rooted, herbaceous plants, natives of southern and temperate Europe, America, North India, and Japan. One species, A. nemorosa, " Wood Anemone," is native, and might possibly be much im- proved by crossing it with some of the more showy kinds from the Mediterranean region. All are readily propagated by care- ful division of the roots or tubers in the autumn, replanting them in a nursery bed or border in a rich, sandy, and well-drained soil. A. japonica and its varieties may be quickly increased to almost any extent by root - cuttings planted in light sandy soil, and placed in a close cool frame, or on a very slight bottom-heat not above 60°. Possibly A. vitifolia and other allied species may also be increased in this manner, and certainly this re- mark applies to all the tuberous-rooted kinds, such as A. blanda, A. alpina, A.fulgens, A. coronaria, and others. The florists' Anemones are varieties of A. coronaria and A. stellata (A. hor- tensis] (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 123). A. narcissiflora is a very chaste white-flowered species ; and A. japonica, with its seminal varieties or " sports," is a very noble hardy plant. A. blanda and A. apennina are beautiful spring-blooming kinds, bearing light -blue flowers, both easily propagated by cutting up the fleshy tubers. By crossing the spring - flowering kinds with the autumn bloomers, an intermediate race might possibly be obtained. New florists' varieties are readily obtained by sav- ing seeds from a bed of good sorts, which should be sown as soon as ripe in a cold pit or frame ; or they may be sown in a warm, sheltered, sandy border, and allowed to remain until they bloom. Mr Gordon raised numerous hybrid Anemones twenty or thirty years ago in the Chiswick garden between A. japonica and the Himalayan A. vitifolia, which were crossed, recipro- cally; and while some beautiful seedlings resulted from the union when A. japonica was made the female or seed-bearing 5O8 GENERAL REVIEW. parent, the reverse was the case when pollen from A. japonica was used to fertilise A. vitifolia. The Hepaticas are referred to the last-named genus, and are very beautiful spring-flowering plants. H. triloba is the plant so often met with in cottage gardens, and its seminal varieties are white, rose-coloured, blue, lilac, or purple. These plants are dwarf and very profuse bloomers, and might perhaps be yet further improved by crossing the single-flowered varieties with some of the larger-flowered spring-blooming Anemones. H. angulosa is the only other species, and of this there are only two varieties, differing mainly in the size of their flowers, which are of a delicate lilac colour. They are readily propagated either by division or by seed, as in Anemone. Aquilegia (Columbines}. — A genus of American, European, or Asiatic plants of elegant habit, bearing blue and white, purple, scarlet, or yellow flowers. A. vulgar is is variable in colour (as, indeed, are nearly all the species), and is a native of this country. A. aurea, an American plant, bears showy, long-spurred, yellow flowers. A. glandulosa is one of the finest, having large blue and white flowers, this having been intro- duced from Siberia in 1822. Most of the species are natives of Siberia and the Altaian Mountains. They are readily pro- pagated either by division or by seed, which is freely produced. A. canadensis is distinct, bearing scarlet and yellow flowers; and this might give a permanent race if crossed with M. blanda, M. glandulosa, or some of the finest seminal forms of A. vul- garis. These flowers are quite hardy, and so distinct in form that one would like to see them further improved, either by seminal variation and selection or by carefully hybridising the finest species and varieties. Even in a state of nature these plants vary much in the size and colour of their flowers, and it is probable that there are but few true species among them. Aquilegia hybrida is a party-coloured seminal form, said to have accidentally originated in considerable quantities among seed- lings of A. canadensis, and may possibly be a hybrid between the last-named species and A. vulgaris. The colour of its flowers is purple and white, with bluish spurs. M. Lemaire mentions a case in which a seedling plant, very nearly resem- bling A. blanda, was produced in the garden of M. Verschaf- felt, presumably by the accidental intercrossing of A. leptoceras with a variety of A. vulgar ts. Seed should be sown on a warm sunny border in autumn or as soon as ripe. Sow thinly, so that the young plants do not overcrowd each other, and most of them will then flower either the first or second season. Gaertner remarks that the seeds obtainable by fertilising A. atropurpurea THE CLEMATIS, PEONY, AND ANEMONE FAMILY. 509 with A. canadensis, A. vulgaris. and A. glandulosa, are of vari- able degrees of perfection and number. Clematis. — A very graceful group of climbing, herbaceous, or shrubby flowering plants, which, thanks to the intelligence and perseverance of hybridisers, bids fair to become one of the most popular in our gardens. The species are found through- out Europe, and a few are indigenous to America, China, and New Zealand, while a few more are tropical. The herbaceous section may be propagated by careful division in the spring, just before they commence to grow, or herbaceous cuttings may be rooted with care on a gentle bottom-heat protected from drought by a bell-glass or cloche. The shrubby kinds may be propa- gated very readily by herbaceous cuttings made in heat, or the short laterals may be taken off and rooted under a cloche after the base has commenced to harden. Examine the roots very carefully, and if you can cut off an eye with the least bit of root attached to it, put it into heat, and by next autumn you will have a capital plant for outdoor planting. All \h& Jackmannii section will easily multiply in this way. The scandent or climbing kinds are propagated from layers of the current year's shoots in autumn, or by grafting on the roots of the commoner kinds. The roots should be introduced into a heated case a few days before they are required for use, so as to vivify them, as these should always be in a more quickened state than the scions to insure a maximum amount of success. The opera- tion is best performed in May; but clever operators do not much mind at what season they propagate in this way. Scions should be formed of the current year's growth, taking care to leave three or four leaves upon them. Clean pieces of root, three or four inches in length, are best, with plenty of fresh, young, growing fibres at the end. Cleft or splice grafting are alike successful, taking care to make clean cuts, after which tie carefully, anoint with liquid wax or cold mastic, and pot in light rich earth, and then place the pots and grafts in a close case on a gentle bottom-heat. After the grafts have taken, gradually harden off. The common blue Spanish Cle- matis forms good stocks, and these are generally attainable in most gardens. Where seedlings are grown, these, if found to be worthless as new varieties, may either be grafted or in- arched with good known varieties. Seed may be readily ob- tained by carefully crossing varieties, or varieties with species, in which way some striking results might doubtless be obtained. The Clematis is easily propagated by saving seed from the best of the new hybrids, some of which produce fertile seeds very freely. The following are good seed - parents : C. " Albert 5IO GENERAL REVIEW. Victor," " Lady Londesborough," " Mrs J. Bateman," " Lord Londesborough," " Miss Bateman," Standishii, azurea grandi- flora, Jaekmannii, viticella, lanuginosa, and others. Seeds sown in autumn as soon as ripe, in a warm pit on a slight bot- tom-heat, germinate the following spring. Seedlings flower the first or second year from seed. Gather the seed as soon as ripe in autumn, and either sow at once or keep it in a dry place until the spring. Sowing as soon as the seed is ripe is a good practice ; and for this purpose shallow boxes or pans of moist sandy earth are best. Sow thinly on the surface, and cover very lightly with fine soil, after which place the seed-pans in a warm pit or stove until the seeds vegetate, after which use great care in watering, and place them in a dry, airy, and sunny position near the glass. The seedlings may be potted as soon as fit to handle, and grown on to the flowering stage as quickly as possible. If any variety turns out to be a decided improve- ment, grafting is the best and quickest way of multiplication. A glance at what has been effected in this genus will be inter- esting to the cultivator or hybridiser, and also enable him to avoid doing work that has been done before. One of the oldest of all known hybrid Clematis is C. Hendersonii, which is presumably the result of a cross effected in 1835 between the Spanish C. viticella and the Hungarian C. inte.gr if olia. The Japanese species appear to have varied very much in their native country under cultivation; but whether this had been brought about by culture, seminal reproduction and selection, or hybridisation, we cannot say; yet we know that M. von Siebold, the Japanese traveller, introduced several beautiful forms of C. patens, a plant also known as .C. car idea or C. azurea in books and gardens. In 1850 a seminal variety was raised by M. Tulon of Libourne, this being recorded in the ' Flore des Serres ' for the same year. One of the first hybrid- isers in this country who set out with a definite and intelligent object was Mr J. Anderson-Henry, who, in 1855, crossed C. patens (azurea grandiflord) with C. lanuginosa, a large and beautiful blue-flowered Japanese plant, the result being a large lavender-flowered variety named C. regin base of slipper and anthers enlarged. lity, and their hybrids are all fertile and disposed to fresh admixture; even the fruticose Cal- ceolarias unite with the herbaceous section or C. plantaginea (1826)— (see Herbert's 'Amaryllidacese,' p. 363, and 'Bot. Mag.,' t. 2805). C. arachnoidea (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 2874) has woolly or cobweb-like lanceolate leaves, and bears conspicuous panicles of bright purple flowers. C. rugosa (see 'Bot. Mag.,' t. 2523) is one of the progenitors of our dwarf, yellow, bedding race, and bears rather dense panicles of small golden flowers. The leaves are much netted, bright green above and tawny beneath (see also C. integrifolia, 'Bot. Reg.,' t. 744). C. corymbosa (see 'Bot. Mag.,' t. 2418) is one of the most showy of the Chilian species, and bears rather lax panicles of long-pocketed, orange-yellow flowers. I can remember seeing these long-flowered, slender- habited forms in cottage - windows fully twenty years ago. Other interesting old species may be found in Sweet's ' Flower Garden,' Paxton's ' Magazine of Botany,' and the ' Botanical Register' or Loddige's 'Cabinet.' C. pisacomcnsis (see 'Bot. 532 GENERAL REVIEW. Mag.,' t. 5677) is one of the finest of all the twenty-three species of this genus figured in the ' Botanical Magazine,' and it is so distinct in habit, and bears such a profusion of orange-red flowers, that it ought to be invaluable to the hybridiser. The flowers of this plant are similar in form to those of C. Pavonii, and appear to be protandrous in much the same way. Digitalis* (Foxgloves]. — A genus of erect-growing herbaceous biennials or perennials, principally natives of temperate coun- tries, and represented in our rocky dells and woodland hedges by D. purpurea, the Common Foxglove, a poisonous plant by the by, but a most stately and handsome one, nevertheless. A medicinal extract (digitaline) or infusion of the leaves is pre- pared from this plant, and is of value in delirium tremens, dropsy, and heart disease ; but the action of this medicine is so subtle that none but the most practised medical man should attempt to administer it. Several species are grown in gardens, including D. grandiflora, 'D. ferruginea, and D. lutea (see Parkinson's 'Paradisus,' p. 381, figs. 4, 5, 6). The white- flowered variety of the purple English Foxglove was known in Parkinson's time, since he describes it as being grown in gar- dens, and also says it is found wild along with the purple form. Although little appears to have been done in a systematic manner to improve the white and rosy-purple varieties of D. purpurea by cross-breeding, yet culture has worked some marked changes, and by hybridising with other species we may hope to obtain a race of seedlings of a good strain, the flowers of which, while rivalling those of the Gloxinia in purity of colour and diversity of markings, are borne on a much more noble and stately plant. Here is a good field for all lovers of handsome hardy flowers. In 1769 Koelreuter hybridised these plants, and obtained seedling hybrids, which reproduced themselves from seed. I cannot just now lay my hands on the records of these crosses, but I believe references to many of Koelreuter's papers are given in Herbert's ' Amaryllidaceae.' Among these hybrids are D. purpurascens, and a whole race of fertile hybrids between D. purpurea and D. Thapsi, D. fer- ruginea and D. ambigua, and D. purpurea and D. canariensis. A hybrid between D. purpurea and D. ambigua has been raised in the Paris Botanic Garden (Jardin des Plantes). Linaria (Toad -flax). — A group of annual or herbaceous perennial plants, natives of Africa, America, and Europe, and represented in England by the graceful little " Ivy-leaved Toad- flax" (L. Cymbalarid) and by the common L. vulgaris, of * See 'Digitalium Monographia, ' with descriptions of Foxgloves by Dr Lindley, and drawings by F. Bauer. THE SNAPDRAGON AND LIN ARIA FAMILY. 533 which regular -flowered, fine -spurred sports sometimes make their appearance, which it might be quite possible to perpet- uate. A race of these regular- flowered Linarias would be very curious and beautiful. L. spetiosa is often grown as a flower-garden annual, and L. triorjiithophora is a curious and beautiful plant, much grown in German gardens, but neglect- ed in this country. L. maroccana, a showy purple-flowered annual from Marocco (see 'Bot. Mag.,' t. 5983), and L. hetero- phylla, a whitish-flowered plant from the same locality (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 6041), well deserve attention. Hybridised with each other, or L. vulgaris, one might obtain a beautiful race of showy annuals. Nearly all the species of this genus are beautiful, and here is a good field for the intelligent hybridiser. L. vulgaris and L. purpurea have already given numerous hybrids, of which M. Naudin writes as follows (see ' Jour. Royal Hort. Soc.,' 1866, p. 6): "I observed in 1863 and 1864 the sixth and seventh generations of a hybrid which I have kept for several years, Linaria purpurea-vulgaris, both represented by some hundreds of individuals. A good number of these last reverted — some completely, the others partially — to the form of Z. vulgaris with yellow flowers; a small number to those of Z. purpurea with purple flowers. Others still more numerous inclined towards neither the one nor the other, but nevertheless did not resemble the hybrid of the first genera- tion. There were all possible kinds of variation — tall or dwarf stature, broad or narrow leaves, the corolla deformed in vari- ous ways, discoloured, or exhibiting unusual tints ; and out of all these combinations there did not result two individuals which were perfectly alike. It is very clear that we have to do here with irregular variation, which engenders only individu- alities, and that uniformity is not established between the descendants of hybrids, except on the condition that it resumes the normal livery of the parent species." Now here, as it seems to me, we have dissociated or unbalanced characteristics, partly due to the unison of the latent and evident characters of the parent species, and partly to cultivation. In some of these hybrids the characteristics of Z. purpurea predominate —that is to say, they either crush out, or at all events render latent, the characteristics of Z. vulgaris, while some- times the reverse of this is the case. Some of these hy- brids, however, are apparently more or less intermediate — that is to say, the mixed characters each to a certain extent hold their own, a sort of " split -the- difference " compromise being made between them ; but in no two cases is there any fixity of character — no tendency to form a permanent race. 534 GENERAL REVIEW. This state of things is common to nearly all hybrids, but fixity of character may be secured by crossing these hybrids with a third species or distinct hybrid of other parents, and, as we have already pointed out, this plan has repeatedly succeeded in- fixing the characters of hybrids and in forming distinct races of garden plants. The introduction of a third set of charac- teristics into hybrid plants gives them stability of character, just as three legs are necessary to a table. Mimulus (Musks and Monkey-flowers). — A small group of very showy garden perennials, represented by M. moschatus ("Common Musk"), M. luteus (see 'Bot. Mag.,' t. 1501), M. aurantiacus (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 354), M. cardinalis, an old scarlet species often cultivated along with Musk in cottage- windows, and M. repens (see 'Bot. Mag.,' t. 5423). Most of the species are American, and M. luteus and M. moschatus are quite hardy, and indeed naturalised in many parts of this country. The many variable forms of Mimulus cultivated in our gardens have been derived from M. luteus and M. auran- tiacus, fertilised with pollen of M. cardinalis ; more recently, however, a new and very handsome large-flowered race has been originated by crossing the varieties of M. luteus recipro- cally with M. luteus var. cupreus (see 'Bot. Mag.,' t. 5478), these forms being characterised by large orange-yellow flowers, boldly blotched with rich coppery brown. Nearly all the spe- cies of Mimulus cross with each other freely, and hybrids have been obtained between M. luteus and M. guttatus, M. auran- tiacus and M. puniceus ; while M. cardinalis, M. guttatus, M. luteus, and M. glutinosus are all susceptible of hybridism and cross-breeding. M. V. Lemoine and M. Ingelrelst of Nancy have much improved Mimuluses by cross-breeding, and Messrs E. G. Henderson & Sons have produced a very handsome strain of M. luteus and M. cupreus in this country. Mimulus moschatus Harrisoni is a beautiful hybrid between M. moscha- tus or Musk plant and M. maculatus or spotted Mimulus. It has the fragrance of Musk, with much larger red-spotted flowers. All the species are very easily propagated by seeds, or by dividing the underground stems. Every bit of the root of M. moschatus, M. luteus, and other species, will develop into plants if placed in moist sandy soil. Seeds grow freely treated like those of Calceolaria. In the * London Journal of Botany,' 1873, P- IOI> Mr Kitchener, F.L.S., has some interesting observations on the irritability of the flowers of Mimulus, from which we learn that Sprengel had previously noticed this proper motion (Sprengel's 'Anleitung Zur. Reuntniss. der Gewachse,' part i. p. 274). Mr Kitchener remarks in the THE SNAPDRAGON AND LINARIA FAMILY. 535 Journal above cited : " I am not aware that any connection has been noticed between the stigmatic movements of Musk and the necessity of insect fertilisation. Vaucher remarks that during the time of fecundation, M. luteus and M. glutinosus will, as he himself has tried, close at the slightest touch. The sensitiveness will be seen to play a useful part in fecundation. "I willtake the commonest species, M. moschatus, as a type. The flowers vary from erect in the bud to horizontal in the full-blown flower, but never hang downwards. Of the four stamens, the anterior, lower, and larger pair ripen after the posterior, upper, and shorter pair. Both pairs of anthers are held together by hairs, and the longitudinal slits of the anther open towards the lower lip, and away from the base of the flower. The style is closely pressed against the upper lip of the corolla, and its stigma has two large, flat, fan-shaped lobes. ' In a. very young bud these lobes are closed. In a hardly- opened bud the lobes are beginning to open, the lower one bending back against the style : at this time it is that the shorter stamens burst ; but, as they are much shorter than the style, the pollen cannot reach the stigma, and its course down the tube is facilitated by the, at that time, slanting position of the flower. In a just-opened flower the stigmas are fully open, parallel, and opposite to the lower lip of the corolla, its viscous surfaces being therefore both downwards ; the shorter anthers are nearly empty, and the longer ones only just beginning to split; the pistil is therefore synacmic with the shorter, and almost protogynous with respect to the longer stamens. " In a flower almost beginning to fade the longer stamens are still shedding their pollen, the shorter ones are withered, and the stigma be-pollened and in many cases closed. This closing may, moreover, be experimentally produced by touch- ing the stigmatic surface with a pencil, in which case the stigmas .will .close in about thirty seconds. In faded flowers, whether from contact or otherwise, the stigmatic surfaces have closed. " From these facts it will appear that self-fertilisation by the shorter stamens is impossible, and that self-fertilisation by the longer stamens is rendered improbable, (i) by their bursting late; (2) by the direction in which the anthers open; (3) by their not reaching as far as the stigmas, and, as being anterior, by being some slight distance from the upper lip ; (4) from the . probability that the stigmatic surfaces may, have been touched and closed before they burst at all. Pentstemon (Lady-gloves).— A group of favourite border or florists' flowers, and for the most part American, and readily 536 GENERAL REVIEW. propagated either from seeds or cuttings of the young growth, which may be struck readily in May or June in a cool frame, if covered with a hand- light. The cuttings should be inserted in a thin layer of sand. Some of the blue or purple flowered Californian species are very pretty. The florists' varieties of Pentstemon have been derived from P. gentianoides, a na- tive of Mexico ; and, according to son^e au- thors, it has been hy- bridised with P. Co- bcea and^P. Hartwegi. Seed germinates rea- dily sown in spring. Here again con- siderable improve- ment might possibly be effected by cross- ing the best of the new seedlings with P. Palmerii, P. hu- milis, or other of the recently - introduced Californian species. The best varieties of Pentstemon rival the tropical Gesneras in profusion of flowers and brilliant colouring; and our native Foxglove, a nobler plant than either, and more hardy withal, is comparatively an unknown plant in our gardens. If some intelligent florist would but take up the improvement of the Foxglove, D. pur- purea and its varieties would soon become one of the hand- somest of all hardy garden flowers. Veronica ( Veronicas or Speedwells}. — A large group of orna- mental plants, principally natives of Europe, New Zealand, and other temperate climes. They are naturally divided into two distinct groups, the herbaceous European section being Hybrid Pentstemons. THE SNAPDRAGON AND LINARIA FAMILY. 537 represented by V. spicata, while the shrubby kinds are prin- cipally from New Zealand — V. salicifolia, V. Hulkeana, and others, being frequently met with "in good gardens, where they flower throughout the winter in mild seasons. V. parvi- flora^ var. angustifolia, is a most graceful variety (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 5965), described by Dr Hooker as passing into V. salicifolia on one hand, and V. macrocarpa and V. ligustri- folia on the other. In describing this plant, the learned doctor remarks — " I have little doubt but these and other New Zea- land species hybridise extensively in their own country." In cultivation, numerous hybrids and seedlings have been raised by Mr Anderson-Henry and other intelligent amateurs. In the 'Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society,' 1873, p. 105, are the following notes on hybrid Veronicas from the pen of Mr Anderson-Henry : " Among the batch of seedlings from which I obtained V. Andersonii ( V. salicifolia (syn. V. Lind- leyana) x V. speciosd) came one which, to all appearance, was a reproduction of the male parent pure and simple ; and deem- ing it nothing else, I presented it to a friend, V. speriosa being then comparatively a new plant ; and he, when he flowered it, came to tell me that in flower it was very different to the true V. spetiosa, having much longer flower-spikes, the flowers being light crimson instead of dark purple. A plant of this hybrid has since afforded a further illustration of a somewhat similar result. Having obtained a suffruticose species of Veronica, under the name of V. Daubeneyiana, with light-bluish flowers, striate with pink lines in the way of V. fruticulosa, I crossed it on the last-mentioned hybrid ( V. salicifolio-speciosa), which be- came the seed-bearer. From this cross I raised two plants, both of which seemed alike in foliage and habit, and both so like the seed-bearer that I felt doubtful whether the cross had taken. One of these flowered during 1873 for the first time, and the singularity of its flowers drew my attention to it more particularly than before. It had, like the seed-parent, thick, fleshy, pyriform leaves, but rather smaller and more closely set on the stem ; and instead of being like it, cruciform, they were obliquely decussate, therein slightly approaching the male parent, a creeping Alpine species, whose prostrate stems show still more the deflected arrangement of the leaves. It was only on a close examination of the plant that the resemblance to the male V. Daubeneyiana could be observed. In fact, I looked upon it as another of the many failures I had had in my attempts to effect the inverse cross on it. When it at last bloomed, my hopes of having effected a partial cross, if I may use such , a term, were strengthened. Like V. Daubeneyiana, 538 GENERAL REVIEW. which has a spikelet with a few blooms, it came even short of it, having had only two flowers, and these much brighter in colour, and no nearer to the male than the hybrid female parent; but whether this is its true permanent character I dare not assert, as it bore no more than this one spikelet of two flowers. " In the first of the above instances the hybrid seemed, till it flowered, a repetition of the male parent; in the second, it seemed, till it bloomed, a repetition of the female parent, with such slight differences in the arrangement and slightly smaller size of the foliage as might occur in a purely normal seedling. In fact, seldom .have I ever seen two hybrids with so much of one parent, and so little of the other." V. Andersonii, one of the best and hardiest of all Veronicas, forming a free-blooming seaside shrub in nearly all parts of our coast, is a hybrid obtained by Mr Anderson-Henry in a batch which resulted from seeds of V. salicifolia fertilised with pollen of V. speriosa. Veronica Balfoiiriana is a hybrid between V. saxatilis and V. fruticulosa — and curiously enough, as related by the raiser, J. Anderson-Henry, Esq., it is not only fertile, but seeds more abundantly than either parent ; and the same gentleman ob- serves— "I find its self-sown seedlings to bear flowers of various shades of blue, violet, and red, some having actually larger, finer, and higher - coloured blooms than the parent bearing the seed, -and I am familiar with the same result in other plants" (see ' Gard. Chron.,' 1853, p. 534; or an article on " Practical Instructions for Hybridising," from the pen of J. Anderson-Henry, Esq.) THE POTATO AND NIGHTSHADE FAMILY (Solanacece). • A rather large group of herbaceous plants or shrubs, natives of most parts of the world, especially within the tropics, in which, Lindley remarks, the mass of the order exists in the form of the genera Solatium and Phy salts. They are repre- sented in our gardens by the following genera : Nicotiana (Tobacco), Datura (Thorn-apple), Brugmansia, Schizanthus, Salpiglossis, Petunia, Nierembergia, Lytium (Duke of Argyll's Tea-tree), Solandra, Brunsfelsia, Franciscea, Cestrum, Habro- thamnus, Fabiana, Physalis (Cape Gooseberry), Capsicum, Sola- num (Potato), Lycopersicum (Tomato). The last-named plant is a native of Peru, and, apart from its utility as a grateful escu- lent, it is interesting as an illustration of floral and fruit fasci- THE POTATO AND NIGHTSHADE FAMILY. 539 nation, hence the irregular nature of its scarlet ribbed fruits. Z. esculentum is the one generally cultivated for food, and L. cemsiforme and L. pyriforme are grown as ornamental plants. These are considered as distinct species by botanists ; but they cross readily with each other and with L. esculentum. An elegant variety, called the " Grape Tomato," was exhibited at South Kensington in 1875, and this was obtained by crossing the "Cherry-fruited Tomato" (L. cerasiforme) with " Hepper's Goliah," one of the best cultural forms of L. esculentum. It bears long clusters of fruit as large as blackbirds' eggs, and of a bright scarlet colour. The " New Greengage Tomato " is a beautiful yellow-fruited form of the last-named species, its fruits being about the size of pigeons' eggs, and of an excellent flavour. (Fqr a paper on the species and varieties of this esteemed fruit, see ' Trans. Hort. Soc.,' in. 342.) M. Naudin gives particular^ of some Petunia hybrids, raised by himself, in the ' Revue Horticole,' 1861, p. 396. Datura (Thorn- Apples). — A group of poisonous plants, prin- cipally annuals, and natives of the tropics. One species, how- ever, D. Stramonium, is a weed in this country. All are readily Ripe fruits of Datura Stramonium, L. a, Ripe seed enlarged. • multiplied from seeds, sown in the open air in spring. Nu- merous hybrid Daturas have been raised by M. Naudin (see 'Jour. Royal Hort. Soc.,' 1866, p. 2). "In 1862 M. Naudin made numerous crosses, all of them successful, between Datura lcevis,ferox, Stramonium, and quercifolia, four species perfectly distinct, between which there are no known (natural) interme- diates, and which, moreover, do not appear. susceptible of vari- ation. D. Stramonium, Icevis, and ferox belong to the white- 540 GENERAL REVIEW. flowered group, while D. tatula, querrifolia, and some others, bear purple flowers. D. l. tatula, which is the most perfect type of the violet group. The fruit was of all sizes, from that of a filbert to that of a large walnut, and some of them were very spiny, * In hybrid Hellebores the same variable distribution of colouring mat- ter is observable, also in the common Balsam ; and, as gardeners are well aware, red or crimson varieties of Primula sinensis may be distinguished from white-flowered plants by the colour of the petioles. 542 GENERAL REVIEW. while others were covered with tubercles, or almost destitute of spines : certain individuals bore fruit at the first fork, while others were fertile only towards the last, and finally there were some which set only a single fruit. On the whole, the 45 plants of the two sets constituted, so to speak, as many indi- vidual varieties as if, the bond which ought to unite them to the specific types being broken, their vegetation had wandered in every direction." The shrubby or arboreous section of Datura is now referred to Brugmansia, and, seeing what diverse results have been attained by intercrossing the annual species, it would be inter- esting to know what we may expect by intercrossing such noble plants as Brugmansia arborea, B. suaveolens, B. arbuscula, B. floribunda, B. lutea, B. sanguined, and other kinds. Franciscea (Francisceas). — A small group of purple or lilac flowered Brazilian shrubs, closely allied to Brunsfelsia, and re- presented in our gardens by F. calycina, F. confertifolia, and one or two other species. They are readily propagated by cuttings of the young growth, inserted in a humid bottom-heat in a close case. Some of the new varieties succeed well grafted on cuttings of the common free-growing kinds as stocks, and this operation is best performed in the spring in a close-heated propagating case. Side splice-grafting is the best method. Seeds are rarely produced unless the flowers are carefully cross- fertilised. Messrs E. G. Henderson have distributed the fol- lowing free-blooming hybrids : — Franciscea rosea perfecta. — A beautiful hybrid variety in the large-flowered evergreen group intermediate between F. Lindeni and F. eximia, being a great improvement upon both in its much more stately growth and its much finer, laurel-like, oblong, lanceolate leaves, tinted with bronzy red in their first expansion, passing into a bright glossy verdure, and finally merging into a rich green. Its large and finely-formed well-expanded flowers, with converging lobes, are from two to three inches in width, of a rich deep lilac flushed with rose. Franciscea magnified. — This is intermediate between F. eximia and F. calycina. Its comparatively large, laurel-like, oblong, lanceolate, wavy-margined leaves partake of the latter in habit, whilst the remarkably large, rich, lilac, salver-shaped blossoms assimilate to the former, but, being nearly double the size of F. eximia in bloom, prove the greater beauty of the plant. Franciscea violacea grandiflora. — This is an equally fine hybrid production between F. calycina and F. laiirifolia, forming a very vigorous evergreen-leaved stove shrub, with elliptically oblong leaves less wavy or glossy than the preceding THE POTATO AND NIGHTSHADE FAMILY. 543 one, but equally free and robust in growth, producing its large, rich, dark, purplish-lilac, salver-shaped flowers in the early spring and summer months. Nicotiana (Tobacco], — The Tobacco of commerce is derived from several species of sticky - leaved herbaceous plants or annuals, mostly natives of tropical America and Eastern Asia, Among those most generally cultivated, that which furnishes the largest quantity of "weed" is N. tabacum, or JV. vir- ginica as it is also called, this being largely cultivated in the Southern American States, and also in China, Holland, Ger- many, and S. France, Italy, and Spain. N. rustica, a dwarfer and hardier species, is grown in the East Indian islands, and furnishes the Latakia and Turkish Tobacco of commerce. It is dwarfer, and grows and ripens more quickly, than the large- leaved kind. There are many other species, and in this country the large-leaved kinds have lately been much used in subtropical gardening. All the species are cultivated as annuals, and are most readily propagated by seeds sown in a gentle heat in the spring. Many of the species may be hybridised with facility, as demonstrated by Gaertner and others. N. rustica, fertilised by pollen of N. paniculata, was made to produce two kinds of seeds by " dusting half the stigma with the strange pollen before the expansion of the flower, and the remainder after a lapse of twenty-four hours ; and the conditions of the experi- ment were varied until the pure type seeds of N* rustica vanished entirely, and merely the hybrid or bastard type seeds made their appearance." So susceptible, indeed, are the Tobac- cos to hybridism, that even three kinds of seeds have been produced by the same plant when fertilised by the pollen of two other species. Here again Gaertner is the experimenter. N. paniculata was successively fertilised with pollen of N. quadri- valvis and N. Langsdorfii, and from the seeds produced by this mixed union three proved to be the pure species (JV. pani- culata), four the hybrid, N. paniculato-Langsdorjii, and a single individual N. paniculato-quadrivalvis. Gaertner gives full de- tails in his work, from which we learn that pollen of N. Langs- dorfii will fertilise the following species, but the seeds are pro- duced in a decreasing ratio in the order named : N. paniculata, N. vincafoKa, N. suaveolens, N. glauca, and N. rustica^ though not susceptible itself of being fecundated by these species, neither by N. chinensis, N. macrophylla, W. quadrivalvis, and N. glutinosa. Gaertner, who experimented largely with the species of this genus, remarks that the want of perfect recipro- city of sexual force, even in the most nearly allied species, shows that the male and female procreative energy do not 544 GENERAL REVIEW. keep an equal pace with each other, though this difference has no influence on the typical form of the hybrids which arise from the union. Still, the shorter or longer period necessary for the transformation of one pure species into another by hybrid fecundation seems to depend in some measure on this difference. When two species, such as Nicotiana rustica and glutinosa, do not admit of union with one another, or, as N. paniculata and tabacum, only of imperfect union, the union may be ac- complished sometimes by a third species which stands in close elective affinity with either of the first. Thus Nicotiana rustico- paniculata is completely fructified by the pollen of ghitinosa, as also paniculate - rustica by that of tabacum. This affinity is called by the author compensating or mediate affinity. The pecularity in these unions is, that the consequent hybrids are generally so like the type of the compensating species that they can be considered merely as varieties of this latter which furnished the fecundating pollen, and are for the most part perfectly barren. Nierembergia. — A small but elegant-habited genus of half- hardy American annuals or perennials, easily propagated from spring-sown seeds. N. gracilis, N. rivularis, and others, are well known in gardens. N. gracilis picta is a hybrid and improvement upon N. gracilis, being intermediate between that and N. frutescens, having the green branching and profuse-flowering habit of the former, with a stronger constitution ; the flowers of a blue tint margined with white. Petunia (Petunias). — A small ornamental genus of South American plants, represented in our greenhouses by P. violacea, a rather elegant-habited purple-flowered plant, and P. nyctagini- flora (see * Bot. Mag.,' t. 2552), a white-flowered species having large, oblong, opposite, viscid leaves. Seeds grow readily sown in heat like Calceolarias, and good varieties may be perpetuated by cuttings. Both plants hybridise very freely, and their off- spring are characterised by a wonderful variability in habit and colour.. M. Naudin (see 'Jour. Royal Hort. Soc.,' 1866, p. 6) remarks that these two species are perfectly well defined, neither varying from seed, but intercrossing easily and yielding hybrids as fertile as themselves. " In the first generation all the hybrids are alike ; in the second (see Da- tura}, they vary in the most remarkable degree, some revert- ing to the white species, others to the purple, and a large residue showing all the shades between the two. When these varieties are fecundated artificially by each other, as is the THE POTATO AND NIGHTSHADE FAMILY. 545 practice of some florists, we obtain a third generation still more party-coloured ; and continuing the process, we arrive at extreme variations, sometimes at monsters, which the pre- vailing fashion regards as so many marks of perfection. The essential point is that these varieties are purely individual and without any natural persistence. Their seeds when sown yield new forms, which have no greater resemblance amongst each other than they have to the plants which pro- duced them." Solanum. — A large genus of annual or perennial plants, natives of Europe and Asia, but principally of tropical America, whence we obtain the Potato. The fruit of the Egg-plant, S. ovigerum, is sometimes cooked as a vegetable, and is a tropical annual easily raised from seed sown in heat in the spring. S. (Ly coper sicuni) esculentum is the Tomato, or Love-apple, and is now becoming popular as a wholesome esculent in this country. It also is an annual plant from South America, and is raised from seeds in heat like the last. There are numerous seminal varieties which have been raised in America, as well as in this country. Cuttings taken off in summer (July or August) root freely in sandy soil or sawdust in bottom-heat, and if potted in loam, leaf-mould, and sand, and placed on a sunny shelf in a Pine-pit or vinery, will bear fruit very early in the spring. Many species are now extensively grown in gar- dens for sub-tropical gardening, and those which bear fruit may be readily propagated by sowing the seeds in heat. Cut- tings obtained from old plants potted in autumn, and placed in heat, strike readily ; and the fleshy roots of nearly all the varie- ties and species, cut into lengths of about an inch, and sown in pans of light earth, and placed on a gentle bottom-heat of 70° to 80°, root freely, develop latent buds, and soon form plants. The shrubby kinds — as S. pseudo-capsicum, S. capsicas- trum, and their numerous varieties — are readily propagated by seeds sown in the spring (February) in heat, after which the young plants may be plunged out in the open border to make their growth, being taken up again in September. Cuttings of old plants, headed down and placed in heat, also root freely in a heated case, or placed on a gentle bottom-heat and covered with a bell-glass. The variegated form of S. capsicastrum may be grafted on S. pseudo-capsicum as a stock ; herbaceous scions, with two or three leaves,, take well, and the operation is best conducted in a close heated case. In 1874 Messrs E. G. Hen- derson & Sons introduced a new conical-fruited variety, which originated by chance in a batch of seedlings, and yet comes true from seed. It is quite as beautiful as the large round- 2 M 54-6 GENERAL REVIEW. fruited dwarf varieties (WeatherilPs strain) sent out previously by Mr B. S. Williams. The Potato (Solatium tuberosuni) is easily raised from seed ; and any variety which grows and flowers freely may be selected as the seed-bearing plant, but preference should always be given to those kinds which produce good, well-formed tubers, with shallow eyes, and which are floury and delicate in flavour when cooked. Let the same qualities characterise the pollen-bearing parent. Mr Fenn, who has raised numerous fine seedling Potatoes, recommends the selection of a vigorous pollen-parent in order to secure good-constitutioned offspring; and he re- moves the anthers from the seed-bearing plant in the evening rather late, and applies the pollen from a flower of the selected pollen-parent in the morning. The Potato is protogynous — that is, it develops its stigma before the anthers of the same flower discharge their pollen ; so that by adopting Mr Fenn's method there is little danger of the stigma becoming fertilised, except artificially. When the Potato-apples or fruits are ripe, cut them open, and dry the seeds in a cloth, as recommended for Melons. February is the best time for sowing the seeds in pans of rich earth, giving them the assistance of a little bottom- heat. When the young plants are large enough to handle, prick them off on to a common dung-bed, covered with three to four inches of rich soil, and protected with a frame. Treated in this way, fair-sized sets may be obtained the second year from seed. Another plan is to prick off the seedlings into pans or boxes, and plant them out in May in trenches, so that they can be sheltered with mats or straw frames in cold or frosty weather. It is best to try each new variety a year or two after good tubers are obtained before discarding it alto- gether. Potatoes are readily propagated by dividing the tubers so as to have an eye or bud to each portion, a plan which suc- ceeds well, especially with the robust-growing American varie- ties. Another plan of propagating is to layer the haulm in light rich soil by pegging, and the stems so treated root readily, and throw out numerous tubers. If this operation is carefully performed early in the season, the supply of tubers of new or select varieties for seed purposes can be largely increased. By cutting the tubers up carefully into single-eyed sets very large crops have been obtained from, say, one pound of seed Pota- toes— some of the American varieties, as Snowflake, Eureka, and others, being remarkably prolific. In 1875, Mr Pink, gardener at Lees Court, Faversham, dug upwards of 647 Ib. of Eureka from i Ib. of seed, and 372^ Ib. of Snowflake from a like amount. Some years ago several Potato-growers THE POTATO AND NIGHTSHADE FAMILY. 547 asserted that it was possible to obtain Potato hybrids by graft- ing the tubers of two distinct varieties together. At the time this was thought by some eminent botanists and horticulturists to be impossible \ but when we note the changes effected in the growth of the stock by buds and grafts worked on it in the case of Laburnum, Jasminum, Abutilon, and Castanea (see p. 60), to say nothing of the undisputed influence of the stock on the scion, one can the more readily believe that graft hybrids in the case of the Potato are not only possible, but highly probable, although one would also expect the same thing to occur in the case of Dahlias and Hollyhocks, which are not unfrequently grafted in a similar manner. Mr Taylor, of Fencote, states that the variety called York- shire Hero was raised by Mr Almond, by grafting eyes of the Lapstone kidney into an Ashtop kidney, and that he himself has raised Yorkshire Hybrid and others by a similar process. The following is his mode of operation : Two sound Potatoes of different varieties, whose good qualities it is desired to blend, are selected. From one of them all the eyes are first to be cut out with a sharp knife, and then a piece of the tuber in the form of a wedge or some other convenient shape, this being replaced by a scion of similar shape from the other tuber : the scion should have a good eye or two, nicely sprouted, about half an inch long. The two must be tied firmly together with a piece of bast or string, a couple of lady's hair-pins being first run clean through both Potatoes to prevent the tie from slip- ping off, as well as to assist in holding them together. The fit must be a good one, and the rinds of each must meet, as in grafting other plants. The operation must be performed quickly, and the grafted set must be planted as soon as pos- sible. It is best to have the trench opened and manured ready to receive the grafted tubers, and to place them therein and cover them with soil as quickly as possible. Some of the grafts may fail, so that it is best to graft a dozen or more. They will produce rounds and kidneys, pink-eyed and mottled, purples and reds, of various shapes and sizes, some early, some late, some large, some small, according to the kinds which are grafted. All the produce, large and small, must be planted the following year, for until the tubers have been grown it cannot be told whether the varieties are early or late. The early ones are easily discovered by the early decay of the foli- age. The produce of such as look promising by their shape and general appearance should be saved and grown for a year or two until their good or bad qualities are thoroughly proved. Mr Fenn, of Woodstock, describes some results obtained by GENERAL REVIEW. grafting in the 'Jour. Hort. Soc.' (new series), ii. 85, from which we quote the following : " I grafted this year Red Ash- leaf on Dickson's Premier, Paterson's Scotch Blue on Royal Albert, and vice versa. I have been unfortunate this season in regard to the taking of the grafts. I planted and kept the grafted sets in six-inch pots, contrary to my later practice of planting them in the open ground when the shoots in the pots have pushed five or six inches out of the soil. This may have tended to cause non-success as regards the cicatrisation of the skins ; nevertheless sufficient results have been arrived at to afford conclusive evidence as to the possibility of grafting one Potato with the eye of another. On July 14 I examined two sets — an eye of Royal Albert (a handsome round, white potato) grafted on Paterson's Scotch Blue. The eye had held perfectly fast to the tuber, giving hope of some influence being exerted between the stock and the graft. I made the graft fit as per- fectly as possible into the wedge-shaped cavity in the tuber ; but at the above date the graft had swelled out of its first position, though not sufficiently so to disunite itself from the cicatrix of its own skin and that of the stock on one side. I gave several good tugs at the graft, but could not displace it ; and I sent it to Dr Masters for verification. Dr Masters wrote : ' In one case the cohesion was evident ; but I do not see that the new tuber or haulm is at all affected. We must have more conclusive evidence. I see the union is not merely along the rinds, but in the cellular mass of the Potato as well. I have forwarded the tubers to Chiswick. The whole subject is very interesting.' " The other sort sent to Dr Masters was the eye of a Pater- son's Scotch Blue grafted on Royal Albert. No cicatrix or union of the skins had been formed ; but some of the young tubers were half-coloured, others less coloured, and one was perfectly white, none of them showing blue all over like the grafted sort." Professor Regel of St Petersburg, and M. Bouche of Berlin, both made experiments in Potato-grafting, but failed to obtain any results of a satisfactory nature, no change being effected except such as might be attributed to reversion. Dar- win, however, has collected most of the information on this subject in his 'Animals and Plants,' i. 422, from which we learn that in the Royal Gardens at Berlin numerous experi- ments were made by Herren Reuter and Lindemuth, who in- serted the eyes of red Potatoes into white ones, and vice versa, many different forms, partaking of the characters of the united varieties, being the result. Dr Neubert and Mr Fitzpatrick THE INDIAN CRESS OR NASTURTIUM FAMILY. 549 also obtained very variable intermediate varieties by grafting the stems (haulm) of two distinct varieties together. Those between black and white, as red varieties, were the most dis- tinct, some of the tubers obtained by grafting the white and red varieties being half red and half white on the same tuber. Solatium capsicastrum hybridum is a free-growing, berry-bear- ing hybrid obtained by Mr M'Intosh. It is the result of cross- ing S. capsicastrum with the more erect-growing S. pseudo-cap- sicum (see ' Proc. R. H. S.,' vol. iv.) Mr Maule, of Bristol, succeeded in grafting branches of Solatium nigrum and S. dulcamara, well-known garden weeds, on to the stems of the Potato, his object being to " infuse a hardier constitution into the Potato, and so enable it to resist disease." S. nigrum and S. dulcamara both resist the Potato- disease ; but they are poisonous plants, and we see but little prospect of this experiment leading to any practical and useful end. Mr Maule's experiment was brought into notice before the Scientific Committee of the Royal Horticultural Society, Nov. 10, 1875; and> curiously enough, in the 'Gardeners' Journal,' 1847, p. 85, is an account (derived from Transatlantic sources) of grafting the Tomato on the stem of the Potato, which is' said to be successful, both Tomatoes and Potatoes having resulted from the union. Mr A. Dean, of Bedfont, exhibited a bushy plant of a Potato in 1876 which had been grafted on a Tomato stock ; and the Potato haulm being thus elevated above the earth, it produced tubers abundantly in the axils of its leaves. THE INDIAN CRESS OR NASTURTIUM FAMILY ( A small order of trailing annual, herbaceous, or perennial plants, nearly all being natives of the temperate regions of North and South America. Among the best-known species are the following : T. majus (Common Nasturtium), a Peru- vian annual, long cultivated in our gardens (see 'Bot. Mag.,' t. 23), T. tuber osum, T. speciosum, T. tricolorum, T. azureum, T. pentaphyllum, and T. perigrinum (Canary Creeper). The properties of the order are antiscorbutic, and greatly resemble those of many Crucifers; and, curiously enough, M. de Candolle points out the fact that the caterpillar of the cabbage white butterfly feeds exclusively on Crucifers and Tropczolum. The anthers of Tropceolum are mounted on long and short fila- ments, and discharge their pollen in succession, each bend- ing in towards the style in its turn, as has been observed 550 GENERAL REVIEW. by Mr John Duncan in some species of Saxifrage. The annual species and varieties are readily propagated from seeds ; and cuttings taken off in the autumn may be rooted and grown in a sunny stove all the winter, such plants being useful for blooming in the spring. The S. American, tuberous-rooted species, seed occasionally, and the seeds germinate freely in a genial bottom-heat of 65° to 75°, or they may be increased from herbaceous cuttings in heat by carefully grafting or inarching herbaceous cuttings or young growths on bits of the old tubers in a close case, or the old-established plants may be shaken out in the autumn after the foliage has decayed, and the tubers can then be divided. Careful selection has given us numerous dwarf and free-blooming forms of T. majus, and some of the other species are doubtless capable of improvement in the hands of a skilful hybridist. T. Lobbii, T. majus, and T. Moritzianum have produced numerous hybrid forms, and a great number of beautiful hybrids have long been known between T. Lobbii and T. Smithii. The following hybrids were known in French gar- dens ten years ago : T. Louise Keller, T. massiliensis, T. Tri- omphe du Prado, T. zandeir-grandiflorum, T. zipseri, T. zipseri- majus, and T. Chaixianum. A new variety of T. majus was raised a few years ago by Mr Miles of Cressingham, this being known as T. Milesianum, Hort, and it deserves notice, being perfectly hardy, having glaucous foliage, and vivid scarlet or orange-red flowers i ^ inch across. T. canariense improved or T. fragrans (Barr and Sugden) is a hybrid between T. canariense and T. majus, var. " Napoleon III." partaking of the colour, shape, and freeness of the former, so well known in every garden as a climber. Many attempts have been made hitherto to cross it with other species without suc- cess. . The colour bright yellow, with a deep crimson heart- shaped spot on each segment of the flower, deeply and beauti- fully fringed or scalloped. It was sent out in 1873. THE CAMELLIA AND TEA FAMILY (Ternstromiacece). A small order of evergreen plants, principally natives of China, Japan, and N. India, the principal representatives in our gardens being the numerous forms of Camellia. The Tea- plant, which has done so much to found the commercial prosperity of China, also belongs to this order; and Thea bohea, a pretty evergreen shrub, is not unfrequently met with in gardens, where it is grown as a curiosity. Its flowers are THE CAMELLIA AND TEA FAMILY. 551 white, and scarcely the size of a shilling, being in form like a small single Camellia. The different forms of prepared tea, as sold in our shops, seem to depend on the methods of prepara- tion, or on the age of the leaf when gathered, rather than on different kinds of the Tea-plant. Camellia.* — This is one of the most variable and beautiful of all our winter-blooming greenhouse plants, several species being grown in our gardens, but most of the varieties are " sports," seminal or hybrid forms of C. japonica, which appears to have been introduced in 1739. C. oleifera, from the seeds of which an excellent oil is extracted by the Chinese, was introduced in 1819. C. maliflora (1818), and C. sasanqua, a small-leaved species (of which there are double white and double and semi-double red and variegated varieties), are now referred to Thea. The last is a very pretty plant indeed, a Pompone Camellia, from which the hybridiser might do worse than raise a race of bushy-habited plants, with flowers little larger than a shilling — the flowers of the ordinary varieties being too large for button-holes, and adding a heavy appear- ance to bouquets if too freely used. C. reticulata, introduced in 1824, is by some thought to be a distinct species, but is probably a distinct form of C.japonica. It is singular to observe that a perfectly single or normal flower of C. japonica is very rarely to be met with, which is much to be regretted, for the single white when perfect is one of the loveliest of all flowers, even more beautiful — that is, whiter and more perfect in form — than Rosa bracteata or R. rugosa alba. Hybridisers, in attempting to raise single-flowered forms, should select parent plants which bear the most per- fect— i.e., normal — single flowers; and the pollen should be selected from those stamens which are free — that is, not fused into irregular bundles, as is generally the case. In raising double-flowered varieties, select a seed-bearing plant which bears flowers showing a strong tendency to become double, and procure pollen from the best-developed anthers, which are found on the edges of the petals or petaloid filaments of a double-flowered variety. The late Dean Herbert, in 1837, recommends that the seed-bearing plants should be kept ra- ther close, and receive a superabundance of moisture at the root. Young shoots should be pinched in or shortened so as to divert the whole nutriment of the plant, or as much as is possible, to the seed-vessels. " I have no difficulty in ob- * For a synopsis of the genus Camellia, see ' Trans. Linn. Soc.,' xxii. 337. Camellia fruits and seeds are well figured in ' Card. Chron.,' 1873, P- 1733- 552 GENERAL REVIEW. taining seeds from any variety of the Pompone or Middlemist's Camellia, by putting it in a house rather warmer and with less ventilation than suits greenhouse plants in general, impreg- nating the stigma, and cutting off the corolla before it begins to decay, so that the air may have free admission to it, without which precaution it will perish in most cases from damp." The late Dean Herbert raised numerous varieties of large and small flowered or Pompone Camellias, for a list of which and their pedigree see his ' Amaryllidaceae,' p. 367. This author observes that " there is a strange mutability in the flowering (sporting) of Camellias" a fact which Chinese, Italian, French, and Belgian raisers have long turned to good account by grafting the sports or reversions when distinct on common red or white seedling stocks, and distributing them as new sorts. Mr Chandler and Mr Gray also raised numerous seedlings, and others were sent out from Colville's nursery. In America, Marshal P. Wilder has raised seedling Camellias, and he thus writes on the subject (see 'Gard. Chron.,' 1873, P- 575): " In my experiments I have discovered that for the production of double flowers it is important that the pollen used for impreg- nation should be borne on a petaloid anther — that is, an anther bearing a small petal — and that this is still better if from a double flower. I have also observed that the larger and better developed this petaloid anther, the better the chance for a fine double offspring; for, as might have been expected, the anthers being connected with the corolla, the number of petals would be increased by such an operation. I found also that for the most perfect and symmetrical flowers it was better to select single flowers which were the most perfect in their petals for seed-bearers, and that single or semi-double sorts with perfect corollas, when impregnated with " petaloid " pollen, will produce double flowers of a regular formation. Of this I have the most conclusive evidence in Camellia Wilderi and many other fine double varieties in my collection, which were produced from the single red and single white Camellias fertilised by pollen from a petaloid anther of double varieties. Grafting. — All the finest seminal varieties or " sports " are propagated by grafting on stocks of the old single red variety, which is generally planted out in a greenhouse border to supply cuttings for stocks. Cuttings are made of the partly-ripened shoots, inserted in pans or a bed of sandy earth, and covered with a close shade or a hand-light. It is best, however, to place the cuttings firmly in well-drained pans, surfaced with white sand, and to set them in a cool shady frame under a hand-light for two or three weeks; after which place them in a moist THE CAMELLIA AND TEA FAMILY. 553 bottom-heat of 75° to 85°, which induces them to root and start into growth very quickly. Pot them off separately into small sixty-sized pots, and set them closely in a moist and partially- shaded case, where they will make a quick growth, and being close together they draw up straight. Cuttings are generally fit for grafting in about a year after they are rooted, and may be worked either by side, cleft, or veneer grafting any time from July to September, or indeed nearly all the year, if the convenience of a heated propagating-pit is at command. Side-grafting is generally adopted, a simple diagonal slit being made downwards an inch or two above the soil, and into this a wedge-shaped scion is inserted. The scions should be formed of partly-hardened young shoots two or four inches in length, the lower leaves being removed. In grafting, do not head off the stock, but make a clean downward cut with one stroke of a keen thin blade; then form the base of the scion by two more clean sloping cuts, and insert its wedge-shaped base into the cleft in the stock, taking care that the alburnum on one side of the stock at least is covered by that of the scion. No tying or mastic is requisite. Lay the grafted plants dia- gonally in the plunging material at the bottom of a heated case in the propagating-house, and keep them close for three or four weeks, in which time a union will have been made between the plastic -tissues, and the parts will appear as if welded together. This is the best, quickest, and simplest method of grafting Camellias, and is, generally employed in all good nurseries at home and in Continental gardens. Even cuttings are sometimes worked in this way, and rooted at the same time. Where thick roots of common varieties can be obtained, they may be tried as stocks. After the union is effected, head off the stocks neatly, and grow on the young plants in the usual way. Even shoots set with bloom-buds may be grafted by a clever propagator, and in this manner some pretty miniature blooming plants are to be obtained, each bearing from one to four flowers and about as many leaves, the whole plant being not above six inches in height. M. Bause in 1868 grafted two or three dozen of C. reticulata in this way a few weeks before their flower-buds expanded, and these little bijou plants were much admired when ex- hibited at South Kensington. Plants so treated would fetch a good price in Covent Garden, and we recommend some of our intelligent growers of decorative plants to give this plan a trial. If the old single red Camellia is fertilised with pollen from another variety it seeds freely, or seed may be obtained from any of the semi-double forms, and sown as soon as ripe in pans 554 GENERAL REVIEW. of. light rich earth. These grow away well and form excellent stocks ; and, according to some nurserymen and propagators, varieties worked on seedling stocks grow more vigorously and are longer lived than when grafted on cut- tings, but we have ob- served very little differ- ence. Inarching may be adopted when the stock is large and can- . not be enclosed in a close case, or for reno- vating old specimens (see fig.). Cleft-graft- ing also succeeds well in a close atmosphere. Thea.* — The Tea- plant, which has been so largely cultivated in China for ages, and of late years also in Assam, is a variable plant — in- deed, I know of no plant which has any claim to the title of be- ing cultivated but what is more or less variable, in one way or other, since cultivation is ex- Inarching Camellia on " planted-out" stock, pressly designed and earned out as a means of improving plants in size, form, colour, or flavour. Thea bohea (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 998) is perhaps the most gener- ally cultivated species for purposes of tea -making, but some forms of Camellia, as C. sasanqua, are also used for the purpose. The numerous varieties of Chinese Tea imported to this country are principally the result of different meth- ods of manufacture, and in some cases depend on the age of the leaf, the tea made from the youngest and earliest leaves being most delicate in flavour. The Tea-plant is freely propagated from seeds, which are readily produced in culti- vation in our gardens if artificial fertilisation is resorted to. Cuttings of the young wood also root if inserted in heat, as recommended for Camellias. The Tea -plant grows well if * For a valuable account of the Tea-plant, see Royle's Illustr., p. 107. THE DAPHNE FAMILY. 555 grafted on C. sasanqua or other Camellia as a stock. It is a dark-green bushy evergreen shrub, which bears pretty little white myrtle-like flowers, and is not unfrequently met with as a curiosity in our gardens. THE LINDEN FAMLIY (Tiliacece). A small order of trees and shrubs ; a few, however, are dwarf-growing, herbaceous plants, and while the principal members of the group, are confined to the tropical parts of both hemispheres, some trees are found in northern and tem- perate countries. The principal genera in this order found in our gardens are Sparmannia, Tilia, and Cor chorus. Spar- mannia africana is a well-known old greenhouse shrub, having white flowers and numerous sensitive stamens, partly abortive. When irritated, the stamens of this plant gradually expand, the motion being much more energetic in the sunshine than in the shade, just as in the case of the leaves of the Sensitive plant (Mimosa). It is also curious to note that the sensitive motion is exactly the reverse of the same phenomenon in Berber is ^ where the stamens contract or close in towards the column. Corchorus japonicus is a well-known, golden-flowered, hardy shrub, its double form being especially common in our gardens. C. capsularis is cultivated in the tropics, and furnishes the gunny-fibre of commerce, vast quantities of this material being now manufactured in London. The Linden-tree (Tilia euro- peed] and its fastigiate, cut-leaved, and other ornamental forms are much employed in planting garden scenes, and seem to have been appreciated as a landscape ornament at an early date; and some of the finest avenues in existence, as at Burghley and Hampton Court, are planted with Limes. We have several selected "sports" from the different species of Tilia in cultivation, some of the variegated forms being very handsome. These are best propagated by budding or grafting on their respective green-leaved or normal types. THE DAPHNE FAMILY (Thymelacea). A small group of shrubs, characterised by their tenacious bark : indeed, in Nepal, the natives prepare a peculiar soft bibulous paper from the bark of Daphne bholua, and D. canna- bina is used for a similar purpose by the Chinese, and the beautiful lace-bark is prepared from Lagetta lintearia. They 556 GENERAL REVIEW. are principally natives of North India, South America, the Cape, and also of New Holland, while a few are European. The principal genera grown in our gardens are Daphne Mezereum, Pimelia, and one or two others. Many of the plants in this group bear berries, which germinate freely sown in a gentle heat, or the hardy species in pans or boxes in a cold frame or pit. Cuttings of the young or partially-ripened wood are also successful. Daphne. — A genus of deciduous or evergreen shrubs, princi- pally natives of Southern Europe, India, China, and Japan. The varieties of D. indica and D. cneorum are favourites, their flowers being deliciously fragrant. All the tender species may be propagated from cuttings taken off either in spring or autumn and inserted in well-drained pots of sandy soil. Side branches, an inch or two long, are best. The hardy kinds may be pro- pagated by layering, and some, as D. Mezereum and the com- mon British Spurge Laurel, D. Laureola, from seeds, which are freely produced. Seedlings of the last-named species are generally used as stocks on which to graft the tender and more valuable stove or greenhouse kinds. The seeds of D. Laureola take two years to vegetate, so that cuttings or layers are more ex- peditious. Stocks for grafting, no matter whether of D. Laureola or D. pontica (which some propagators prefer), may be estab- lished in pots. Graft in heat in the winter or spring, and in- troduce the stocks and plants from which the scions are to be taken into heat a week or two before the operation takes place. A young shoot, 2 — 3 inches in length, is selected for a scion, the lower leaves being removed. Side and splice grafting are the methods generally adopted. Do not head down the stocks entirely until after the scions have taken. Side-grafting in a close case, with the pots plunged in a genial bottom-heat, is best, and do not use too much tying material ; indeed, a clever manipulator discards it altogether in the case of Daphnes, Gar- denias, Ixoras, and Camellias ; and when a moist genial heat is kept up regularly, it is not required. Care must be taken, however, that the scions are not displaced in watering or syr- inging. There are several hybrid Daphnes in cultivation and several seminal varieties, some of the dwarf bushy kinds being very beautiful hardy shrubs. It does not appear to be generally known that cuttings of all Daphnes succeed perfectly if grafted in a close-heated case on pieces of their own roots. In the case of the choice and tender varieties, roots of the commoner species, such as D. Laureola^ or better still, D. pontica, are preferable for many practical reasons, and give better results. In Devon, Cornwall, and other mild southern THE CARROT AND CELERY FAMILY. 557 counties, D. (odora) indica is perfectly hardy, and may be grafted on established plants of the Common Spurge (D. Laureola\ which readily propagates itself from seed. D. Delahayi is an interesting hybrid, raised in 1827 by M. Fion, its parents being D. collina fertilised with pollen of D. cneorum. M. Fion also raised a hybrid, D. " Dauphin," its parents being D. collina fertilised with the pollen of D. odora. Other beautiful hybrids are D. neapolitana (D. australis x D. oleoides), D. Fioniana (D. collina x D. oleoides), D. collina- axillaris (D. Mezereum x D. collina]. D. hybrida (D. odora x D. collina} closely resembles D. " Dauphin," and was raised by M. Fion from the same parents some time about 1822. THE CARROT AND CELERY FAMILY (Umbelliferce). A large group of herbaceous plants, mostly having hollow- furrowed stems, and often milky. They are principally natives of northern or temperate countries, and especially of Europe, North Asia, North America, and the Himalayas. Many of the species are medicinal, several are valuable food-plants, while others are dangerous poisons. The principal genera in culti- vation are : Hydrocotyle, Eryngium, Cicuta, Apium (Parsley), Fceniculum (Fennel), Angelica (Angelica Root), Ferula, Hera- deum, Daucus (Carrot), and many others. Celery, Parsley, Carrots, Parsnips, Angelica, Fennel, and one or two other kitchen-garden products, are too well known to need descrip- tion, and are nearly all selected cultural forms of native wild- ings, with the improvement of which hybridism has had but little to do. Several North American Umbellifers, natives of Oregon, and there popularly known as " Biscuit Roots," are edible, and might possibly be worth introduction to our gardens. Seeds are freely produced, and germinate readily sown in April or May in shallow drills. Apium (Celery and Parsley], — Wild Celery (Apium gra- veolens] is a native marsh-plant, generally found near the sea, and although poisonous in its wild state, becomes a delicious vegetable when cultivated and blanched. A cultural form of this plant is known as Celeriac or Turnip-rooted Celery, and is much used on the Continent in salads and soups. The culti- vated Celery of our gardens is very variable, numerous red and white stalked forms being known. A. (Petroselinuni) sativum is the Common Parsley, one of the freshest and greenest of all our kitchen-garden herbs, and was introduced from Sardinia in 1548. Hamburg Parsley has fusiform roots, which are sliced 55$ GENERAL REVIEW. for soups. Several forms of the Common Parsley have been obtained by careful selection. Daucus (Carrot). — The Carrot appears to have been intro- duced into this country by the Dutch about 1558 in a culti- vated state, but it has been long known by the ancients. Pliny tells us the best were brought to Rome from Candia. This crop is easily raised from seeds sown in March or April, or in August for a winter crop. The seeds are fringed with curled or hooked hairs ; and to prevent them sticking together and coming up unevenly in the drills, rub them well together with dry sand, earth, or ashes previous to sowing. For seed, plant the finest and cleanest roots, and thin out the umbels when in flower. Miller, the celebrated gardener at Chelsea, and M. Decaisne, both failed in their efforts to improve the wild inland form of Daucus carota by culture and selection. In 1860, however, Prof. Buckman (see ' Sc. and Prac. of Farm Cult.,' p. u) "gathered some seeds of the seaside form (D. carota, var. maritima) at Bognor, which, on being sown in a prepared plot the following spring, resulted in fairly succulent roots, which on being cooked were pronounced to be excellent. While on this subject, it may be mentioned as not a little re- markable that so many of our garden esculents should be derived from seaside plants. Thus probably Carrot, but cer- tainly Celery, Seakale, Asparagus, and Cabbage. This would seem to point to the fact that cultivation requires a complete change of the circumstances necessary to maintain a wild con- dition ; and hence cultivated plants can only be kept up by the labours of a cultivator." This last statement not only shows us how valuable a complete change of soil and atmo- sphere is to cultivated plants, but also leads one to inquire whether valuable varieties of vegetables might not be origi- nated from some of our inland plants by commencing their culture and selection in a maritime locality. Pastinaca (Parsnip}. — The Common Parsnip is a native plant, and is also found in Southern Europe. As an esculent, these vegetables have been long known ; and according to Pliny, the Emperor Tiberius esteemed them so highly that he had them brought to Rome annually from the banks of the Rhine, where they were at that date cultivated. In 1847, Prof. Buckman gathered seeds of the wild Parsnip from the Cotswold Hills, where it is one of the most frequent of weeds; and after cultivation and selection for five years, the result was a new esculent variety, now known as the " Student or Hollow-Crowned Parsnip " of gardens. THE CRANBERRY FAMILY. 559 THE ELM FAMILY (Ulmacea). Trees or shrubs, principally natives of North Asia, Europe, India, China, and North America, and represented in our gardens by different species of Ulmus (Elms), Celtis (Sugar- berry), and Planera. Propagated by seeds when procurable, or by layers. The weeping, golden - leaved, and variegated varieties of Elm are grafted on the common green-leaved species as a stock. The Planeras also do well grafted on the Common Elm. From the ' Gardener' (1871) we learn that in Lord Petrie's Park, Thorndon Hall, Essex, some Elm-trees are growing which have been grafted on Hornbeam stocks (Carpinus). If this is correct, which we cannot help doubting, it is the first instance of grafting having been successful between two different natural orders. It appears that, " according to the observations of Dr Bull " (in the ' Florist '), " the English Elm, in ordinary Here- fordshire soil, grows more rapidly than that most vigorous- growing of all the varieties of the Wych Elm, the Chichester Elm — a tree that in suitable soil will often make shoots of from six feet to ten feet long in a single year." The experi- ment, he says, has been made. " Some say that the English Elm won't grow well ; but the fact is, they are sent out grafted on the Mountain or Wych Elm. So long as the tree is planted in the rich loamy soil so prevalent in nurseries, the advantage is undeniable, — a larger tree is grown in a shorter time and equally good ; but remove it to the ordinary stiff clay loam of Herefordshire, and the Wych Elm will not thrive. The con- clusion is evident : plant English Elms on their own hardy roots." Ulmus berardi is a very remarkable and distinct variety of the Common Elm (Ulmus campestris), raised in 1865 by MM. Simon-Louis of Metz. It forms a very bushy shrub, with very slender branchlets, and in its foliage exactly resembles Comp- tonia asplenifolia. The leaves are of a very dark green, almost black, very small, and irregularly crenated, like those of Planera crenata, and usually stand erect on the branches, which they almost entirely hide from view. THE CRANBERRY FAMILY (Vactiniacea). A group of shrubs or small trees, frequently evergreen, and principally valuable for the sake of their edible fruits. They 560 GENERAL REVIEW. are mostly found in swamps, marshes, and sub-alpine districts in temperate parts of the world, and especially in North and South America, Europe, and Asia. They are represented in cultivation by Oxycoccos and Vaccinium (Whortleberries) ; while several species of Oxycoccos and Vaccinium are grown in swampy ground in North America, and the fruit canned and exported as " Cranberries." The berries of our native V. uliginosum are said to be narcotic, and to be used for rendering beer and porter more heady or intoxicating. In ' Science Gossip,' November 1872, is an account of a curious British plant, supposed to be a hybrid between Vaccin- ium myrtillus, which it resembles in time of flowering, flower, and fruit — and V. vitis-idaus, which it resembles in stem, leaf- age, and habit. The pollen is slightly irregular and shrunken, and there are but few perfect seeds (see ' Jour, of Bot,' ix. 122). THE VERBENA FAMILY ( Verbenacece}. A very attractive group of trees, shrubs, or herbaceous plants, common to the tropics of both hemispheres, and found plentifully in South America. They are represented in our gardens by Verbena, Lantana, Petrea, Callicarpa, Clerodendron^ and Myoporum. Nearly all the species are readily propagated by cuttings ; Petrea, however, is an exception. Seeds of Ver- bena, Lantana, Callicarpa, Clerodendron, and Myoporum ger- minate freely, sown as soon as ripe in well-drained pots or pans, and afterwards placed in a heated case to germinate. Clero- dendron Kcempferi, C. fallax, C. Balfouri, and others, are best propagated by seed sown in a pot or pan and plunged in a genial bottom-heat of 75° to 80°. Clerodendron (hybridum) speciosum (see 'Revue Hort.,' 1873, p. 471). This showy scarlet-flowered plant is said to be a hy- brid between C. splendens and C. Balfouri o'r C. Thompsoni, and was sent out in 1868 by Mr W. Bull. It is also known as C. hybridum, Hort., C. speciosum Rollisoni, or simply as C. Rollisoni. Verbena. — A genus of hardy or half-hardy annuals, biennials, or herbaceous plants, represented in our gardens by V. venosa, V. incisa, and V. teucroides. V. chamcedrifolia was also one of the earlier species from whence our modern varieties origin- ated. All are natives of South America. They are readily propagated by cuttings of the young growth, by seed, or by division. As a florists' flower the Verbena has been much im- THE VERBENA FAMILY. 561 proved by cross-fertilisation, as well as by selecting seed from fine varieties ; and some of the finest varieties have been raised by Mr Eckford of Coleshill and Mr Perry of Castle Bromwich. If cross-fertilisation is resorted to, the plants should be grown in pots in an airy greenhouse or cool frame, fully exposed to the sun : fine varieties, however, are raised simply by saving seed from a few carefully-selected varieties. The seeds are best sown in February, in pots or pans of light, rich, sandy earth, and, being small, they require only a slight covering of soil. They germinate in about a week or ten days, and are fit for pricking off into pans in a fortnight or three weeks later. A gentle bottom-heat of 60° to 70° suits both cuttings and seeds. V. melindra is a dwarf-growing plant, which was much grown twenty-five years ago. Its procumbent growth roots at every joint, and the bright green foliage forms a dense carpet, above which rise little trusses of brilliant scarlet flowers. This kind is still in cultivation, and ought to be invaluable to the hybrid- iser in improving the habits of more modern and larger-flow- ered varieties for bedding purposes. V. incisa, a red-flowered species, with inciso-dentate foliage, was introduced from Pan- ama in 1836, and V. teucroides from Monte Video the year following. This last is sweet-scented, used formerly to be much grown as an ornamental plant in gardens, and, together with V. melindra and V. incisa, seems to have originated the bedding varieties now so popular, and of which that known as " Purple King " is one of the best. Mr Rumsey of Waltham Cross raised a very beautiful large-flowered variety, named and sent out as V. odoratissima in 1876. This had large trusses of bright rosy-lilac flowers, each nearly an inch across, with a con- spicuous white eye, and is very distinctly and agreeably per- fumed. Verbena Monetii is a pretty little plant, from which have originated most of the dwarf-growing, striped, and bor- dered varieties, either by seminal variation, or its having been hybridised with the irregularly-striped forms of the V. teucroides, or large-flowered group, of which V. striata perfecta may serve as a type. Some very pretty varieties of V. Monetiivtere raised in 1860 by M. Laloy, a horticulturist of Souhans. This plant might be used for cross-breeding purposes with the common forms, and some very nice fancy flowers thus obtained for pot- culture or for baskets • but for bedding purposes self-coloured forms are best. About ten years ago Mr Wills and others at- tempted to cross V. venosa with the hybrid forms of V. teu- croides and V. melindra, but, I believe, without success. Verbena montana. — A perennial and perfectly hardy and free-blooming pale rosy-flowered species from the Rocky Moun- 2 N 562 GENERAL REVIEW. tains, was introduced to Ascot a year or two ago. It roots freely from young tops in heat, like the other varieties. In noting the introduction of this plant in 1873, the editors of the 'Gardeners' Chronicle' (see p. 575) remark: "Crosses made between this new species and V. venosa would in all probability produce an interesting progeny, and if it were also used by raisers of seedling Verbenas, for the purpose of restoring something of the lost constitution which has resulted from inter- breeding, the Verbenas might eventually become more popular, or at least better fitted for outdoor purposes in our gardens." Verbena Lamberti is a strong-growing plant, bearing lilac- purple flowers in dense terminal clusters (see * Bot. Mag.,' t. 2200). V. aubletia is another of the earlier species (see ' Bot. Mag.,' t. 308). THE VIOLET AND PANSY FAMILY (Violacece). A small natural group of temperate herbaceous or sub- shrubby evergreen plants, principally natives of Europe and America. Viola odorata is one of the best-known examples, and from this wild species we have now a race of very beautiful single and double blue, purple, lilac, and white varieties. The Neapolitan or Naples Violet has long been grown in our gardens for its early-blooming habit, as also has " The Czar." Lee's " Victoria Regina " and " Prince Consort " are even superior to " The Czar " in size and colour, their fragrance being fully equal to the wild species. Ten or twelve years ago Viola lutea, a wild Yorkshire species, and the soft lavender purple V. cornuta or Horned Violet, were introduced for bedding purposes, and several races of what are known as Bedding Violas have been originated by blending these species with some of the more hardy and strong-constitutioned Pansies. Some of these half- breeds are very beautiful, and possess the valuable property of remaining in bloom for several months. One of the best of the yellow-flowered varieties is V. " Sovereign," and V. " Blue Perfection " is one of the best of the blue-flowered race. Mr R. Dean, Mr Cannell, Mr Ware, Messrs Downie and Laird, Messrs E. G. Henderson, and other raisers, have assisted in the improvement of the races of Pansies and Bedding Violas. One of the most vigorous of our wild species is the bluish-lilac- flowered Wood Violet, V. canina, which blooms most profusely along with the Primrose and Bluebells (Scilla nutans) in the spring months. This plant is well worth taking in hand by some intelligent hybridiser; a little cultural care, selection, THE VIOLA AND PANSY FAMILY. 563 and cross-breeding might make it a valuable plant for spring bedding. When we remark the immense improvement effected in the weedy-looking V. tricolor of our corn-fields, the amelio- ration of many other wild European forms appears compara- tively easy. Pansies. — A well-known section of hardy, large-flowered Violas, by some supposed to have originated from the com- mon wild V. tricolor of our corn-fields, while others suppose our garden Pansies to have sprung from V. tricolor crossed or hybridised with Viola altaica, Tartarian Heart's-ease (see 'Bot. Mag.,' t. 1776). The credit of raising the first Pansy is said to be due to Lady Mary Bennet (daughter of one of the Earls of Tankerville) who had a garden at Walton- on- Thames, and with the assistance of her gardener, Mr Richardson, raised the Pansy some time about 1810 or 1812. Pansies are easily reproduced by side-slips or cuttings of the young growth taken off any time during the spring or sum- mer months. They strike freely in the ordinary borders or flower-beds, but require shade in hot weather. Where they are to be propagated in quantity, a cold frame with a northern aspect, or a border behind a north wall, is the best position for them. New forms and colours are raised from seed. Select the best-shaped and richest-coloured varieties as seed -bearing plants. Cuttings of the solid young side- shoots struck in August or September, and planted out in a cold frame, will bloom the following April and May. The earliest flowers — say the first half-dozen borne by each plant — should be carefully impregnated with pollen from other good flowers, using for the purpose a small camel's-hair pencil slightly moistened, so as to hold the pollen readily. Some growers, instead of fertilising the blooms artificially, admit air freely on warm sunny days or save seed from open-air beds, but in either case seed from the earliest and finest flowers only should be saved. Where several varieties are grown in the same frame or bed, they become self -crossed by the wind or by insects, and seeds saved from self-fertilised flowers produce a large number of good flowers, the best of which may be perpetuated for exhibition or decorative purposes by cuttings. These rich-coloured, velvety flowers may be bloomed throughout a great part of the year by striking cuttings at different times : thus autumn-struck cuttings flower in the spring, and spring-struck cuttings bloom in the summer and autumn months. Many of the other Violas might be crossed with these lovely flowers, and in this way something new in colour, habit, &c., might be obtained. 564 GENERAL REVIEW. THE GRAPE-VINE FAMILY ( Vitacece)* A group of rambling shrubs or erect bushes, the woody tissues of which at certain seasons abound in a copious supply of sap. The species are wild in the woods of the milder and tropical climates of both hemispheres, and especially in the E. Indies. The principal genera are Vitis, Cissus, and Ampdopsis. Several species of Vitis abound in America, including K vulpina, V. cestivalis, V. labrusca, and others. The European cultivated Grape, V. vinifera, is supposed to be a native of Asia, and its small-berried, seedless variety is much grown at Corinth, Zante, and other parts of Greece, and imported to this country under the name of u Currants," which is a corrup- tion of Corinth. The value of these depends on their being seedless ; and it is said that if cultivated in other warm parts of Europe this variety shows a tendency to produce larger berries containing seeds. The " Sultana " Grape, of the fruit of which raisins are made, is also seedless, as well as a variety called Black Monukka, long grown at Chiswick and elsewhere. The Grape-Vine is one of the earliest cultivated of all our fruits, and the art of wine-making was known at least 6000 years ago. In the tomb of Phtah-hotep, a high functionary who lived at Memphis 4000 years B.C., are scenes in bas-relief representing the gathering of the Grapes, bruising them with the feet, &c. ; and, curiously enough, the artist has represented a wine-bibber in a state which leads one to suppose that the ancients did not always drink wine in moderation (see ' Belg. Hort.,' 1872, p. 288). We need not pretend to talk of the de- terioration of our modern cultivated fruits, when the bas-reliefs of Egyptian artists speak to us across an awful gulf of five or six thousand years, and show us that our Vine of to-day is much the same as that grown thousands of years before our time.t The American Vines deserve some slight notice here, as they succeed in a severe winter and very trying summer climate, where our European varieties have hitherto failed. There are nine types or species of Grapes found wild in the woods of the * For a very full and interesting account of American native Vines, and their cultural varieties, hybrids, &c., see "The Illustrated Descriptive Catalogue of American Grape- Vines," published by Bush & Son, of the vineyards and grape-nurseries, Bushberg, Jefferson county, Mo., U.S.A. The species in this valuable work were described and arranged by the late Dr Engelman of St Louis, and a perusal will amply repay the culti- vator here at home. t For a full account of the Vines of N. America, China, and Japan, see Dr Regel's 'Conspectus Speciorum Generis Vitis.' THE GRAPE-VINE FAMILY. 565 N. American States, California, and other adjoining countries; and some of these are also found in Asia. Dr Engelman enumerates them as follows : — 1. Vitis rupestris, Scheele ; The Bush or Sand Grape . 2. cordifolia, Michaux ; Winter or Frost Grape. riparia, ,, Riverside Grape. arizonica, Engelman ; Arizona Grape. californica, Bentham ; Californian Grape. (estivalis, Michaux; Summer Grape. candicans, Engelman ; Mustang or Texan Grape. labrusca, Linnaeus ; Northern Fox-grape. vulpina, ,, Southern Fox or Muscadine. This last-named species is also known as Vitis rotundifolia, Michaux, and is strictly confined to the Southern States, while hitherto it has withstood the ravages of the Phylloxera. The Scupperong is the best -known cultural variety. The " Isabella " grape, a noted American variety, is one of the best of all the cultural forms of Vitis labrusca. Unfortunately the hardness of the wood and different structure of the bark renders this scathless species unfit for use as a stock for more tender varieties of other species. American Grapes have to Europeans a disagreeable musky or " foxy " flavour, and to improve the flavour and at the same time retain the vigorous constitution of the American Grapes, hybrids have been ob- tained between V. labrusca and European varieties of V. vinifera, as well as between V. vinifera and V. cordifolia ; and it is interesting to note, in the case of these hybrid Vines (as in hybrid Rhododendrons), that the more the hybrid or half- breed assumes the aspect and characteristics of the tenderer parent, the less is it suitable for the northern climate — or, in other words, what is gained in flavour is lost in constitutional vigour. According to Dr Regel, the cultivated Grape- Vine (Vitis vinifera} is not of pure specific descent, but is a hybrid between V. labrusca and V. vulpina, both of which are natives of North America, Japan and China, Manchouria, and the Himalayas. M. Regel derives his conclusions from the following facts : " i. The Grape-Vine is not known in a truly wild state, except as an escape from cultivation ; 2. The species labrusca and vtil- pina are truly wild in that district of Asia where the culture of the Vine originated ; 3. The European Vine, introduced into America, has never given such good results there as have the varieties of V. labrusca and V. vidpina" Vines raised from seed are nearly as variable as Apples, Plums, Pears, or other cultivated fruits, both black and white 566 GENERAL REVIEW. varieties being produced from seed taken from the same cluster. In 1869 Mr A. F. Barren raised fertile flowers of Royal Mus- cadine (Chasselas de Fontainebleau) with pollen from the Black Monukka, a small-berried, thin-skinned variety, having very tender and quite seedless flesh. The object of this cross was to obtain a race of seedless varieties with large berries. From the seeds obtained ten or twelve varieties were raised — some black, others white, and some of both kinds having very small seedless berries, even smaller than the Black Monukka; but none of the varieties are of any value. M. Bouschet has im- proved some of the French-wine Grapes in colour of the juice and earliness by crossing such varieties as Aramon (Burchard's Prince), Carignane, and Grenache (Alicante de 1'Herault) with an early variety having very highly coloured juice, named Le Teinturier (see ' Jour. Hort. .Soc.' (new series), i. 49 ; and at p. 135 are some interesting remarks by the late Mr j. Standish on raising seedling cross-bred Grapes). Mr George Haskell of Ipswich, Massachusetts, has origi- nated a race of Grapes by intercrossing the native American Vitis riparia with European varieties, and vice verscL. One or two varieties raised from V. riparia fertilised with pollen of Black Hamburg and White Chasselas are described by Dr Hogg (see 'Jour, of Hort.,' 1875, P- 420) as being very good, with a flavour quite distinct. The influence of the cross is very apparent, and we may hope to improve our Vines by in- fusing into them some blood from the hardier races. Dr Wylie has also produced some fine hybrids between the Ameri- can and European varieties, and some valuable varieties have been raised by Mr Rogers. Although numerous cultivators have raised seedling varieties of Grapes in this country, many of them being varieties of more than average merit, yet I believe I am right in saying that no attempt has as yet been made to obtain improved hardy or open-air varieties for wine-making. At Woodstock Mr Fenn and other cultivators grow good open-air Grapes, and make excellent wine : and we await the result of the Marquis of Bute's vineyard experiments with considerable interest ; but whether it succeed or not, the fact remains, that small quanti- ties of pure and wholesome wine are made every year from British open-air Grapes, and there is no reason why this quan- tity should not be largely increased, especially in the southern counties on warm dry soils suitable to the Vine. Two varieties — Esperione and the old " Black Cluster" — ripen their fruit on sunny walls in, average seasons, as doubtless would also many of the French-wine Grapes ; but if wine-culture is to be sue- THE GRAPE-VINE FAMILY. 567 cessful in this country, we must follow the example set us by the American and Californian Grape-growers, who have a vigor- ous hardy race of Vines, the result of hybridising V. vulpina, or Southern "Fox-grape, "with the Northern Fox-grape ( V.labrusca), and which are found far more productive and hardy in America than the European varieties grown in French, Italian, and Spanish vineyards. Some years ago (1867-68) several American kinds of Grapes, including V. vulpina, V. fabrusca, and some Vitis vinifera, L. (the common Grape- Vine), a, Fruiting branch, with b, the ten- dril ; c, Flower-bud; d, Section of pistil, showing the -z-celled ovary with two upright ovules; e, Flower, showing the petals united at the apex and separating^at the base, with the disc surrounding the base of the ovary ; f, Stamens and stigma, with the small almost entire calyx, and the disc. The corolla lias fallen. of their varieties, were grown in the Royal Horticultural Society's garden at Chiswick as ornamental climbers, and bore very heavy crops of fruit. The flavour of these Grapes being peculiarly strong and musky, they would not compare with Hamburgs and Muscats for dessert purposes ; but as wine Grapes, along with Esperione and Black Cluster, they would be valuable for their hardy and prolific character. Any intelli- gent cultivator might obtain the North American species, and 568 GENERAL REVIEW. by a series of judicious crosses with the two last-named varie- ties or Royal Muscadine (which also not unfrequently ripens its fruit on walls having a southern aspect), I feel confident a race of prolific varieties, sufficiently hardy to stand our climate, and valuable as affording Grapes for wine-making, would be obtained. Even as it is, one cannot see the numerous in- stances of the Vine ripening its fruit as it now does, with- out any cultural attention, on cottage and tenement walls at Knightsbridge, Brompton, South Kensington, and also in the more suburban parts of London, without wishing that some society or enlightened individual would take up the subject, and give it a thorough trial in a favourable locality. The Esperione, as we have before stated, almost invariably ripens its fruit in this country in the open air on walls ; and it, to- gether with other varieties, might possibly be much improved for open-air culture by grafting them on the North American species or varieties as stocks. At any rate, here is another field of inquiry and research well worth the attention of our go-ahead horticulturists. In the Herault, fifteen millions of American Grape-Vines (principally the variety known as Clin- ton) have been planted in districts where . the Phylloxera has done the most damage. The unanimous opinion of the grow- ers, to whom success or failure in the Vine crop is of the greatest importance, is that the American Vines resist Phyl- loxera better than the French ones ; and if in some cases the quantity and flavour of the fruit is not all that could be de- sired, they form strong and vigorous rooting stocks, on which the approved French Vine Grapes succeed better than on their own roots. In the 'Gardeners' Chronicle,' 1871, p. 836, is a highly interesting and very suggestive article on the setting of Grapes, from which it appears that the irregular and enormous berries found in some bunches of Grapes are due to the enlargement and displacement of the seeds, ~ these seeds being generally barren or sterile. It is a singular fact that all stoneless or seedless Grapes — such as Black Monukka, and the Corinth or " Currant " Grape of Zante — have very small berries ; and we often see the same depauperation shown in seedless berries of Muscat, Hamburg, and other varieties, which have not been properly fertilised. Hence it seems useless to hope for a race of large-berried seedless Grapes ; but if we could get at the secret hinted at above, and by some course of culture or man- agement render the seeds of our Grapes larger, even at the cost of sterility (since fertility is not required in the seeds of fruit to be eaten), we might obtain a race of enormous-berried THE GRAPE-VINE FAMILY. 569 Grapes, which just now, when large berries are admired, would be a decided acquisition. Vines on their own roots or for stocks in this country are generally propagated from " eyes " or cuttings of the last year's wood, taken off when the Vines are pruned — say, in December or January. Select medium-sized and thoroughly hard or well- ripened wood ; for there is a certain analogy between a bud or eye and a seed or a bulb and perfect ripeness, for the full development of their several parts is necessary to insure their vigorous germination or growth. Cut the eyes as represented in our engravings — fig. a being the eye ready for pot-culture. Inserting Vine-eyes. and fig. b the manner generally adopted when they are intended for planting in the border for permanent Vines. After the eyes are prepared as at fig. a, plant them in clean, well-drained, four-inch pots, firmly filled with fresh turfy loam and sand : rich or manured soil should be avoided, as it be- comes sour or stagnant before root-action begins. Dibble the cutting or eye into the centre of the pot with a little silver sand around it, after which water well, and set the pots in a cool house or pit for a week or two, to allow the eyes to " callus " ere they are placed in heat. Cuttings (fig. b} for border planting may be buried in a shallow layer of soil or in boxes, and placed in a cool pit or vinery, where they will " callus ; " 5/0 GENERAL REVIEW. and they can be planted in May, or even earlier, where they are wanted. Grafting. — This is a ready way of renovating old Vines; and the safest plan to effect this is to bring in young canes in pots, and inarch them on the old established canes after the latter have made twelve to fifteen inches of young growth. The stocks should always be in a much more advanced state of vegetation than the scions, to prevent bleeding. Eyes with a portion of the old wood may be inserted in old canes, as shown in our diagram. " This should be done without cutting too deeply into the stock, which would cause it to bleed, and so prevent a union ; but a very shallow cut one and a half inch long should Vine-grafting. be made, with a cross downward cut at the end, and the graft be fitted to it as shown in our sketches. The graft should be bound up with bass matting rather tightly, and then the junc- tion covered with grafting-wax." Whip, veneer, or even bud- ding succeed well if neatly and quickly performed ; and for indoor culture the Hamburg or Muscat of Alexandria stocks are best, as a general rule. From the ' Florist ' we learn that " Mr J. Douglas has with facility grafted Vines by simple whip-and-tongue grafting young wood on young wood. A moderately vigorous young shoot, with the wood firm, was chosen, and a scion to correspond, and four THE GRAPE-VINE FAMILY. 571 out of five grafts thus put on grew away freely. They were only bound with matting, and probably clay or grafting-wax would better secure the union. The advantages of this plan will be patent to all." The influence of the Vine stock over the scion is amply illustrated in the following quotations; and a well-conducted and carefully-recorded series of experiments with Vine .stocks would be of great value from a horticultural point of view. A correspondent of the ' Florist ' writes : "I have growing here a West's St Peter's, grafted on a Purple Constantia, and I find the fruit greatly improved in flavour, while the berry is much larger, and quite a fortnight earlier. The two adjoining Vines are West's St Peters, and very healthy, one on its own roots, the other grafted on the Black Prince; in these two cases there is no perceptible difference. In another house I have a Black Hamburg inarched on the Purple Constantia, using the two stocks for the one Vine, and in this case the Ham- burg is quite a fortnight earlier, and the fruit much richer in flavour. The Vines on the Constantia appear to have the lead in vigour of all the other Vines. In the same house is a Muscat of Alexandria inarched on the Royal Muscadine, using the two stocks for the Muscat Vine. On this Vine the fruit sets almost to a berry, and is very vigorous. These Vines are freest, which is a consideration greatly in its favour." Mr David Thomson contributes the following valuable infor- mation : " We have the Gros Guillaume Grape — so long mis- called Barbarossa — in two different houses, grafted on the Muscat of Alexandria, and in another and cooler house on Black Hamburg roots. In the Muscat house, and in the cooler Hamburg house, we have it also on its own roots. The results under these three conditions are strikingly differ- ent. In both houses on the Muscat stock it swells its berries much more regularly, and to a larger size, than it does on its own roots in the same house, and on Vines of the same age. In the cooler Black Hamburg house it neither makes such large berries nor bunches ; but it colours much more rapidly than in Muscat temperature on the Muscat stocks, or than it colours on its own roots in either house. We have one vigor- ous Vine on its own roots, in which there are just two mod- erate-sized bunches ; but these two bunches are not nearly so fine in berry as bunches four times their size on Muscat roots under heavy crops. We consider this one of the noblest-look- ing, and in every respect one of the best, late Grapes in culti- vation ; and to those who wish to grow it to the greatest per- 572 GENERAL REVIEW. faction in bunch and berry, as well as high finish, we would say, graft it on a Muscat in a Muscat temperature, and allow the stock at the same time to develop either one or two bear- ing-canes, as well as the graft of Gros Guillaume. It must be added that it fruits more freely under closer pruning on the Muscat than on its own roots, or on the Black Hamburg." Mr J. Smith, of Waterdale, says : " Most of our shy-growing Grapes may be improved, and even shanking to some extent prevented, by grafting. Mrs Pince has more compact bunches, and finishes better; and Muscat Hamburg and Madresfield Court grown in this way are not liable to crack. The Barba- rossa, grafted on the Black Hamburg, fruits freely on spurs, and produces more compact bunches, which are more satisfac- tory for hanging late than large loose ones." Inarching Bunches of Grapes. — Mr Temple says : " This practice is by no means new ; but from experiments which I have made, I am inclined to believe that there is little advan- tage to be gained by grafting a number of bunches together. To see what size a bunch can be made to attain was not, how- ever, my object, but to ascertain what influence one kind of Grape would have on another. A bunch of Foster's Seedling spliced to one of Lady Downes seemed to be flaccid and tasteless compared with the same kind left alone. A bunch of Muscat of Alexandria grafted on a Trebbiano seemed to have little or no Muscat flavour in it. A Lady Downes " worked " on a bunch of itself, was unchanged in flavour and appearance. In order to have handsome bunches as well as increased dimensions by grafting, it is necessary to use small ties for training one of the bunches neatly over its companion, so as to maintain a symmetrical form. Grafting must be done either before the bunch comes into flower or very shortly after the berries are set ; but careful and steady hands must perform the operation." It is always desirable that cultivators, when recording experi- ments in Vine or other grafting, should state fully whether the scion receives all the nourishment afforded by the stock, or whether it is merely inarched or budded on the stock as a branch. This is a most important point ; for it is patent that if the stock is entirely devoted to the scion, its individuality and con- stitutional characteristics must be overruled to a greater or less extent, just as the scion is strong or weakly in habit ; but if the stock is allowed to bear foliage of its own, as well as that of the scion, its influence must necessarily be much greater. THE GRAPE-VINE FAMILY. S73 Seedling or Cross-bred Grapes. Of course nearly all the Grapes in cultivation are either seminal or cross-bred variations, but those named in the fol- lowing list are interesting as having been raised from well- known varieties in English gardens, and I give them here as examples of what intelligent cross-breeding or even seminal variation and selection will effect in a few years. Of late years the greatest gain in the way of new Grapes has been the late-keeping varieties. Abram Bass. — A seedling raised by Mr Pearson of Chilwell, from Mrs Pince's Black Muscat. BidwelPs Seedling. — A black seedling Grape raised by Mr J. C. Bidwell of Exeter, and sent out by Messrs J. Veitch & Sons, who first exhibited it in 1858. Ascot Citronelle. — Bunch 10-12 inches long, slightly shoul- dered, the berries being white with a thin bloom, and the point of the style persistent at the apex. It was raised by Mr Standish between Blanc de Saumer and Muscat Citronelle, and has a Muscat flavour. Chilwell Alicante. — An oblong-berried black variety, raised by Mr J. Pearson at Chilwell. It is a seedling from Black Alicante, and first fruited in 1871. Dr Hogg. — A yellow round-berried variety, raised by Mr J. Pearson. It is a seedling from Duchess of Buccleuch, which it resembles in flavour, but is much larger in berry (1872). In reference to this now well-known and excellent Grape, the raiser says : " I tried what the effect of crossing Ferdinand with other Grapes would give, and raised a large batch of seed- lings, some also from other crosses, which were all planted together. Some of these were exhibited 6th September 1871. From them the committee of the Royal Horticultural Society selected one for a first-class certificate, and as the chairman, Dr Hogg, appeared much struck with it, I named it after him. I knew it was a seedling from the Duchess of Buccleuch, and never could make up my mind what was its other parent, or if it had been crossed at all. Knowing that all the race of Grapes, comprising Muscat Muscadine, Chasselas Musque, Joslin's St Alban's, which were the result of a cross between the Muscat of Alexandra and Royal Muscadine, to which the Duchess of Buccleuch belongs, were, though very high flavoured, dread- fully subject to crack, I feared the same might be the case with mine, and so never recommended it to any one." Duchess of Buccleuch. — Bunch long and tapering ; berries 574 GENERAL REVIEW. small, round, greenish white, having a rich Muscat or "Chasse- las Musque" flavour. Raised at Dalkeith by Mr W. Thomson. Duke of Buccleuch. — Bunch 8-10 inches in length; berries very large, with a prominent style covered with a rich amber skin, and having a juicy " Hamburg" flavour. Early Ascot Frontignan. — A hardy Grape resembling " White Frontignan" in appearance and flavour. It is one of Mr Standish's seedlings, raised from " Muscat de Saumer," fer- tilised with pollen from " Chasselas Musque." Emperor of Morocco. — An oblong black Grape, raised by Mr Pearson. It is a seedling from Black Morocco. Ferdinand de Lesseps. — This is a distinct-flavoured Grape, the berries and bunches resembling Chasselas Musque. It was raised by Mr Pearson, and is the result of a cross between the American " Strawberry " Grape and Royal Muscadine, the former being the seed-bearing parent. About 100 seedlings were raised, all worthless except this one, which is the most distinct of all Grapes in flavour, tasting like new honey or Strawberries and Pine -apple combined. The raiser thus alludes to it : " Here was at least a great curiosity, a pretty scented fruit, which few with their eyes shut would take to be a Grape. But every one does not like barley-sugar or new honey either, and then unfortunately the berries were little larger than those of the Frontignan, and the bunches scarcely so long, and though " Ferdinand " found many admirers, I never recommended any one to plant it who had not seen and tasted it." Golden Champion. — A remarkably handsome, large-berried, golden Grape, raised by Mr W. Thomson at Dalkeith in 1863. (See 'Florist,' 1868, p. 217, for coloured plate and de- scription.) Golden Queen. — This is a very handsome variety, the result of a cross effected between Ferdinand de Lesseps and Black Alicante. It fruited for the first time last year (1873). The bunch and berry are in shape exactly like Madresfield Court, but the colour is a bright gold. The flavour is that of a Muscat of Alexandria, without any of the aroma peculiar to the Muscats, being in fact a rich, fleshy, sweet Grape. The foliage shows its hybrid origin, being strong, dark-looking, and feeling to the touch more like that of a Fig than a Vine. The wood is bright cinnamon in colour, and, taking fruit and Vine together, it is perhaps the most beautiful Vine ever seen growing. Ingram 's Hardy Prolific Muscat. — This is a seedling raised by Mr Ingram, and it fruited in 1861. Lady Downers Seedling. — This is well known as one of the THE GRAPE-VINE FAMILY. 575 best of all late-keeping Grapes, and was raised by the Viscount- ess Downe, Baldersby Park, near Thirsk. Madresfield Court. — This is a really first-class black Grape. It was raised in 1864 by Mr Cox, gardener to the Earl of Beauchamp at Madresfield Court, Great Malvern, and was selected as the best of a batch of seedlings obtained from the Muscat of Alexandria and the Black Alicante intercrossed in both directions. It proves to be a Grape of excellent quality, setting its fruit as freely as the Black Hamburg, than which it takes about a fortnight longer to ripen. It is figured and described in the 'Florist/ 1870, p. 265, and was sent out by Messrs J. and C. Lee. Melville's Perfumed Muscat. — This seedling variety was raised by Mr Melville, Dalmeny Park. It is said to be a good deal like the White Muscat of Alexandria, both in bunch and berry, but more golden in colour when fully ripe, and sharper, richer, and more perfumed in flavour; very thin- skinned, tender-fleshed, and dissolving in the mouth. Its most striking peculiarity is the delicate agreeable perfume which it possesses. It is said to have sprung from Snow's Muscat Hamburg, alias Black Muscat of Alexandria. Muscat Champion. — Bunches like large-berried Hamburgs, the berries having a reddish-black skin, generally much ham- mered. It has a Frontignan flavour, raised by Mr W. Melville, gardener to the Earl of Rosebery, Dalmeny Park, near Edin- burgh, who fertilised flowers of the Mill Hill Hamburg with pollen taken from the Canon Hall Muscat. Mrs Pearson. — This is another of Mr Pearson's seedlings, and is of the same parentage as " Golden Queen" — viz., Black Alicante crossed with Ferdinand de Lesseps. Mrs Pincers Black Muscat. — This is a late seedling Grape of excellent flavour, but it rarely colours well. It originated from seeds sown by the late Mrs Pince of Exeter, and is valuable for its exquisite flavour and good keeping qualities. Royal Vineyard. — This is a robust white or yellow Grape, bearing large bunches and oblong berries. It is said to be a seedling from the old " Syrian." Ventts Black Muscat (Sneyd Seedling). — A very handsome black variety, raised by Mr Sweeting, gardener to T. G. Venn, Esq., Sneyd Park, Bristol. Its parentage seems to be unknown; it appears, however, to be only a good variety of the Muscat Hamburg. Waltham Cross. — A very handsome white Grape, with oblong berries, sent out by Mr W. Paul in 1872. White Lady DownJs. — A seedling from " Lady Downe's 576 GENERAL REVIEW. Seedling, not crossed with pollen from any other variety, and similar in nearly every respect except colour to the seed- parent. It is one of Mr W. Thomson's seedlings raised at Dalkeith. Royal Ascot. — Similar in appearance and flavour to the Black Frontignan. It was raised by Mr Standish from Bowood Mus- cat, crossed with pollen from Trouveren, and is curious as an instance of seminal ancestral reversion, it being a black off- spring from white parents. In addition to the above, numerous other varieties have originated from seed in this country; for example, we have quite a race of seedlings from the Muscat of Alexandria, of which Bowood, Tynningham, and Canon Hall may be named as examples. Mr W. Thomson of the Vineyard, Clovenfords, who is well known as one of the most successful raisers of valuable new Grapes, has given me the following complete history of the four varieties he has already distributed. Two of them — namely, Golden Champion and Duke of Buccleuch — are the largest - berried Grapes in cultivation. White Lady Downe's keeps better than any other White Grape; and the Duchess of Buccleuch, although perhaps not so large in berry as is desirable, deserves a place in every vinery for its two excellent qualities — viz., fertility and excellent flavour. " It was always a subject of regret with me," says Mr Thom- son, " that the exquisite Chasselas Musque Grape persisted in cracking just as it became ripe, and I accordingly set about raising a batch of seedlings, which I hoped would retain its fine flavour, fruit in a moderate temperature such as it fruits in itself, and be free from its defects. I began by using the pollen of the Muscat to impregnate the Chasselas Musque, and also used its pollen to impregnate the Muscat. Every seed- ling I raised, of which the Chasselas was the female parent, was distinct in shape or size of berry from it, and none were so large. Amongst this batch, the only one I kept was the Duchess of Buccleuch ; all the others had such radical defects that I at once discarded them. The Duchess has what is an unpardonable fault in these days of monster bunches and berries — it has a small berry ; yet few will dispute its being very prolific, and it is of exquisite flavour. " Of the seedlings of whom the Chasselas was the female parent, not one differed in any respect from it as far as its defects are concerned. Some were smaller, and some might be a shade larger, but all cracked and were discarded. " I after this made an attempt in another direction, crossing THE GRAPE-VINE FAMILY. 577 the Bowood Muscat with Black Hamburg. All differed from their parents, and none were so good, except one grizzly Grape, something like a badly-coloured Mrs Pince. This had a large berry, strong foliage, and exquisite flavour, but not over four or five berries could be got to set on a bunch. This Grape I crossed with the Hamburg again, in as far as I used the pollen of that Grape to induce this seedling to set its fruit. I sowed some seeds taken out of one berry of it, and one grew, and this was named the ' Golden Champion.' It fruited most freely with me and with my brother, then at Archerfield, and finished splendidly, showing no signs of the spot which it has since developed in so many instances, but which I maintain is the result of growing it in an atmosphere overcharged with moisture. " I felt the want there was of a companion White Grape for Lady Downe's — one that would succeed under the same treat- ment and hang as late — and raised a number of seedlings from it uncrossed. Some were like Sloes in flavour, some not larger than Currants, but one I thought worth saving, and named it ' White Lady Downe's.' Before offering this Vine to the public, I sent fruit of it and its black parent to my employer's table, perfectly plump and sound, on the 2oth of April, and I still believe there is no White Grape will keep plump and fresh so late as will this variety. " My next attempt was in the direction of getting a larger early Grape than the Hamburg, but of the same colour, and I attempted to cross the Golden Champion with the Hamburg and the Hamburg with it. From the former I got the Duke of Buccleuch, as the one I thought best worth keeping, and, before offering it to the public, I sent over a ton of its fruit to the various markets, where it sold well. " The cross where the Hamburg was the female parent yielded no seedling I thought worth fruiting a second time except one white one ; and after fruiting it several years I dis- carded it, as being no advance on such a Grape as Buckland's Sweetwater. " To obtain the four varieties I have referred to, and which I offered to the public, believing them to be acquisitions, I fruited about 200 seedlings, and was clearly impressed with the strong tendency they had as a rule to degenerate, as com- pared with their parents." 2 o 5/8 GENERAL REVIEW. THE GINGER FAMILY (Zingiberacea). A rather small group of aromatic rhizomatous plants found throughout the tropics,' and represented in our garden's by the Ginger plant (Zingiber*officinalts\ the rhizomes of which are sometimes grown for preserving, and by Curcuma, Hedychium, Alpinia, and one or two species of Costus. All the species are readily multiplied by dividing established plants, ox by cut- ting the rhizomes into pieces and placing them in bottom-heat, by which they are induced to throw out shoots. 579 PROPAGATOR'S CALENDAR. JANUAEY. Kitchen and Hardy-Fruit Garden. — Order seeds. Sow French Beans, Salading, Peas (on turves), Celery, and Cauliflowers on a gentle hotbed or iu the early fruit-houses. Start early Ashleaf and other Potatoes in shal- low boxes. Plant Rhubarb, Seakale, Asparagus, and herbs. Sow Tomatoes and Egg-plants and Vegetable Marrows for fruiting early in frames. Make up Mushroom ridges outside ready for spawning next month. Sow early Cabbage and Celery in frames or boxes. Sow Rad- ishes and Lettuce. Sow a few Peas, Mazagan Beans, Spinach, Radishes, and Horn Carrots on a warm south border. Sweet Basil and Marjoram may now be sown in heat. Hotbeds made last month will now be use- ful for forwarding early crops : those made of two parts of leaves to one of litter are best for Turnips, Cauliflowers, Lettuce, Celery, Tomatoes, Melons, Cucumbers, and Marrows. Plant Jerusalem Artichokes. Make plantations of Horse-radish either by dibbling in roots deeply with a crow- bar or by planting at regular distances apart in well-manured trenches 2 to 3 feet deep. Grafting may be commenced in the case of Apples, Pears, Plums, and other hardy fruit-trees ; and if not already done, now is a good time to select suitable scions or grafts from fruit-trees of well-known ex- cellence. If the weather is cold and frosty, grafting may be deferred for a few weeks, and scions cut now may be buried on a north border until wanted. Trim up stocks and prepare grafting materials of all kinds. Now is a good time to look after Quince, Paradise, Doucin, Plum, or Brompton Almond, and other fruit-tree stocks for next year's work. Sow Plum, Almond, and Peach stones, and pips of Apples and Pears, during dry and sunny weather. Flower-Garden and Shrubbery. — Propagate Echeverias and Semper- vivums for edgings from cuttings, offsets, or leaves. Sow Sweet - peas, Canary Creepers and other Tropseolums, Mignonette, Stocks, and other annuals, in boxes on a gentle heat. Propagate herbaceous, rock, and border plants by division. Plant Aconites, Snowdrops, Crocus, and other hardy bulbs, if not done in the autumn. Dig up Musk roots for potting. Look to the root-stocks or tubers of sub-tropical plants, and propagate Wigandias, Solanums, Ficus, &c., from cuttings. Verbenas and Lobelias may now be topped, and the tops struck as cuttings, replacing the stock plants near the light. See that all seeds are in proper order for sowing 580 PROPAGATOR'S CALENDAR. and order the necessary stock or such as may be required to fill vacancies. Keep a sharp eye on the stock of bedding-plants, and begin propagating in bright sunny weather. Seeds of Tagetes, Pyrethrum, Lobelia, and ornamental Gourds may now be sown in heat, as also may those of Lobelias, Verbenas, especially V. venosa, Pyrethrum, and tender annuals for early flowering in pots or frames. Tree Peonies may now be grafted in heat on pieces of the root of the common herbaceous kinds dug from the open border. Roses may now be grafted either on the Manetti stock in heat ; or scions of the best hybrid Perpetuals may be splice or whip grafted on Wild-brier roots, and planted out at once on a sheltered border and covered with sawdust, dry leaves, or other light mulching material, to pro- tect them from severe frost and wet. This is a good time to dig Briers for Rose stocks from the woods and hedges, after which trim carefully and plant in rows two feet apart. Many hardy flowering shrubs and trees may now be grafted either in heat or in the open air. This month is a very busy one with sowing, planting, and other operations out of doors. In the nursery, seeds of most hard-wooded trees may be sown, if not already in the ground. Seedlings of Ash, Elm, Oak, Sycamore, &c., may be trans- planted out of the seedling beds or drills into nursery lines ; and all kinds of forest-trees may be put out into plantations during favourable weather. Gather cones of the Pine tribe, which will now be generally ripe. Plant and Fruit Houses. — Where heat is at command the propagator ean sow seeds, strike cuttings, or graft successfully under glass at almost any season, but when practicable the cold dark days of mid-winter should be avoided as much as possible. During this month, however, when the days begin to lengthen and light becomes more intense, nearly all stove and greenhouse seeds may be sown on a genial bottom-heat. Tender annuals, as Balsams, Cockscombs, Amaranthus, Rhodanthe, Acroclinium, Calceolarias, Primulas, and Gloxinias may also now be sown. All kinds of tender shrubs, such as Ixoras, Allamandas, Gardenias, Correas, Jasmines, Ceonothus, Japanese Medlar, &c., may now be grafted on a gentle bottom- heat, as also may Camellias, Azaleas, Daphnes, Tea-scented and other Roses. Many rare or new Conifers may also now be grafted in heat, the stocks being grown in pots for this purpose. Cuttings of Solanums, Wigan- dias, Ficus, Senecio, Sonchus, and seeds of Chamsepuce, Amaranthus, Perilla, Delphinium, and sub-tropical plants may now be sown. Vine- eyes may now be prepared and planted either singly in pots or on turves placed on a gentle bottom-heat. Leaf-cuttings of Begonias, Sempervi- vums, Echeverias, and Pachyphytums may now be inserted in well-drained pans of light soil surfaced with sand and placed on a shelf near the light. The last batch of bulbs may now be planted for late blooming. Now is a good time to prepare and insert root-cuttings of Aralia, Bouvardia, Cydonia japonica, and other plants which do not succeed well otherwise. If it is desirable to propagate any rare Conifers, flowering-shrubs, &c., and stocks are not convenient, never forget that fibrous pieces of their own roots answer perfectly well. FEBRUARY. Kitchen and Hardy-Fruit Garden. — If not already done, seeds should now be at once obtained. During dry, sunny weather, Peas and Spinach may be sown in the warm borders, and Potatoes planted in frames. Cabbage (both white and red varieties), Lettuce, Endive, Carrots, Onions, Parsley, Parsnips, and Radishes may be sown on warm borders. Capsicum, Cauliflower, Celeriac, Celery, Couve Tronchuda, PROPAGATOR'S CALENDAR. 581 Cress, Cucumber, Melon, and Mustard may also be sown in heat; sow first Celery ; add spawn to Mushroom beds when at a temper- ature of about 60° ; Beans, sow general crop ; Peas, sow second crop ; sow early Horn Carrots ; plant earliest Potatoes on sheltered borders ; sow Cos Lettuce in cold frames ; sow Basil and Marjoram in pans and heat ; Leeks and Onions sow in lines or broadcast ; save fruit-tree prun- ings for grafting ; plant Cucumbers and Melons in frames ; select Beet, Turnips, Onions, Carrots, Salsify, Garlic, Parsnips, &c., for seed-saving purposes ; sow Cucumber, Melons, Vegetable Marrows, Capsicum, French Beans, Celery, Cauliflowers, Tomatoes, Egg-plants, &c., on a genial hot- bed, or on a bottom-heat of about 60° ; start early Potatoes in shallow boxes of soil or rotten manure ; plant Artichokes, Rhubarb, Horse-radish, and Seakale, Asparagus, Spinach, Beet, &c., in the open quarters ; make up Mushroom beds ready for spawning ; sow seeds or kernels of Apples and Pears to raise free stocks for grafting, also nuts of Walnuts, Chestnuts, and Hazels ; plant suckers and cuttings of Gooseberries, Currants, Codlins, Figs, Vines, Mulberries, and Filberts ; Figs, Vines, Filberts, and Mul- berries may also now be layered ; plant suckers of Plums, Pears, Apples, £c. , for grafting and budding, and make layers of Muscle Plums to raise stocks on which to bud Peaches, Nectarines, Apricots, &c. ; procure scions or grafts of all hardy fruits ready for working in this or next month. Flower-Garden and Shrubbery. — Now is the time to overhaul and pro- pagate bedding-plants of all kinds. Sow in heat, Lobelia Blue, Pyrethrum Golden Feather, Perilla, Amaranthus, Verbena venosa (if not done last month), Balsams, and all kinds of hardy and half-hardy annuals, in a tem- perature of 50° to 55°. During mild open weather, double-blossomed Prunus, Amygdalopsis, Pyrus, Planera, Cydonia, Amelanchier, &c., may be grafted. Examine tubers of Canna, Dahlia, Marvel of Peru, &c., and place them in heat for propagating purposes. This is the time to sow Ranunculus seeds, and this is a flower that every one should grow who has a garden. One of the chief charms of this flower, particularly to a florist, is that it is very sportive and vigorous from seed — so much so, that a seed- ling bed is perhaps the great surprise and charm of Ranunculus growing. Even the most double exhibition flower will frequently afford a seed-head when fully expanded, but very seldom any stamens. Pollen must there- fore be obtained from well-shaped and coloured semi-doubles that afford it freely. Good seed somewhat resembles scales or flakes of bran with a slight brown germ set in the middle. It is very delicate, and, like seed of the Auricula, is better left uncovered by any soil, and the soil kept gener- ally moist by a sheet of glass over it, after which place the seed-pans in a cool frame. Scions of Pyrus domestica or True Service-tree may now be grafted on thick pieces of its own roots well furnished with fibres, or on stocks of the Mountain - ash ; and .many other rare or valuable ornamental shrubs, as Spiraeas, &c. , may be propagated in this manner. Work double-blossomed and ornamental Cherries (Cerasus] on the Maha- leb stock, which is itself easily struck from cuttings of the young wood in the autumn. All planting operations should be pushed forward ; and the sowing of tree-seeds, with the exception of Pines and Firs, should be as far as possible completed. Put in cuttings of trees and shrubs not usually propagated by seeds, such as Poplars, Willows, Privet, Elder, and Sea Buckthorn. Remove Lime and other layers from the stools, and transplant in nursery beds, if not already done. Spring work generally should be carried on with vigour when the weather is open. This is an excellent time for grafting Ivies, especially the tree and varie- gated varieties. Any strong green-leaved variety may be struck from cuttings as a stock in the open border, and are then to be dug up and 582 PROPAGATOR'S CALENDAR. potted. Cleft or veneer grafting in a heated frame is the most successful method. Sow seeds of tender annuals and herbaceous plants in heat ; some of the hardier kinds may be sown on a warm border, and protected during cold weather with a case or hand-light. Propagate Alpines and herbaceous plants by slips or cuttings either of the stem or root. Anem- ones, Ranunculi, &c., may now be planted for seed. Sow tree and shrub seeds of all kinds in fine open weather, and plant out hardy deciduous kinds from the seed-beds into nursery beds or rows. Put in cuttings or layers of Honeysuckles, and many other ornamental trees and shrubs. Collect scions of ornamental trees and shrubs, choosing the middle-sized shoots of last season before their buds begin to burst : these may be tied in bundles and laid in by the heels on a shady north border until wanted. Many ornamental trees and shrubs may now be grafted more successfully than at any other time, and others may now be best propagated by cuttings, seeds, or layers. Plant and Fruit Houses. — This is a good time to insert cuttings and sow seeds of all winter and spring flowering plants, such as Geraniums, Fuchsias, Chrysanthemums, and tender annuals. Start Dahlias and Cannas. Put in cuttings or pipings of Tree Carnations, Cinerarias, double Primulas. Sow Cyclamen seeds for blooming after those sown in autumn. All kinds of stove and greenhouse plants propagated by grafting may now be operated on, and especially Fuchsias, fancy and variegated Geraniums, Iponuza Horsfallicc on roots of /. (Batatus] paniculata, Aralias, as A. Veitchii, A. lepfophylla, A. reticulata, and others. These last may either be worked on the commoner kinds, which root with tolerable freedom from cuttings, or on thick bits of root well furnished with fibres. The two best stocks for tender stove Aralias are A. reticulata and A. Schefflera — the last being especially recommended by Messrs Haage & Schmidt, of Erfurt. Ixoras, Allamandas, Petrceas, &c., may also now be grafted in heat — as also may Roses, Daphnes, Abutilons, and Azaleas. Graft or inarch Vines and shoots of Peaches and Nectarines to fill up vacancies, if not done last month. Experiments in grafting and hybridising may now be tried often with better success than later in the year. Wisteria sinensis and the white and double-flowered varieties of W. fmtescens may now be grafted on pieces of the root of their respective kinds. Some of the orna- mental kinds of Ficus succeed well worked on roots of the common Fig- tree (Fictts caricd) in a moist bottom-heat. Put in Vine-eyes singly in 3-inch pots, and plunge them in a bottom- heat of 80° and a top-heat of 65° to 70°. MARCH. Kitchen and Hardy-Fruit Garden.— This is a busy month in all depart- ments, and nearly all hardy plants may now be propagated from seeds. Sow Asparagus, Kale, Basil, Beans twice in the month, Beet, Borecole, Broccoli early, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Cardoon, Carrot, Cauliflower, Celeriac, Celery, Couve Tronchuda, Cress, French Beans, Leek, Lettuce, Mustard, Onion, Parsley, Parsnip, Peas twice, Radish twice, Rampion, Salsify, Savoy, Scorzonera, Spinach, and Turnip. Fruit-trees of nearly all kinds should now be grafted, and the present opportunity should be taken to renovate old Apples and Pears on walls by partially heading back the branches and working approved sorts on them. Plant Potatoes on warm dry soils, and make plantations of Asparagus, Seakale, Rhubarb, &c. Now is the time to sow Seakale for next season's forcing ; indeed, seeds sown now in deep rich sail will form strong crowns, ready for digging PROPAGATOR'S CALENDAR. 583 up and forcing next November. Finish grafting hardy fruit-trees of all kinds, if not already done. Propagate herbs of various kinds by cuttings, divi- sion, or seeds. Fruit-trees generally, such as Apples, Pears, Plums, Cherries, Medlars, Figs, Gooseberries, and Currants, may be increased by cuttings, layers, or by grafting, which last-named operation may now be generally performed. Sow kernels of Apples, Pears, Quinces, and Med- lars for stocks, as recommended last month. Flower-Garden and Shrubbery. — Now is a good time to increase hardy perennials by division, if not already done. Plant Gladioli and other hardy bulbs in beds or borders. Seeds of all hardy herbaceous plants may now be sown in cool frames or on the open borders, protected with oiled-paper frames or hand-lights. Finish up grafting ornamental-flowering shrubs in fine weather ; complete plantations ; beat up failures ; finish hedge-plant- ing ; sow remaining deciduous tree-seeds not already undertaken ; dry and clean between the lines of plants still to stand in nursery, and finish, if possible, the transplanting into nursery-rows of all young seedling trees, particularly deciduous kinds ; green-crop with Potatoes nursery land not planted up. This is the best preparation for land to be sown with tree- seeds in autumn. Commence to graft ornamental trees, such as the varie- ties of Ash, Beech, Oak, Elm, &c. Sow, in heat, Asters, Balsams, Cockscombs, Marigolds, Stocks, Zinnias, and other half-hardy annuals ; Larkspur, Mignonette, Sweet -peas, and hardy annuals out of doors ; seeds of greenhouse and stove plants. Sow seeds of Verbenas in well- drained pans, placed on a genial bottom-heat of 70° to 80°. Seeds sown early in the month, and pricked off in boxes as soon as fit to handle, make fresh and vigorous plants for the flower-garden in June, and withstand drought and insects much better than plants from cuttings. It is a pity the Verbena is not more often treated as an annual. Put in slips, cuttings, or offsets of Auriculas ; and seed from choice varieties may now be sown. Sow seed also of Primroses, Polyanthus, Stocks, Violas, and other popular hardy flowers. Annuals of all the hardier kinds may now be sown in the open beds and borders. Sow tender annuals and perennials in heat. Sow seeds of Oaks, Beech, Conifers, &c. Large cuttings or truncheons of Willow, Poplar, Alder, Elders, Mulberries, &c., may now be driven into the banks of streams, where they are to remain. Propagate rare trees and shrubs by layering, and graft curious and rare varieties of deciduous trees, English and Weeping Elms, Willows, &c. Sow seeds of Sweet-brier, and also of the Common Brier, for Rose stocks. Plant out seedlings from the seed-beds into nursery-rows. Cut or head back stocks budded last autumn. Caragana frutescens, C. arborescens fastigiata, C. jubata, and the singular weeping Calophaca (Colutea) Wolgarica, all handsome lawn-trees, may now be grafted on standard stocks of Caragana arborescens, as also may be the beautiful Hamilodendron argentaim. Plant and Fruit Houses. — This is a busy month, when vegetable life everywhere is becoming more vigorous every day. Bedding-plants of all kinds will now be in a fit condition for propagating and getting forward for May or June. Start Pelargoniums and Fuchsias for cuttings. Overhaul tuberous-rooted Begonias, Gloxinias, Achimenes, Tydseas, Nsegelias, and other gesneraceous plants, and pot off some for starting. Sow seeds of Gloxinias, Balsams, and stove and greenhouse plants generally, in a bottom- heat of 65° to 75°. Cuttings of Gardenias, Ixoras, and other stove plants may now be inserted, as also Sparmannia, Fuchsia, Heliotrope, &c., for winter flowering. Sow Mignonette, Phlox, Dianthus, and all hardy or half-hardy annuals ready for planting out in May. Divide Valottas and other bulbs. Graft Roses on the Manetti stock, or on roots of the Wild- brier, in a gentle bottom-heat of 70°. In mild weather, all kinds of orna- 584 PROPAGATOR'S CALENDAR. mental Plums, Cherries, Aucubas, and other ornamental shrubs, including Conifers, may be grafted in heat or in the open ground. Sow Cucumbers, Melons, Tomatoes, Egg-plants, Capsicums, French Beans, and Salading for succession. Start early Potatoes in shallow boxes. Start Dahlias for cuttings or grafting, also all kinds of sub-tropical plants, such as Cannas, Solanums, &c. If not already done, the finer varieties of Clematis may now be grafted on the roots of C. viticella or C. azureus ; or pieces of their own roots develop buds and shoots if placed in heat. This is a good time to graft some of the best Daphnes, for which rooted cuttings or layers of the Common Spurge, D. laureola, or seedlings of D. Mezereum, make good stocks. D. indica and its varieties take well to stocks of D. laureola, and should be grafted in a heated frame or case, splice, whip, or cleft grafting being equally successful. Cuttings of Hydrangeas should be put in to grow on for next year as soon as the plants are sufficiently forward to dis- tinguish which of the shoots are without bloom-buds, as, when taken off in the young soft state directly they are long enough for the purpose, they soon take root if placed in gentle moist heat. If tuberous-rooted Begonias of the B. boliviensis section have been started in heat early in the year, cuttings may now be taken off and rooted freely in sawdust or sawdust and sand, on a genial bottom-heat. It is necessary to propagate these plants early, so that they can form strong tubers before winter, otherwise they are apt to perish. Cuttings from freshly-started plants which have not flowered are by far the best. B. Veitchii, B. rosceflora, and even the variety called Corail Rose, come true from seed, which, if gathered in the autumn and sown early the following spring, \vill flower the same year. Most of the species of Begonia may be readily multiplied from seed. The cross- bred varieties of the B. Sedenii, B. intermedia, and B. Chelsoni types are, however, very variable when propagated in this manner (as indeed are most other cross-bred plants), so that the only sure way of perpetuating them is from cuttings. Vines may now be grafted (see pp. 82, 570). A correspondent of the ' Journal of Horticulture ' records his success in grafting bearing wood on an unfruitful Vine : Pieces of old short-jointed and fruitful wood, saved from the autumn pruning, \vere preserved fresh by burying them about an inch deep in the open ground ; and in the spring, when the barren Vine commenced to break, these pieces were splice-grafted, some on the old rod, others on the laterals, the cut parts or splice being about six inches in length, and these were neatly fitted together and secured by matting, the whole being protected with moss. The lower ends of the grafts were inserted in bottles of water suspended from the roof. After the union had been effected and growth had begun, the scions were stopped in the usual way, the growth of the stock being restricted to allow them the lead, and the result was good bunches of really fine Grapes on a Vine which had been barren for years. APRIL. Kitchen and Hardy-Fruit Garden.— This is a busy seed month, and main crops not sown last month should be now got in without delay. Sow Asparagus, Kale, Beans twice, Beet. Borecole, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Cardoon, Carrot, Cauliflower, Celeriac, Celery, Chou de Milan, Couve Tronchuda, Cress, Cucumber, French Beans, Gourds, Herbs (sweet and pot), Leek, Lettuce, Mustard. Ohio Squash, Onions, Parsley, Parsnip, Peas twice, Radish twice, Rampion, Runner Beans, Salsify, Savoy, Scorzonera, Spinach, Turnip, Vegetable Marrow. Complete the grafting of fruit-trees, PROPAGATOR'S CALENDAR. 585 and finish layering Quinces, Muscle Plum, Paradise, Doucin, and other fruit-tree stocks. Flower-Garden and Shrubbery. — Renovate patchy lawns by sowing new grass-seeds on a sprinkling of rich soil brushed well into the old turf. See after propagating all plants required for summer bedding from seeds and cuttings. Sow hardy and half-hardy annuals of all kinds, if not already done. Put in Chrysanthemum cuttings in a frame on a slight bottom-heat. Finish grafting ornamental trees, earthing up sufficiently such as require it — viz., all dwarf, and protecting with straw round the clay all tall, grafted kinds : the old mode of grafting with a mixture of clay and horse or cow droppings is by some recommended in preference to the more modern system of using grafting-wax or other preparations requiring extra care in the application. Complete transplanting the Pine tribe, whether in the nursery or plantations. Commence to sow seeds of coni- ferous forest-trees — viz., Scotch Fir and other hardy Pines, Spruce, and towards the end of the month Larch. Messrs Lawson & Co., of Edin- burgh, sow about three tons of Larch seed every year in April and May, and it has been computed that this quantity produces about thirty million plants. Sow Rhododendron, Deutzia, and other seeds in raised beds under frames. This is a good time to propagate Misseltoe from seeds, which should be pressed into cracks of the bark on the under sides of the branches and carefully protected from birds. Many fail in propagating this shrubby parasite owing to the latter precaution not being taken ; and an- other source of failure results from gathering the berries at Christmas when in an unripe state. Sow seeds of all kinds of annuals, biennials, and perennial herbaceous plants, either in the open air or in pots or boxes in heat. Finish layering deciduous trees, and also evergreens for planting in autumn. Finish sowing tree-seeds of all kinds, and clean the one-year- old seed-beds from weeds. Plant and Fruit Houses. — Seeds and cuttings of all stove and green- house plants may now be put in, if not done already. Graft or inarch Vines where requisite and not already done. This is generally done on the old wood, but whip-grafting of young laterals succeeds well if care- fully performed and a moist atmosphere is maintained. Where the growth has commenced in Peach-houses, take the opportunity of inarching in shoots on the main branches where requisite to fill blanks, if not done already. Capsicums, Cucumbers, Melons, Tomatoes, &c., for successional crops, may now be sown, or cuttings may be taken from Cucumbers sown in January, as these fruit quicker than seedlings. Propagate Poinsettias, Euphorbias, Justitias, Aphelandras (seed), Fuchsia, Sparmannia, Chry- santhemum, and other autumn and winter blooming plants from cuttings in heat. Aralias, Ipomaeas, Bignonias, and other plants difficult to strike from cuttings, may now be grafted in heat on pieces of their own roots or the roots of an allied species. Sow seeds of Primula sinensis, Calceolaria, Balsams, Celosias, Globe Amaranthus, &c., in heat. Graft Dahlias, Tree Peonies, &c., by inlaying young shoots on rooted pieces of the old tubers. The Tree Peony succeeds well on the fleshy roots of the hardy herbaceous kinds. Potatoes may now be spliced, or eyes may be inlaid, on old tubers of other kinds for experimental purposes. Ring the stems of leggy Dra- caenas and Yuccas, and surround the incision either with damp moss or soil, so as to facilitate the emission of roots, after which sever entirely and pot off in the usual way, leaving the old stumps to produce cuttings if required. Aralia cuttings may now be inserted in well-drained pots. Cut the stems to single eyes, leaving a leaf to each, and insert at once in a close case on a gentle bottom-heat. Crotons, Stephanotis, and Hoya also root well 586 PROPAGATOR'S CALENDAR. MAY. Kitchen and Hardy-Fruit Garden.— Now is the time to sow for late main crops. Sow at once Asparagus, Kale, Beans, Beet, Borecole, Broc- coli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage for Coleworts, Cardoon, Carrot, Cauli- flower, Chou de Milan, Couve Tronchuda, Cress, Cucumber, Endive, French Beans, Gourds, Lettuce, Mustard, Ohio Squash, Onion, Parsley, Parsnip, Peas twice, Spinach, Turnip, Vegetable Marrow. Look over all fruit-tree grafts, and where they have failed, thin out the shoots of the stock ready for inserting pushing buds at once, or dormant buds in the autumn. Budding ought to.be more often practised in the multiplication of Apples, Pears, and other hardy fruits, as it rarely fails to produce the desired effect; and for filling vacancies among the branches of wall trees or espaliers, this method has much to recommend it. Select Parsley, Spinach, Lettuce, Leeks, Celery, Endive, Broccoli, Onions, and other crops for seed-bearing. The flower-stems of Onions and Leeks should now be supported by stakes and lines along the rows. Flower-Garden and Shrubbery. — Now is the time to examine Roses and other stocks intended for budding. Finish in the early part of the month the sowing of all kinds of Pines and Larch. Before consigning the latter to the ground, the seed should be put in "the steep," as it is com- monly termed — that is, spread on a floor to the depth of 10 to 12 inches, and completely saturated with water. The seed should be turned regu- larly twice or thrice a-day for a week or so, by the end of which time the grains will have swelled gradually and the " eye" have become more pro- minent. Many failures in brairding Larch seeds occur when this operation is not carefully attended to. Clean all herbage in young plantations. Weed carefully all seed-beds. Grass seeds may still be sown, as also may hardy annuals of all kinds for late flowering. Wallflowers may now be sown in quantity for blooming next spring. Now is a good time to divide Neapolitan Violets for propagating. Sow Pansies, Antirrhinums, Wall- flowers, Stocks, Mignonette, and other fragrant flowers on all dry banks, old crumbling walls, and waste places generally. Look after the stock of spring bedding-plants, and propagate by seeds, cuttings, or division such as are wanted in quantity. Sow spare seeds of all hardy biennials and perennials in the open borders in showery weather ; Rose-budding may also be commenced late in the month if the weather is favourable. Buds for future use may be forwarded by pinching out the points of the shoots. Evergreens may in many cases still be propagated by layers, if not already done. Layers of the current year's growth will now root much more quickly than the old wood. \Vater seed-beds, layers, &c., in dry weather, and see to the trees and shrubs grafted this spring. An excellent plan of budding Roses, largely practised by Mr R. Smith, of Worcester, may be here described. The stocks used are the Boursault Amadis, Manetti, Common China, and other strong clean-growing kinds, which are propa- gated for the purposes by root or stem cuttings. All these kinds throw up strong suckers readily the first or second year, and these are budded at or below the ground-level, the soil being scraped away while the bud is inserted and tied, after which the junction of bud and stock is covered with an inch or two of fine soil, which keeps the bud moist and fresh until a union is effected ; after which the bud soon forces its way upwards, and the stocks are then headed back. Look over rare Lilies, and if it is desir- able to increase them, layer their flower-stems in an open compost of peat- sand and moss or leaf-mould. This should be done -when the flower-buds PROPAGATOR'S CALENDAR. 587 appear, and these should be removed. Thus treated, young bulbs are developed in the axils of the lower leaves. Plant and Fruit Houses. — This is a good season to insert cuttings of Heaths, Epacris, and other hard-wooded plants ; and cuttings of Cucum- bers may now be struck in small pots of sawdust plunged in a bottom-heat of 75° to 80°, and will come in handy for late crops of fruit. Dahlia cuttings may still be inserted with success, as also may Chrysanthemums for small late-blooming pot-plants. Experiments in herbaceous grafting may now be tried with a view to future operations on a larger scale. For certain subjects this plan is very advantageous, but the operation should be conducted in a close propagating- case to insure success. Sow all kinds of imported seeds if not done earlier, such as Palms, stove-plants, Bromeliads, Cycads, Fern spores, &c. Propagate Fuchsias and Pelargoniums of all kinds for successional flowering in pots. Sow seeds of Vinca (Catharan- thus) rosea in heat, if not already done. Spring-sown seeds make nice little flowering specimens in the autumn. Petrcea volubilis may be grafted on pieces of its own roots, if not done already. It is a beautiful purple- flowered plant belonging to the Verbenacese ; and being allied to Cleroden- dron, it would be interesting to know whether scions of the Petrcea would succeed worked on cuttings or roots of the Clerodendron. Chinese Primula seeds may now be sown for blooming after Christmas. Sow in shallow, well-drained boxes, or if in pans, choose old ones which are thoroughly soaked with moisture. New seed-pans absorb all the moisture from the soil around the edges, and the seed rarely germinates near the sides of the pan owing to this dryness. If the delicate seeds of Primula, Calceolaria, and many other plants once become thoroughly dry after having been soaked through, they never germinate; and many fail with them from this cause. JUNE. Kitchen and Hardy -Fruit Garden. — Successional crops may still be sown of Beans, last crop, Broccoli (Walcheren), Cabbage for Coleworts, Carrot (Early Horn), Cress, Endive, French Beans, Lettuce, Mustard, Onions, Peas (Marrow and early sorts), Radish, Runner Beans, Spinach, and Turnips. Grafted trees should be now again looked over, and suckers or robber shoots removed where the grafts have " taken ;" and where they have failed, thin out the shoots ready for budding in autumn. Strawberries for forcing may now be propagated by layering in pots. A sowing of Peas may now be made for a late crop. Budding may be commenced in favourable weather, especially if the season be moist, beginning first with the earlier kinds of Pears, Apricots, Peaches, Nectarines, Plums, and Cherries. All large seeds sown during hot weather should be steeped in tepid water for an hour or two before they are sown, and after they are covered with soil in the seed beds or rows, give a thorough good soaking with water and cover them with mats or other light covering, which will prevent undue evaporation from the soil and the ravages of birds : the covering must be carefully removed as soon as the young plants appear. Flower- Garden and Shrubbery. — Many hardy plants may now be pro- pagated by cuttings and layers. Now is a good time for layering Car- nations and inserting cuttings or pipings of Pinks, &c. Sow Brompton Stocks and Wallflowers if not already done. Seeds of hardy Primroses and Polyanthus succeed well sown now, if not sown in the spring. Carefully 588 „ PROPAGATOR'S CALENDAR. look over the seed-drawers and sow any old flower-seeds which are not wanted for sowing in autumn. Rose-budding begun last month may now be carried on rapidly in warm weather. This is the time to strike cuttings or eyes of Roses in a close frame or pit, where they should be syringed frequently to prevent the leaves flagging. Rose " eyes" are prepared just as for budding, but more wood is cut away with the bud, and the leaf is left intact. Insert these not too thickly in pans of light rich soil surfaced with white sand, and in three or four weeks they emit roots and begin to grow. Prepare Rose cuttings by cutting the shoots into lengths, leaving three or four buds to each. Cuttings of many choice or rare Conifers may now be inserted in well-drained shallow pans, and rooted in a brisk bottom-heat of 80° to 85°. In preparing the cuttings, leave a heel of the old wood, which will emit roots all the more freely if it is inserted so as to touch the crocks. By the end of the month the coniferous seeds should be well brairded, and the "bird-watchers" dispensed with; but, from practical experience, it has been proved that red-lead applied to the seeds of Scotch Fir, Spruce Fir, Larch, and suchlike, just before sowing, is a sure preventive of the ravages of birds : the young plants do not appear to suffer from the "coat- ing " of the seeds ; but whether the ground, if sown with red-leaded seeds for years successively, would not be "sickened," is a question well worth studying. Gather Elm seeds, and sow at once, before the coating of the seed hardens. Many rare and curious shrubs may now be budded, such as Moss and other Roses, Italian Jasmine, Variegated Hollies, male Aucubas on the female plant, &c. Plant and Fruit Houses. — Propagation of stove-plants may still be carried on by cuttings, layers, or seeds. Dracaenas, Ficus, Dieffenbachias, &c., may now be cut down for cuttings. Lay Dracaena and Dieffenbachia stems on a genial bottom-heat, and the young growths thus developed from latent buds form excellent cuttings. Nepenthes cuttings now root freely in bottom-heat, and are best pushed into a bed of living sphagnum moss or in small pots of Derbyshire spar. Sow seeds of Cinerarias, Chinese Primulas, Calceolarias, and other tender annuals for spring flowering. Insert Helio- trope and Eupatorium cuttings, and sow Mignonette in pots to remain for winter blooming. Grafting various stove and greenhouse shrubs, such as Cle- rodendrons, Bignonias, Aralias, Ficus, &c., on thick pieces of root furnished with a few fibres, may now be done. Cut the upper end of the roots clean, and operate with a sharp knife — either cleft-grafting or veneering being the best methods ; after which tie firmly and neatly, apply a coat of cold wax or mastic, and pot at once, covering the union with soil, and then plunge the pots in a moist and genial bottom-heat of 75° to 85°. Grafting on cut- tings as stocks, or inarching, may also now be practised, if not done pre- viously. Seed-sowing is nearly always going on indoors, and it may be as well to draw attention to the fact that seeds germinate more quickly and regularly if the pots or pans are placed in the dark or covered with a slate so as to exclude light. Messrs Lawson & Co. of Edinburgh use blue-tinted glasses for covering seed-pans, &c. , with the best possible results, and the plan is well worth more general adoption. In striking Gloxinias, Begonias, Melastomads, or other plants from leaf-cuttings, it is as well to remember that old or fully-developed leaves strike root most freely. Young leaves on a cutting live to a great extent on the older ones, and when used alone as cuttings generally fail. Leaves in the process which precedes the actual production of roots form starch largely, especially in " callussing," and this accumulation of starch enables a rooted leaf to live longer than if it had been left on its parent stem. PROPAGATOR'S CALENDAR. 589 JULY. Kitchen and Hardy -Fruit Garden. — Vegetables for late crops and Salads may still be sown. Cabbage, Cauliflower, Corn Salad, Cress, En- dive, French Beans, Lettuce, Mustard, Onion, Radish, Spinach, and Turnip should be got in at once in showery weather. Sow the last crop of Peas, the success or failure of which depends on the autumnal weather. Sow Spanish Radish and Horn Carrots. Sow Turnips on the early Potato plots. Sow Walcheren Broccoli for spring use, also Parsley. Make up Mushroom beds ready for spawning. Choice Pears, Plums, Apricots, &c., which failed in spring grafting, may now be budded on the young shoots, so as to save waiting until next grafting season. Keep a sharp look-out among the vegetables intended to bear seed, so as to weed out "rogues" before they bloom. When the flower-stems are nearly fully developed, pinch out the tips of the branches, or thin them out, so as to encourage the production of a few large and well-developed seeds rather than a larger quantity of inferior quality. Watch for any distinct seminal sport or break among the vegetables in the quarters, and if any one plant strikes you as being in any way distinctly superior to its fellows, mark it for seed, and thin out the seed-vessels when they appear, or even the flowers, as above suggested. Much more can be done by careful selection in this way than is generally supposed, especially if followed up year after year. This is the plan adopted by the best seedsmen ; and in this way some of the finest strains of vegetable and flower seeds have been obtained. Fruit-trees of all kinds may now be budded during genial weather. Flower -Garden and Shrubbery. — Roses and ornamental shrubs of various kinds may still be budded in favourable weather, and the propaga- tion of Verbenas, choice Pelargoniums, and other bedding-plants may be commenced in the open air on a sunny border. Sow seeds and strike cuttings of Pansies and other hardy florists' flowers. Mignonette may still be sown. Cuttings of many choice perennials may be inserted on a cool shady border, and covered with an oiled- paper frame. Now is a good time to insert Rose cuttings in the open air, and these should also be covered with a case or hand-light. Rose cuttings may now be struck freely in bottles of soft water or in pots of damp sphagnum moss. Layering may now be performed in the case of choice Pinks, Carnations, Cloves, Scarlet and Mule Sweet- Williams, &c., also Evergreens and Roses. Many rare and curious shrubs may now be increased by cuttings of the young growth in- serted in light rich soil, and placed in a close humid propagating case or frame. Keep a sharp look-out and save seeds of all new, choice, or rare plants. Most herbaceous perennials may now be readily increased by cuttings or slips from the base of the flowering-stems. Sow a few quick- growing annuals for late flowering. Prick out seedling Conifers, Rhodo- dendrons, and other trees and shrubs in moist weather, shading them until they become established. Budding may be performed more generally in the case of Roses, &c., towards the end of the month. Young seedling Hollies may still be planted out, watering sufficiently and shading when much exposed to the sun : weeding and cleaning of all seedling and young transplanted stuff is imperative ; all should be in a tidy state in this respect before the end of the month. Young grafts should be examined carefully, removing all superfluous growths from the stocks. Commence to bud ornamental trees. Plant and Fruit Houses Stove and greenhouse seeds of all kinds may still be sown in heat, and cuttings inserted of all decorative plants of 590 PROPAGATOR'S CALENDAR. which a stock is required. Look over the fruit-tree stocks which are to be grafted with choice varieties in the spring, as some of these may now be budded with advantage. If Citrus japonicus and the Japanese Kakis are to be grown, it is as well to know that the former grows and fruits best on Limonia trifoliata as a stock, and the latter on the common Persimmon qr Diospvrus virginiaca. Now is a good time to insert cuttings of Myrtles, Camellias for stocks, Pelargoniums of all kinds, Ericas, double- flowered Nasturtiums, and succulent plants, such as Echeverias and Pachy- phytum bracteosum. Plant Pine suckers for succession, and sow Cucum- bers for fruiting in winter and spring. AUGUST. Kitchen and Hardy-Fruit Garden. — This is the time to bud many kinds of hardy fruit-trees, such as Apples, Pears, Plums, Peaches, &c., and the following seeds may be sown : American Cress, Cabbage, Carrot (Early Horn), Cauliflower, Corn Salad, Couve Tronchuda, Cress, Endive, Lettuce, Mustard, Turnip. Mushroom beds in the open air may now be made up for early work, and now is the best time to sow winter Radish, Tripoli Onions, and winter Spinach. Late Endive and Cauliflowers may also now be sown. Propagate pot herbs, such as Mint, Thyme, Penny-royal, &c., by division. Sow Welsh Onions for drawing young. Finish budding fruit-trees as soon as possible. Plant Cabbages. The Enfield Market and Drumhead varieties are two of the most useful, and if planted at 20 to 24 inches apart will require from 12,000 to 14,000 plants per acre. These will be ready for cutting in May or June. Drumheads planted 50 to 60 inches apart fi-om Michaelmas to Christmas will be ready for cutting in August or September. It will take 1800 to 2000 plants per acre at the last- named distance. Flower-Garden and Shrubbery. — This is an excellent time for propagat- ing Pelargoniums, Centaureas, and other bedding-plants in the open air ; and cuttings of Pentstemons, Violas or Pansies, Phlox, &c., may now be rooted successfully on a shady border. Bud male Aucubas on the female bushes, so as to insure their bearing their bright scarlet fruit. Flower- seeds of many kinds will now be ripening, and should be carefully gathered in fine sunny weather. Sow hardy annuals for spring blooming. Propa- gate Neapolitan Violets for spring blooming in frames. Finish budding of ornamental trees early ; after the buds have taken, see that they are not kept too tight, removing the bandages entirely towards the end of the month : operations generally same as last month ; also, by the end of the month, cuttings of common Yew, Rose-trees, common Laurel, and suchlike, may be put in. If the young shoots have thoroughly ripened, seedling evergreens may be transplanted by the end of the month, much better results being often secured than by spring planting. Now is a good time for thinning out the branches of Dahlias intended to bear seed. Hellebores may now be increased by digging up a clump or two, and after cutting up the thick roots into pieces an inch or two in length, plant them in well-drained pans of loam, leaf-mould, and sand, and place them on a slight bottom-heat of 60° to 70°. Anemone japonica, A. blanda, and some other species, may also be propagated in the same way. Propagate Clematis by cuttings of the roots ; every bit on which an eye or bud can be detected will soon form a plant. Save seeds from Pinks, Carnations, Sweet- Williams, Phlox, Dahlia, Stocks, &c. Sow in boxes or pots Mignonette for winter and spring PROPAGATOR'S CALENDAR. 591 blooming, Polyanthus, Primroses, Pansies, and other hardy florists' flowers. Keep a sharp look-out and gather the seeds of choice trees or shrubs as they ripen. Plant and Fruit Houses. — Greenhouse and stove s.eeds of various kinds may be sown as soon as they ripen. Or, if preferable, they can be kept until the spring. Sow a batch of Cyclamen seeds in well-drained pans of light sandy soil. Calceolaria, Primula, and Cineraria seeds may also now be sown for late flowering. Put in cuttings of single red Camellias for stocks, and sow pots of Mignonette for conservatory decoration, or cut-flowers in the spring. Camellias of various kinds may now be grafted on the stocks struck in August last year, side-grafting in a close heated propagating-case being the best method. Shoots bearing two or three buds and the same number of leaves make excellent scions. Bedding - plants of all kinds should now be propagated before the growth becomes succulent and rank after the autumn rains. Fuchsias and Zonal Pelargoniums for early sum- mer blooming in pots may now be struck from cuttings. See about pro- pagating stocks for Daphnes, flowering Plums, Cherries, Almonds, and double-blossomed Peaches for next season's grafting and budding. Stocks propagated last year may now be budded in heat if in pots, or in the open air under a hand-glass or cloche. SEPTEMBER. Kitchen and Hardy-Fruit Garden. — Sow winter or Prickly Spinach, Chervil. Take up Onions intended for bearing seed next season. The following seeds may also be sown if not done last month : American Cress, Cabbage, Carrot (Early Horn), Cauliflower, Corn Salad, Curled Cress, Lettuce, Mustard, Onion, Radish, Turnip. This is a good season for root-pruning all unfruitful fruit-trees, and the thick roots removed, if well covered with fibres, may be buried under a north wall and used as stocks in the spring. Now is a good time to strike cuttings of Tomatoes and Cucumbers for winter and spring fruit. The former do best in pots. Carefully examine and gather in all ripe vegetable seeds. Cabbages may now be planted on Potato land. Spawn Mushroom beds in the open air or otherwise. Flower-Garden and Shrubbery. — This is a busy month in the nursery and forest department. Push forward transplanting of evergreens and putting in of cuttings, as in last month ; also finish the pruning of forest- trees, hedges, &c. See that the nursery is kept in a clean state. By the end of the month Haws that have been kept in sand-pits for a season may be sown, land that has been green- cropped with Potatoes and well manured in spring being best for this operation. Gather any tree-seeds that are now ripe, such as Sycamore and Birch. A good way to keep Birch seeds until sowing time in spring is to mix them with sand not too dry, turning the heap regularly two or three times a-month ; this keeps the seeds in a plump state for sowing, and the best brairds have been obtained after this method. Sycamore seed, when dried carefully, may be kept in bags or heaps under cover until spring. Aucubas, Rhododendrons, and other evergreens may now be layered for stock. Rhododendrons layered last autumn may now be lifted, and potted ready for grafting under glass. Cuttings of Alternantheras may now be inserted in heat, and will make good stock plants for spring propagating — far better than old plants taken up and repotted. Plants of Sempervivum tabuliforme, Echeveria metallica, 592 PROPAGATOR'S CALENDAR. Pachyphytum bracteosum, or other succulents bearing flower-spikes outside, may be carefully lifted, potted, and removed to an airy and sunny green- house or pit to ripen their seeds. Seeds sown as soon as ripe germinate freely, and make nice little plants for bedding out the following May or June : Echeverias, Sempervivums, and Pachyphytons may be raised by the thousand in this manner. Of course, if one or two plants only are required, leaf-cuttings or offshoots give quicker results ; but for raising a large stock, sow seeds as soon as ever they are ripe in the autumn on a gentle bottom- heat, and place them in a warm and airy temperature near the light after germination has taken place. Watch for and gather the seeds of all rare, choice, and desirable plants as they ripen. Many perennials which have finished flowering may be increased by cuttings or division. Plant cuttings of Laurel, choosing the middle-sized shoots of the present year's growth, cutting them a foot or more in length, and insert in a cool shady border. Such shrubs as Alaternus, Phillyrea, Laurestinus, Spiraea, Aucubas, Mag- nolias, &c. , may now be layered, and branches so treated will be rooted and fit for planting out next autumn. Save the kernels or stones of Plums, Apricots, Cherries, &c., for sowing for stocks. Plant cuttings of Honey- suckles, Roses, Lilacs, and herbaceous plants. Plant and Fruit Houses. — Propagate Chinese Primulas from cuttings, and sow the seeds of Aphelandra a^trant^aca Rcezlii as they ripen. Cut- tings of New Holland plants may now be made in a gentle heat. Spawn Mushroom beds made up last month when at a temperature of 60° to 70°. Both greenhouse and stove plants may still be increased by cuttings, layers, division, or seed. Watch ripening seeds on stove and greenhouse plants generally, and especially those which are the result of crossing or hybridisa- tion. Sow Lily seeds in a temperature of 50° to 60°, boxes being prefer- able to pots or pans. The seeds of some Lilies, such as L. tenuifolium and L. Thunbergianuni) germinate very quickly — that is to say, in a few weeks — and the plants flower in three or four years after the seed is sown. Others, however, such as L. giganleum, L. cordifolium, L. auratutn, &c. , require a year or even two years in which to germinate. The latter are plants of large size, and produce bigger bulbs, and only push up the seed-leaf the first year ; while those belonging to the L. Tkunbergianum and L. tenui- folium group produce stems bearing three or four or even more leaves the first season. OCTOBER. Kitchen and Hardy-Fruit Garden. — Sow Parsnips in the open ground, and Horn Carrots in frames, together with Mustard and Cress for Salads. Gooseberry and Currant cuttings may now be put in on a north border, selecting good strong shoots. A few turnips may be sown on a warm border, as also may Prickly Spinach. Sow Lettuce in frames for salad. Gather Asparagus seed, which should be at once sown unless required for other purposes. See about hillock-layering Plums, Paradise, Doucin, Quince, Pear, and other fruit-tree stocks, and look after stones and seeds of Crabs, Apples, Pears, &c., for sowing where required. Many kitchen- garden seeds will now be ripe, and should be gathered carefully in dry sunny weather, and hung in a dry airy room or loft. Those not perfectly ripe, but nearly so, should be cut, leaving a portion of the old flower-stern attached, after which hang them under cover. Flower-Garden and Shrubbery. — Propagate Calceolarias and Gazanias, if not done already. Obtain and plant Wild-briers for Rose stocks. PROPAGATOR'S CALENDAR. 593 Hollyhocks may now be propagated from cuttings. Now is a good time to put in cuttings of Ivy, Euonymus, Laurels, Aucuba, and other hardy evergreens. Plant Anemones, Ranunculuses, and Dutch bulbs, such as Narcissus, Hyacinths, Crocus, Snowdrops, &c. Dahlias should now be relifted and stored, as also should Cannas, Gladioli, &c. Sow seeds of hardy annuals intended for early spring blooming. Carefully gather the seeds of all choice flowers and shrubs. Besides evergreens, mostly all the Pine tribe are fit for planting out this month, and planting of two-year seedling or bedded Scotch Firs into nursery rows may be done advanta- geously. Prepare ground for young plantations, draining, fencing, and making pits for the plants. Gather tree-seeds ; the following, amongst others, should be ripe this month, and are best sown as soon as possible after being gathered — viz., Horse and Spanish Chestnuts, Walnuts, and Oaks. Kinds that would suffer by spring frosts, such as Beech, Maples, &c., should be kept till sowing-time in February or March. Plant and Fruit Houses. — If not already done, this is a good time to see after stocks for all kinds of shrubs, both hardy and tender, which are to be grafted under glass during the ensuing winter and spring. Azaleas, Tea- Roses, Camellias, Epiphyllums, &c., may be grafted in heat, as also may choice or variegated forms of Ivy, Aralias, &c. Look after old, rare, and distinct species or varieties of florists' flowers, and stove or greenhouse plants for propagating or hybridising purposes in the spring. Propagating operations in the open air will now be nearly suspended ; but in the genial heat of the stove or propagating-house cuttings may be rooted, seeds sown, or grafting operations performed almost as successfully as at any other NOVEMBER. Kitchen and Hardy-Fruit Garden. — Beans and Peas may be sown on a warm sheltered border. Mustard and Cress, Radishes and Lettuce, may also be sown in a heated frame. Look after stocks for all kinds of hardy fruits to be grafted in the spring. Sow French Beans and Peas in heat. Plant early Potatoes in pots or frames. Insert cuttings of bush fruits, if not done last month. In pruning fruit-trees, save the best of the amputated shoots for scions. Cuttings of Quince, Paradise, and Doucin Apples may now be put in for stocks where this mode of multiplication is preferred to layers. Flower- Garden and Shrubbery. — Little is to be done in the way of pro- pagating outside, except it be by lifting and dividing hardy perennials and bulbs during fine mild weather. Brier-roots may still be dug up from woods and hedges for stocks. Shrubberies, game coverts, and young plantations generally, should now be planted, and all such work pushed forward vigorously. All kinds of forest and ornamental trees and shrubs will now be fit for transplanting ; the most successful results have usually re- warded early planting. A good time to begin to remove Lime-tree and other layers from the stools, also to lay the young shoots. If not already done, finish sowing of Haws, and if possible sow all Chestnuts, Oaks, Hazels, and suchlike. Put in Holly, Privet, and other cuttings. Plant and Fruit Houses. —During the dull weather but little can be done in seed-sowing, but grafting may now be proceeded with in the case of Camellias, Aucubas, Conifers, and Roses. Azaleas may also now be worked on stocks of A. Phcenicea or other robust variety. Choice Ixoras may now be grafted on stocks of commoner kinds. 2 P 594 PROPAGATOR'S CALENDAR. DECEMBER. Kitchen and Hardy- Fruit Garden.— A few Peas and Beans may be sown on a warm sheltered border. See after fruit-tree stocks if not already done, and scions may now be procured of desirable varieties. These last can be buried on the north side of a wall or fence until required for working. Head back old fruit-trees for regrafting. If the weather is fine and open, Horse-radish may be planted in deep well-manured trenches. Now is a good time to look over the seed-room and examine the remains of the past season's supply. Clean out all drawers and boxes, and put things to rights, so as to make room for next year's supply. Calculate what will be required, and confine your orders to old or well-tried kinds rather than to novelties of which the quality is unknown to you. Many amateurs have given up gardening in despair simply through ordering new varieties from attractively got up catalogues, and the failures experienced thereby. "Few and good" should be the amateur's motto in ordering seeds. Peaches, Plums, and other stone fruits may now be root-grafted on either the free or wild Plum stock. In America, where the winters are much more severe than with us, this method is largely practised. The seedling or wild Plums are taken up in the autumn, care being taken to break as few of the fibrous roots as possible. The whole root of the seedling, from 6 inches to I foot long, is used to make one root-graft ; after which the whip-grafted roots are packed in earth in the cellar, to be planted out after all danger from frost is over. The success or failure depends greatly upon the amount of small roots upon the seedling stocks. Stocks that have been once transplanted are still more certain to be successful when root-grafted. Flower-Garden and Shrubbery. — Little can be done in the flower- garden this month. Rose cuttings may still be inserted, and Water-lilies may now be taken up and divided. The principal work to be done outside is trenching ground for spring planting or sowing. Many more seeds should now be gathered, such as Haws, and seeds of Ash and Holly. These should be mixed with sand and kept in pits until sowing-time in the fol- lowing year, as they do not braird if sown the same season as gathered. Such Pine cones as are now ripe should be gathered and stored away in a dry state until the extracting of the seeds at "odd times," as when the weather is unfavourable for other operations. Cuttings of Poplars, Wil- lows, and other deciduous trees not propagated otherwise, may be made at any time and kept covered over with earth until suitable time or weather for planting arrives. Seeds of Gorse or Whin, Broom, and other cover plants may now be sown at once during fine dry weather. Carefully examine all seeds saved during the past season, and finish cleaning and packeting them during bad weather, seeing all properly and neatly labelled to prevent future confusion at sowing-time. It is an excellent plan to mark the date when seeds should be sown on all the packets, so that by looking over the seed-drawers once a-month nothing escapes notice. Plant and Fruit Houses. — The propagation of bedding-plants may now be commenced. Sow Cyclamens, Pyrethrum Golden Feather, Phlox, Pentstemon, and Viola seeds in a gentle bottom-heat. Put in cuttings of such Aralias as root with tolerable success, to serve as stocks for the new and choice kinds. Fuchsia, Verbena, Heliotrope, and other plants may now be propagated from seeds sown in heat. Gardenias, Tabernsemontana, and other shrubs may be increased by cuttings. Sow seeds of Acacia, Camellia, Abutilon, Euphorbia, Epiphyllum, Aponogeton, Ouvierandra, and other stove and greenhouse plants. Increase Achimenes, Gloxinias, and other Gesnerads by seeds or by dividing the tubers. Sow seeds of Begonias, Fuchsias, Palms, and Fern spores in heat. Graft Aucubas in a PROPAGATOR'S CALENDAR. 595 close frame. Roses and Azaleas may now be splice-grafted in a close case. Side-graft Camellias, plunging the pots in a close case and keeping an equal temperature of 75° to 80°. Oranges and Lemons may also now be grafted, and this is a good time to sow Lemon seeds for stocks. KITCHEN-GARDEN CALENDAR OR REMEMBRANCER. (The figures refer to the weeks in each month when seeds should be sown, but allowance must be made for early or late localities. Asparagus, . . Jan. Feb. March 2 April May June July Aug Sept. Artichoke, . . 2 Beans — Early Broad, . Windsor, &c., French Dwarf, Scarlet-Runner, Beet, .... 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 2 2 2 I 2 2 2 2 ... Borecole or Kale, I 2 Broccoli, Early, . ... ... 'j 2 I Late, . Brussels Sprouts, 41 2 2 Cabbage, Early, . ,, for Cole- worts, Cauliflower, Early, !: 2 2 2 2 I • 3 2 2 -2 2 Late, Carrot, . . Celery, ... . Corn Salad, . . Cucumber, . . 3 2 2 2 3 2 2 2 4 2 2 2 2 2 2 Endive, . . . „. 2 2 2 Gourds, . . ~, Kohl Rabi, . .. ... ... 3 -2 2 2 Leek, . . .' . Lettuce, Cos, ,, Cabbage, Onion, .... Parsnip, . . . 2 2 2 I 2 I 3 2 I 3 2 I 3 ::: I I 2 Peas, Early, . . „ Late, . . Potatoes, . . , 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 ... ... ,, Late, . 2 Radish, Mustard, Cress, & Turnip, Savoys, V 2 2 2 2 2 2 2- 2 2 2 Seakale, . . . •3 Spinach, . Vegetable Mar- rows, Pot-herbs, . . 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 I 2 2 2 1 ... S96 PROPAGATOR'S CALENDAR. PLANTER'S TABLE, Showing the Number of Plants required per Imperial, Scotch, and Irish Acre, from I to 30 feet distance. Imperial acre. Scotch acre. Irish acre. i 43,56o 12 302 i 54,76o 12 380 i 70,560 12 49° J% J9> 360 12% 270 i % 24^338 12% 35 o x% 31,360 Z9 1A 452 2 10, 890 I3I 257 2 13,690 13 324 2 17,640 13 417 2% 6, 987 239 2 /2 8,761 13% 3<> o 2% 11,209 % 385 3 4, 840 14 222 3 6,084 27 a 3 7,840 Z4 360 3% 3, 556 207 3% 4,470 ^4% 260 3% 5,760 14% 335 4 2, 722 15 193 4 3,422 15 24 3 4 4,410 15 316 4% 2, 151 15% 181 4% 2,704 15% 99 8 4% 3-484 ZJ % 292 5 I 742 16 170 5 2,190 16 21 4 5 2,822 16 275 5% I, 440 16% 164 5% 1,810 16% 2O I 5% 2,332 16% 260 6 I, 210 I7 150 6 1,521 18 9 6 ,960 17 244 6% I, 03I I7/z 142 6% 1,296 17% 17 8 6% ,670 17 y2 234 7 889 18 134 7 1,117 18 16 9 7 ,440 18 217 7% 774 18% 127 7 l/2 973 18% 16 o •7% ,254 18 % 206 8 680 120 8 855 >5 X ,IO2 jn 195 8% 603 Z9% 114 8% 758 19% 3 8% 976 19% 185 9 20 108 9 675 20 13 7 g 87I 2O 176 9% 482 22 90 9 l/2 606 22 "3 9% 782 22 146 10 435 24 75 10 547 24 9 5 IO 7°5 24 123 10% 395 26 64 10% 496 26 81 10% 640 26 105 ii 360 28 55 II 452 28 7 o II 583 28 9° n% 329 30 48 11% 414 3° 60 11% 533 30 79 NUMBER OF PLANTS CONTAINED IN A NUMBER OF PLANTS CONTAINED IN AN SQUARE ROD OF LAND. ACRE OF LAND. Inches asunder. No. of plants. Inches asunder. No. of plants. Inches asunder. No. of plants. Inches asunder. No. of plants. 4 by 4 2450 8 by 8 612 5—4 6 — 4 6 — 6 8 — 6 1960 1633 1069 816 io—8 10 — 10 12 12 15 — 10 490 392 272 261 30 by 12 30 — 18 30 — 24 17,424 11,010 8,712 30 by 30 30 — 36 30 — 42 6,969 5,8o8 3,978 Multiply the distances into each other, and divide by it the square feet in an acre or 43,560 feet, and the quotient is the number of plants required to plant an acre. AMOUNT OF SEEDS FOR DIFFERENT AREAS. Asparagus, bed of 15 sq. yds Beans, Broad, row 80 feet Beet, row 50 feet Broccoli, 4 square yards Brussels Sprouts, 4 square yards . . Cabbage, bed of 8 square yards. , . Carrots, drill of 120 feet ,, bed of 12 square yards. . . Cauliflower, 4 square yards Celery, 4 square yards Cress, 3 square yards Endive, 4 square yards. Kale, 4 square yards Kidney Beans, row 80 feet pt. Leek, 2 square yards . %qt. Lettuce, 4 square yards Mushroom, 7 square yards Onions, 9 square yards Parsley, row 80 feet Parsnip, drill of 200 feet Peas, early, row 60 feet ,, large, late, row 80 feet Potatoes, row 30 feet Radishes, 4 square yards Savoy,- 4 square yards Spinach, 10 square yards ,, drill of 1 20 feet Turnip, 4 square yards bus OZ. %pt- % „ % pk. %oz. PROPAGATOR'S CALENDAR. 597 The following may be taken as a fair collection of seeds to crop an acre, making allowance for failures : Peas, 9 qts. ; Beans, 3 qts. ; Kid- ney Beans, 3 qts. ; Scarlet- Runners, I qt. ; White Cabbage, 4 oz. ; Red do., */2. oz. ; Savoys, 2 oz. ; Brussels Sprouts, I oz. ; Borecole or Scotch Kale, i oz. ; Cauliflower, 2 oz. ; Broccoli, 6 oz. ; Carrots, 6 oz. ; Parsnips, 4 oz. ; Turnips, 4 oz. ; Red Beet, 3 oz. ; Scorzonera, 2 oz. ; Salsify, 2 oz. ; Radishes, 3 qts. ; Flanders Spinach, I qt. ; Round-leaved do., I qt. ; Onions, 6 oz. ; Leeks, 2 oz. ; Cardoons, yz oz. ; Celery, I oz. ; Lettuce, 4 oz. ; Endive, 2 oz. ; Parsley, 2 oz. TABLE SHOWING THE PROPER DISTANCES FOR PLANTING VARIOUS FRUIT-TREES. Standard Pears on Pear stocks, for orchards — 25 feet apart. Pyramidal Pears on Pear stocks, not root-pruned — 20 feet apart. Do. do., root-pruned — 10 feet apart. Do. do., on Quince stocks, not root-pruned — 6 feet apart. Do. do. , on Quince stocks, periodically lifted — 4 feet apart. Bush Pears on Pear stocks, periodically lifted or root-pruned — 6 feet apart. Do. do. on Quince stocks, periodically lifted — 4 feet apart. Pears on Pear stocks, trained horizontally on walls or espaliers — 18 feet apart ; the same to be root-pruned as occasion may require. Pears trained in vertical, oblique, or horizontal cordon fashion, may be planted, if upon walls, 18 inches apart, or more or less as the taste of the planter may dictate. Pears trained in horizontal cordon, to form edgings to walks, or quar- ters of the garden, should be planted on stems I foot high, and trained along galvanised wire, strained and supported on iron pins, a single shoot only being made use of. Pears trained fan-shape and root-pruned — 15 feet apart. The above distances will also do for Apples, Cherries, and Plums ; these last, when trained as pyramids, require to be grown with stems 18 inches to 2 feet high, as if cut shorter, they will throw out so many strong branches just above the junction of the graft and stock, that it will be found, with the greater number of sorts, so much cutting will require to be done that the trees will gum and die, and present great difficulty to form them into nice pyramids. Peaches, Nectarines, Apricots, Plums, and Cherries, when planted against walls, are generally and best trained fan-shape, and should be from 12 to 15 feet apart, and kept periodically lifted and replanted on the surface, merely covering the roots with a few inches of the soil. Bush trees of Pears on Quince, Apples on the Paradise, Cherries on the Mahaleb, and Plums may be planted about the same distance apart as Gooseberries and Currants— /.£., 5 feet apart in the rows, and 5 feet from row to row. They should be lifted biennially, or as often as required, in November, and they will then form a charming fruit- garden. 598 APPENDIX. KCELREUTER was probably the first amongst us to raise hybrid plants, his experiments in that direction having taken place early in the eighteenth century; and Linnaeus gave an impetus to the study of vegetable sexuality by the publication of his views on the subject in his ' Fundamenta Botanica.' Gaertner and Wichura also threw much light on the question of hybridity by their experiments made on the Continent ; and in this country the late Dean Herbert stimulated horticulturists by the production of numerous beautiful hybrids, and also by the publication of his celebrated paper on ' Hybridisation among Vegetables ' in the ' Journal ' of the Royal Horti- cultural Society, vol. ii. (1847), pp. 1-81. Artificial hybridisation and cross-breeding had now, in fact, become general. About this time Fuchsias and Calceolarias became greatly improved, as were also Gladioli, Rhododendrons, and Camellias ; nor were ornamental plants alone the subjects of ennoblement, inasmuch as Knight had previously directed his attention to the amelioration of Apples, Pears, Plums, Peaches, Cherries, and Peas, and with great success, some of his seedlings being still popular in our gardens, notably Knight's Monarch Pear and his Marrow Peas. Among the earlier and most successful hybridisers in this country after Dean Her- bert may be named Mr James Cunningham, Messrs Colville, Mr Ander- son-Henry, Mr Gowen, Mr J. Standish, and Messrs Rollisson, to the last of whom we are indebted for forty or fifty varieties of the most beautiful seedling or rather hybrid Heaths. About 1854, Mr J. Dominy raised the first hybrid Orchid (Calanthe Dominiand). This has been succeeded by about fifty hybrids belonging to other genera, and it is not too much to say that the production of these hybrids has completely revolutionised the somewhat restricted views formerly held by botanists as to the generic and specific distinctions of Orchidaceous plants. At the present date hybridisation and cross-breeding are everywhere largely practised, not only in European gardens, but also in those of Japan and China, where, indeed, the arts of culture and plant improvement by selection and graft- ing have been carried on from time immemorial. Their improved races of Primulas, . Azaleas, Lilies, Diospyros, Pinks, Irids, Chrysanthemums, and Moutan Peonies, are indeed as wonderful in their way as anything produced by hybridisers in this country. New forms among plants, the result of hybridisation, may be said to constitute one of the most remunera- tive branches of the nurseryman's business ; but apart from all considera- tions of profit, cross-breeding deserves the most careful attention. Mr Darwin's new book on ' Cross-fertilisation' * is just to hand as this sheet * Murray, London : 1876. APPENDIX. 599 goes to press, and in it the benefit of cross-fertilisation is fairly proved so far as cultivated plants are concerned. '; Self- fertilisation assures the pro- duction of a large supply of seeds ; cross-fertilisation, however, not only does this in a more thorough manner, but the plants from cross -fertilised seeds are much more vigorous, and their seedlings more fertile and more variable, than self- fertilised seedlings. The greatest good follows cross- fertilisation when one of the parents has been grown under different condi- tions, by which its characters have been altered or differentiated, or if one has varied spontaneously (or 'sported'), the results are generally good. If injury ever does follow self-fertilisation, it is owing to the want of varia- tion or mutual attraction in the sexual elements." If fixity or permanence is requisite in any particular variety, the best way to obtain this is to care- fully self-fertilise the plant so as to keep its distinctive characters pure ; and if this is done for six or seven generations, the result is that seeds from plants so treated reproduce the form with tolerable exactness. Cultivators have long known the advantages of change of seed, and Mr Gower* had pointed out the advantages of cross-fertilisation with a different individual from a fresh stock in 1869 ; but Mr Darwin's last contribution to science is of immense importance, as proving this in a more satisfactory manner. We have now abundant evidence that a larger productiveness in the way of flowers, fruits, and fertile seeds follows judicious cross-fertilisation than where no interference in that way has been instituted ; indeed, most striking evidence of the beneficial results obtainable by the blending or cross-breed- ing of races is afforded by the Old Briton, Roman, Saxon, and Norman races now amalgamated under the name of Englishmen. Hybrid and cross- bred seedlings often show evidence of greater fertility and a more vigorous habit of growth than either parent, although this vigour is sometimes ob- tained at the expense of complete or partial sterility. It was formerly thought that all hybrid plants were infertile; but we now find that very few hybrids of the first generation are completely sterile — M. Naudin thinks not more than 25 per cent ; while the cross-bred or cultivated varieties of hybrids, as well as those of wild species, are not unfrequently more fertile than either the parent species or the primitive type. Hybrids of hermaphrodite plants may be incapable of bearing fertile seeds under any circumstances, and yet their pollen may be capable of fecundating the ovules of another species or hybrid, as in the case of Nymphaea, Narcissus, and Passiflora ; while on the other hand, some hybrids (as well as wild species) have im- potent pollen, but are readily rendered fertile by the application of pollen from an allied species or variety. As it is possible for either the male or female organs of a hermaphrodite plant to become impotent through the disturbing influence of high culture, hybridism, or cross-fertilisation, so also is it not uncommon for monoecious plants — Begonias, for example— to be- come hermaphrodite ; and dioecious plants, as Coelebogyne, Aucuba, and Skimmia, sometimes bear anthers among the female organs of flowers on the female plants ; while, as has been shown by Spruce and others, it is not unusual for dioecious Palms and other plants suddenly to produce male instead of female flowers, or vice versd. Mr Meehan and other observers have pointed out that nutrition influences the production or strength of the sexual organs more than is generally supposed, and of this we get some evidence in the case of trees grafted on restricting stocks, which are thus rendered more fruitful ; and we know that a course of semi-starvation leads to fruitfulness as a rule, just as over-feeding leads to vegetative growth and leafy exuberance ; and even the alternate production of male and female flowers on dioecious plants may be due to external conditions. * Williams's Choice Stove and Greenhouse Flowering-Plants, p. 31. 600 APPENDIX. Apart from the true or confirmed monoecious plants, there are large num- bers of hermaphrodite species known to exist, which are to all intents and purposes practically monoecious, for either the pollen is shed before the stigma is receptive (as in Agave, Lobeliads, Composites, &c.), or the stigma develops itself and becomes fertilised by the pollen of older flowers (as in Calceolaria) before its attendant anthers are fully developed or part with their pollen. Again, many Orchids, Yuccas, and Ascle- piads, are nearly entirely dependent on insect agency for their perfect fertilisation, and thus they are peculiarly liable to cross-fertilisation or even natural hybridism. The greater or less sexual affinity or consanguinity of species, is proved by the more or less perfect manner in which hybrid- ism can be made to take place' between them, as shown by the relative quantity and quality of fertile seeds produced ; but of this relationship we have no external evidence before hybridisation has been effected, since species which closely resemble each other in every way cannot be made to unite, while the reverse is frequently the result where great disparity in size, habit, or colour would lead one to think otherwise. Again, two species (or even two forms of a species) in a genus (A and B) may refuse to hybridise — i.e. , they will not interbreed ; but by crossing one of these (say B) with a third species (C), the hybrids thus obtained will not unfre- quently breed with A, as has been proved in the case of some kinds of Nicotiana and Dianthus. This fact of some species refusing to interbreed or unite sexually, except by the intervention of a third species, becomes all the more singular and interesting when we remember the partial analogy which exists when grafting is substituted for hybridising. Thus it is a well-known fact that some varieties of Pear will not unite readily with the Quince or Hawthorn stocks, and this difficulty is surmounted by the use of "intermediate" stocks. Thus the Quince is grafted with the scion of a Pear which is known to unite readily and succeed well on it as a stock, and on this is worked the variety of Pear which refuses to unite well with the Quince. M. Karl Koch, in a recent lecture on fruit-trees, says he has heard in the East that some of our races of dessert Pears have descended from a hybrid or hybrids obtained between the Pear and the Quince — both of which fruits are much more variable than is generally supposed — from the latter of which they have obtained flavour and aroma. Some kind of Pears now grown closely resemble the Quince in shape, colour, and peculiarly long calyx-lobes, as -well as in aroma and flavour ; and that such hybridity is not improbable may to a certain extent be assumed, seeing that some races of Pear show a marked preference for the Quince stock, while others succeed only on the free stock or Pear. When writing the suggestions on hybridising the Quince (see p. 471), I held the idea that hybridity had occurred between that fruit and the Pear ; and I have no doubt but that the possibility of this may be proved by any one who will undertake to make experiments in crossing some of the European or Asiatic forms of the Quince and Pear. Another fact of some importance connected with hybridisation is, that part of the ovules in the same pod or capsule may become fecundated by the pollen of one species, and part by another ; and when two species or varieties are cross-fertilised, the elective affinity — the competitive strength or fixity of character possessed by each parent — varies considerably, although, as a general rule, the influence of the male or pollen parent is prepotent ; nevertheless, that this is not always the case is proved by Mr Parkman's and other hybridisers' experience with Lilies, and by the invariable pre- potence of Gesnera zebrina and Nepenthes RafHesiana when cross-fertil- ised reciprocally with other species of their respective genera. We find APPENDIX. 601 evidence that this question of prepotence between the male and female parents varies, so far as evident characters are concerned, from the almost, if not entire, overruling of those of the male to that of entire female pre- potence, as in the case of the Lilies cited above. That this range of variation in hybrid plants is due to the variable strength of characteristics or fixity of habit in the parent species seems nearly conclusive, if it be not actually proved by the fact that in some few cases — notably in that of some Wil- lows as observed by Wichura, and of Mr Seden's Lady's Slipper — the characteristic force of the two parents is so equally balanced that the off- spring of both, when crossed reciprocally, appear to be precisely alike. In this respect, also, we have observed analogous results in the case of grafted plants, and this, taken with the facts which have been observed in the grafting of Potatoes and Cytisus, seems to indicate that the same general law governs the union of gemmules, whether the union be sexual, as in the case of hybridism and cross-breeding, or vegetative, as in the case of grafting and budding. If the same law apply to the union of the gemmules of the vegetative and sexual organs — and from the facts at pre- sent known to us we may reasonably infer that this is the case — then grafting under certain conditions may facilitate hybridism, and vice vei-sd, by drawing the characteristics of like plants into a still nearer relationship than had before existed. As hybridism is more likely to be successful when all the flowers are removed off the seed-bearing parent, except those fertilised by foreign pollen, so in grafting we find that detached scions take more readily on a young headed-back stock — especially if the rela- tionship be not of the closest kind — than when worked on a branch or stock which is itself allowed to grow and bear flowers and fruit ; and even when the scion takes well under both sets of conditions, the practical results are often very different. The late Mr Pearson, of Chilwell, after having experimented with Grape Vines grafted on different stocks, came to the conclusion that the stock, if completely headed off, and not allowed to make any leaf-growth of its own, lost all influence on the scion in about four years. It has now become highly essential to know not only whether varieties of fruits are grafted and the name of the stock used when they are described as being successful or otherwise in different soils or localities, but it should also be explicitly stated whether the stock or intermediate stock, in the case of double-grafted trees, is itself allowed to grow and bear fruit, or whether its duty is merely to support the scion grafted on it. That scions do sometimes influence the stocks on which they are worked is evident, as has been already shown ; the converse of this, or effect of the stock on the scion in many instances, has long been known, but there are cases in which there is no apparent evidence of either stock or scion exerting any reciprocal influence, each preserving its own character intact, although they may be dividing the functions of plant-life between them. Variegation can in many cases be communicated to a green-leaved plant by budding or grafting it with variegated scions from the same or allied species. In the case of Abutilons this is a well-known fact, and soon after Messrs Veitch introduced the vermilion-flowered, green-leaved A. Darwini, a variegated form was artificially produced on the Continent by budding it with scions from the golden-blotched A. Thompsoni. This practice has also succeeded with the Ash, Sweet Chestnut, Laburnum, Pelargonium, Common Chestnut, Maple, Jasmine, Oleander, and Passion- flower. Black, white, and red or striped Grapes have been produced on the same bunch by splicing the branches of a black-berried and a white- berried Vine together ; and analogous effects have been produced by graft- ing the tubers, or even the haulm only, of red and white Potatoes. The oft-quoted Cytisus Adami is said to have been produced by inserting a 602 APPENDIX. shield bud of C. purpureus beneath the bark of C. laburnum, and we have many records of Pears being altered in size, colour, flavour, and time of ripening, owing to their having been grafted on the Quince stock. Hence it will be seen that grafting is not to be relied on as a certain means of reproducing either varieties or species in a pure state, but, on the contrary, may in some cases be employed to change the colour or other attributes of a species or variety in a manner closely analogous to, if not identical with, hybridism and cross-fertilisation. Mr Maule has succeeded in grafting pieces of a Potato on the common Bitter-sweet (Solanum Dulcamara) as a stock, and was surprised to find that the roots of the stock developed little tubers ; and a similar result is said to have since been obtained by grafting the Jerusalem Artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus] on the common Sunflower (H. annuus] as a stock, tubers having been developed on the roots of the Sunflower. Further and carefully - conducted proof experiments in these particular instances are desirable ; nevertheless, the coincidence of those two cases of tuber-development, induced by grafting tuberous species on non- tuberous rooted ones as stocks, is a strikingly suggestive one to gardener and botanist alike, especially when viewed in the light which is now being diffused by the seemingly spontaneous variations of grafted and bud- ded Roses, Laburnums, Pears, Apples, Plums, and Grape-Vines. We have so many curious hybrids and variations produced by grafting and by budding, that what is now especially desirable is a series of proof experiments with the parents of these well-known hybrids, reputed graft variations, &c., so as to verify the voluminous observations of cultivators and others, bring out facts, and thus obtain reliable data, or light, by which we may peer still further into the hazy atmosphere of vegetable physiology. The field for carefully-organised experiments of the kind here indicated is too wide for any single-handed investigator ; indeed it is work which rightly belongs to a botanical garden. There is one point to which I particularly wish to allude in reference to graft-hybridity — namely, the possibility of inducing variegation by mere sap-inoculation, or transfusion of coloured cellular tissue from a variegated plant to a green-leaved one. Blair and Fairchild speak of this ; indeed the fact was observed in a Holly by the first-named author a century and a half ago (see p. 62), and often since, especially in the case of green- leaved Abutilons and Jasmines, which have been budded and which have at once assumed variegated foliage, although the variegated bud inserted died away gradually, that is, refused to "take" or unite with the stock. In the case of variegated Pelargoniums, engrafting a very little cellular tissue from a coloured part of the stem or leaf is amply sufficient to induce variegation in a green-leaved plant : and this subject deserves the attention of cultivators and hybridisers ; since now we can readily induce leaf and stem variegation, it is not only possible, but highly probable, that variega- tion or variation of colour in the flowers, fruits, and resulting seedlings will follow. Another point of great importance to hybridisers and propagators is a knowledge of the extremely variable characteristics possessed by different individuals, not only of the same species, but even of the same variety. This strong individuality of plants has been pointed out by Darwin in the case of Pelargoniums, by Meehan in certain Lilies, by the late Mr Pearson in certain forms of the Moor Park Apricot ; and it is an everyday observation made by all intelligent Orchid-growers and general plants-men. In the case of the Wellingtonia, for example, Messrs C. Lee & Son find that the branches of some individual trees root freely as cuttings, while those taken from other individuals, growing apparently under precisely APPENDIX. 603 similar conditions, as invariably fail to grow. The lesson to be learned from these observations by the propagator in his grafting and hybridising operations is, that a wide view of a species or variety must be taken, and if any two individuals fail, after having been operated on reciprocally, others must be selected, and every little variation in light, heat, air, and nutrition must be studied, and then we shall hear of fewer failures than is now the case. Much has been written by Darwin and others on the non-permanence of varieties ; but the supposed disappearance of these is often reappearance under a new name, as shown in the following extract from the ' Gardeners' Chronicle' (1876, p. 396) : — " The disappearance of varieties is no proof whatever that they have died out. Varieties are being superseded almost daily, but supercession is no proof of decrepitude or weakness. Novelty alone, and the increasing love of it, is constantly treading down older varieties. Improvement is at work in the same direction ; every accession of new vigour threatens to ex- tinguish older and less powerful varieties by asserting and perpetuating the supremacy of the strongest. The survival of the fittest means, when left to the operation of natural laws, the suppression and extinction of the weakest. Those and other influences are always at work to cause varieties to disappear, and that independently of any inherent tendency in them- selves to die out. " It is impossible to estimate the potency of altered conditions, abnormal developments of particular parts for special purposes, high or unnatural means of cultivation ; exhausted soils, and consequent semi-starvation ; tendencies to revert backwards, and others equally powerful, perhaps, to run forward, and break or sport into new forms, colours, sizes. These and other influences all lead to change of varieties, wholly independent of their dying out. As we try to measure their potency, and enter into their ceaseless activity and mysterious modes of bringing about changes, the marvel is, not that so many varieties have disappeared, but that so many remain constant. Vital force is somewhat like a spirited horse : it is closely and thoroughly harnessed by certain laws to reproduce its like, but every now and again it kicks over the traces, and leaves as the footprints of its erratic outbreaks a new variety. It may be better or more service- able, assuredly it is newer than the old. In this last, combined with the love of novelty in men, amounting pretty well to a passion, we have a security for the careful conservation of the novelty, and it may be in con- sequence a contemporaneous neglect of the older variety. Therefore the disappearance of old sorts is no proof whatever that they have died out, while, on the other hand, their continuance is a sure and certain proof of their stability. * ' Dr Asa Gray endeavours to establish a distinction between the dura- bility of varieties increased by seed and those propagated by buds or off- sets, and considers that the former are likely to be more permanent than the latter, inasmuch as cross-breeding, as illustrated by Darwinism, was appointed not merely to perpetuate and increase the numbers of plants, but also to reprime them with steadying force to prove the constancy of varieties. It is based upon the fact, so clearly illustrated by Mr Darwin, that cross-fertilisation is Nature's rule of propagating varieties ; and the inference — for the argument here is nothing more— is, that consequently it is the mode that assures most stability, else Nature would not have pro- vided so much and so many admirable adaptations to insure this particular mode of increase. This, however, is begging most of the question ; we know next to nothing of the why and wherefore of any of Nature's proceedings ; even Mr Darwin, the most careful observer and lucid 604 APPENDIX. describer of facts, lands us in mist when he leaves the field of observation for that of explanation or imagination. Apart from the question involved, there are obvious reasons why propagation by seed would be Nature's usual mode of increase; and, according to the present order of things, and the correlation of insect and plant life, cross-fertilisation is a necessity — it cannot be prevented but by a miracle. But, instead of being an element or the foundation of the stability of varieties, it is rather the very vortex of change, unless, indeed, it could be proved — which it cannot — that only the same varieties can be cross-fertilised by each other. On the contrary, it is obvious that all the varieties of a species can, as a rule, be freely cross- fertilised ; and, popularly understood, cross-fertilisation means the latter, not the former — and is the means adopted, not to give steadiness to old varieties, but to evoke new ones." On the other hand, we must remember that particular kinds of both species and many garden plants — such as Pine-apples, Grapes, Bananas, and most other fruits — are nearly invariably increased or reproduced by the vegetative modes of propagation, and rarely by the sexual method, that is, by seed. In the case of Bananas, Pine-apples, Sultana and Corinth Grapes, vegetative propagation has been practised from time immemorial. The result of this is, that the life of each individual is prolonged, together with its peculiarities, but no new life is originated, and there is no varia- tion as compared with that which almost invariably takes place when plants are raised from seeds. Again, many of the travellers who have hitherto collected natural species and varieties for our gardens, have necessarily, in accordance with their object, chosen the most showy, the most marketable plants, rather than such as would help to throw light on the various questions as to the development and perpetuation of plant-life which now perplex us, and which will continue to occupy our attention until the rising representatives of Darwin, Spruce, and Bates shall have accomplished somewhat of the great work of foreign travel and study which yet remains undone. 6o5 INDEX. ABUTILON, 385. Abutilons, graft variegation in, 62. Acacia, 429. Acanthaceae, genera of, 168. Acanthaceous plants, increase of, 168, 169 ; pollen of, 1 68. Acanthus family, 168 ; hybrids of, 169 ; mollis, 1 68 ; speciosus, 168 ; species of, 169. Aceracese, 170. Aceras, hybrids of, 8. Acers, grafting and budding of, 171 ; seeds and embryos of, 170 ; species of, 171. Achimenes, 331. Aehyranthes, 172. Acis, species and propagation of, 173. Aconitum (Monk's-hood), 507. Acarus, importation of, 39. Acre, number of plants requisite for, 596 ; vegetables, seeds, necessary for, 596, 597. ^schynanthus, 332. jEsculus (Horse-chestnut), 524. Affinity, proved by grafting, 58 ; sexual or elective, 119. Agalmyla, 332. Agapanthus, 363. Agave, gemini flora -densiflora, 175; nec- tarine mucus of, 114; perbella, 175; Taylori, 175. Agaves, propagation of, 173 ; seeding of, 174. Ageratum, increase of, 247. Ailanthus excelsa, precocity of a seedling, 91. Alder family, 207 ; seed and cutting pro- pagation of, 208. Alexander on Conifer seeds, 260. Allamanda, a hybrid, 14 ; Cathartica, Schotti, 14 ; Hendersoni, 14 ; Wardleana, 14; kinds of, &c., 187. Allium, 364. Almond as a stock, &c., 458. Alocasia, hybrids of, 193. Aloe, 365. Aloes, American, and insects, 174, 175; hybrid, 154. Alstrcemeria, hybrid seedlings of, 175; hybrids or mules of, 130. Alternanthera, 172 ; increase of, 592. Althaea, 386. Amarantus, 172. Amaryllidaceae, 173; genera of, 173. Amaryllis, or Knight's Star Lilies, 173; species of, 176. Amelanchier, 468. America, winter root-grafting, 594. American Aloes, fertilisation of, 174. Amherstia, 429. Amygdalus, 458. Anagallis, hybrids of, &c., 448. Anderson- Henry on cross-breeding, 148; on direct pollen influence, 106; on hybrid Clematis, 512; on hybrid Ver- onicas, 537; on partial hybridity in Rhododendrons, 298. Andre on JEsculus intermedia, 525. Andromeda, 285. Anemone family (Wind-flowers), 506 ; hy- brids of, 507; japonico-vitifolia, 121; vitifolia-japonica, 121 ; increase of, 590. Annuals, half-hardy, 37 ; hints on sowing, 37 ; when to sow seeds in heat, 582. Antirrhinum, hybridism of, &c., 529. Aphelandra, 168. Apidse or Bee family, Muller on, 143. Apium, 557. Apocynaceae, genera of, 186. Apple, " Bess Pool," "Idouble" grafted, 70. Apples, root-grafting of, 67, 492 ; as stocks for Pears, 485; stocks for, 490; propa- gation of, 481. Apricot, "intermediate" stock for Nec- tarine, 69 ; stocks for, 477. (The late Mr Pearson of Chilwell mentions several varieties of the Moor Park Apricots differing but little in the appearance of their leaves or fruit : the sort cultivated at Chilwell has been grown therefor upwards of fifty years, and is the finest flavoured of any variety. From careful observa- tion, it is believed to be identical with the Grosse Peche Apricot, as it grows best on the Brussels Plum ; whereas the variety known as Moor Park in the south of England, does best on the Muscle. For all pur- poses, there is no doubt it is the best variety of Apricot grown. The sort grown in the south of England as Moor Park is evidently a seedling from the old variety, and is very in- ferior in flavour to it.) Aquifoliacese, 189. Aquilegia (Columbines), 508; fragranti- cnlifornica, 122. Arabis blepharophylla, 153; hybrids of, 156. 6o6 INDEX. Aradacese, 190. Aralia family, 193; propagation of, 194; stocks for, root-grafting, &c., 582. Araliaceae, 193. Araucarias, propagation of, 265. Arbutus, 284. Areas, different, seeds requisite for, 596; plants required for given, 596. Areschong on Rubus idceus, 505. Aroid family, 190. Aroids, fertilisation of, 191. Artificial methods by which plants are multiplied, 43. Asclepiadacese, 194. Asclepiads and insects, 195; fecundation of, 195 ; pollen growth of, 195. Ash, grafting of, stocks for, &c., 406. Asparagus, 363. Aster family, 245. Asters, China, 248; or "Michaelmas Daisies," 247. Aucuba, cuttings, root, best inserted in August, 263) family, 268; pollen, preser- vation of, 151. Aueubas, grafting of, &c., 269; herma- phrodite, 269; male and female, 100; male and female kinds of, 269. Aurantiacese, 197. Auricula, origin of, 453. Austen on "double" grafting, 69; on grafting, 73. Azalea, 285; Pontica, hybrid of, 132; Pon- tica, pollen influence of, 121. Azalea-Rhododendron hybrids, 286. Azaleas, hybridism of, 161 ; pollen of, no; splice - grafting, 595; stocks for, 285; when to graft, 593. BACKHOUSE on cross-bred Narcissus, 182. Baines on grafted cuttings, 85. Baird on Bouvardia seedlings, 238. Balance between scion and stock, 63. Balsam inaceae, 199. Balsam family, 199. Balsams, self-fertilised, 145. Baltet on bud-grafting, 79 ; on double- grafting Pears, 69 ; on grafting, 58 ; on grafting Pines, 77; on Pear-grafting, 486. Banana family, 398. Bark replacing grafts, 84. Batatus paniculata, 267 ; as a stock, 86. Bedding-plants, propagation of, 594. Bee-bread, 143. Bee-orchis, self-fertilised, 144. Beer on pollen growth, 114. Bees and pollen, 143 ; and Willow pollen, 154- Begomaceae, 199. Begonia Dominiana (B. Rex-argentea), 93 ; family, 199 ; Marshallii, 93 ; miniato- opuliflora, 122 ; Veitchi-boliviensis, 127; Weltoniensis, 122. Begonias, bud or bulblet, increase of, 200 ; changes in hybrid, 125 ; colours of hybrid, 123 ; Continental hybrids of, 202 ; cross-bred, 127; double-flowered, tuber- ous, 205 ; hermaphrodite, 199 ; how in- creased, 47; hybrid, tuberous-rooted, 204 ; leaf- propagation of, 200 ; tuberous, from seed, 584 ; tuberous-rooted, 203. Bell-flower family, 227. Bell-flowers, hybrid, 227; self-fertilising, 146. Bennet on hybrid Primroses, 452 ; on natural cross-breeding, 137 ; on Vanilla fertilisation, 420. Bentley on fertilisation, 114. Berberis family, 206 ; how to increase, 206 ; seedlings of, 207. Berkeley on hybridism, 151. Bertolonia family, 394 ; seedling, 394. Betulaceae, 207. Biennials, when to sow, 37. Bigeneric half-breeds, 135 ; hybrids, Wed- dell on, &c., 135. Bignoniacese, genera of, 208. Bignonia radicans, stock for, 59. Bignonias, hybridism of, 209 ; increase of, 208 ; on Catalpa stock, 208. Bilbergias, fertilisation of, 215 ; potency of dried pollen of, 215 ; seeding of, 215. Bindweed family, 267. Biota, aurea, and its variety B. semper- aurea, are both easily propagated by cuttings or by grafting on common seedling Thujas as stocks, 264. Birch and Alder family, 207. Birch, increase of, 208 ; seeds, how to pre- serve, 591. Birds and seeds, 588. Blackberry, the, 504. Blair on graft variegation, 62. Blandfordia, 365. Bottom-heat for cuttings, 53. Bousehet on cross-fertilising Grapes, 103. Bouvardias, bud variations in, 239 ; pro- pagation and origin of, 238. Box, common evergreen, 303 ; cutting, root, best inserted in August, 304. Bradley on direct pollen influence, 104, 105. Brairding Conifer seeds, &c., 586. Brassica, 210. Brassicacese, 209. Bromeliaceae, 214. Bromeliads, increase of, 215. Broughton on hybrid or seedling Cincho- nas, 241. Brownea, hybrids of, &c., 431. Brugmansias, 542. Bryanthus erectus, 93, 292, 302. Buckley on Epiphyllums, 223. Buckman on Carrots, 558. Buckthorn family, 520. Buckwheat family, 447. Budding, curious account of, 62 ; novel way with Roses, 586 ; or bud-grafting 78, 79 ; shield, 80 ; adventitious, Lind- ley on, 49. Buddleia, hybrid of, propagation of, &c., 529. Buds and seeds, analogy of, 92 ; sports, &c., 136 ; propagation, importance of, 49 ; variation, 97 ; variation, Gaertner on, 106 ; variation in Bouvardias, 239 ; variation or sports, 97 ; variation, refer- ences to authorities on, 99. Bulb-culture in Holland, 369. Bulb-cuttings, 47 ; how increased, 43 ; treatment of, 593. Buttercups, 519. Butterwort family, 361. Buxus, 303. INDEX. 607 CABBAGE family, 209. Cabbage, number of plants per acre, 590 ; races of, 2 to ; variation in, 7 ; wild races of, 210. Cactaceae, 218. Cacti, grafting of, &c., 218 ; hybridisation of, 220. Cactus family, 218. Caladiums, cross-bred seedlings of, 192. Calanthe, hybrids of, 421. (Calanthe Rollisoni is one of Mr Mylam's seedlings, and closely resembles the purple-flowered C. Domini, the parents in both cases being C. masu- ca and C. neratrifolia. C. Domini, however, was raised from seed of C. neratrifolia (C. furcata), and C. Rol- lisoni from that of C. masu-ca.) Calcareous soils, stocks for, 71. Calceolaria, direct pollen influence on a, 106 ; fertility of cross-bred kinds, 102 ; plantaginea, 128 ; propagation and hy- bridism of, 529 ; seed, value of, 25. Calendar for propagators, 579 ; seed-sow- ing, 595- Calisaya or Cinchona, 241. " Callus," a conglomeration of starch-cells formed at the base of a leaf or stem cut- ing, and from which roots are emitted, Calycanthacese, 226. Cambium layers, 73. Cambium sap in course of development, 64. Camellia and Tea family, 550. Camellia, bud-grafting of, 81 ; Floyii, 97 ; grafting stocks for, &c., 552 ; types of, fertilising, &c., 551. Campanulacese, 227. Campanula Haylodgensis, 227. (This hybrid was raised by Mr Anderson- Henry, and was obtained from C. pusilla-alba and C. isophylla-alba. It is intermediate in habit and form of flower, but the colour is blue, both its parents being white- flowered. It was grown and flowered at Kew in 1876.) Campanulas, hybrid, 227 ; self-fertilising, 146. Canna family, 392. Cannabinaceae, 228. Cannabis sativa, 228. Cannas, seedling, varieties of, 393. Caprifoliacese, 229. Capsicum annuum, a hybrid, 105. Caragana, grafting, stocks for, &c., 582 ; stocks for, &c., 431. Carnation family, 231 ; origin of, 231 ; increase of, 232; layering, 587; "Tree" or perpetual flowering, increase of, 234. Carriere on enhancing the permanence of races and varieties, 126 ; on the Quince stock, 70 ; on the sexes of seedling Aucubas, ioo. Carrion-flowers, 196. Carrot family, 557. Caryophyllacese, 231. Castanea vesca, graft variegation of, 61. Catalpa as a stock for Bignonias, 59 ; grafted, 208. Catharanthus seed, sowing of, 587. Cattleya hybrids, 422, 423 ; Leopoldi, seeds of, 105. Cattleya Mitchelli, see p. 422. (This plant is a mule, raised by the fer- tilisation of Cattleya quadricolor, Lindl. (Eldorado), as male, on Cattleya guttata Leopoldii as seed- bearing parent. The seeds were sown by Mr Mitchell, gardener to Dr Ainsworth of Manchester, in August 1863. It is very interesting to see the work of parentage. The habit appears more that of C. quad- ricolor; the colours, too, are of this plant, or nearly so : but the shape of the lip, the compact texture of the flower, and the not very clear tint of the sepals and petals, are decidedly due to the old C. guttata. The plant first flowered in Novem- ber 1876.— See 'Card. Chron.,' Dec. 23, 1876.) Ceanothus family, 520 ; seedling, grafting, , &c., 521. Celery family, 557. Cellular tissues, rooting power of, 56 ; union of, in grafting, 66. Celosias, propagation of, 172. Cephcelis ipecacuanha, 240. , Cephalotus foUicularis, 527. Cerasus (Cherries), 46";. Cereal family, 339. Cereus grandifloms, hybrid of, 109. Cereus, hybrid, 221 ; propagation of, 219 ; speciosissimo-crenatus, 121. Chalky soils, stocks for, 71. Chamaecerasus, hybrid, 230. Changes produced by cultivation, 10. Characteristics, variation of, under cul- ture, 96. Characters, evident and latent, 98. Cheiranthus, 211 ; family, 211; hybrids of, 212. Cherries (Cerasus), 465. Cherries, flowering, grafting of, &c., 581 ; ornamental, seedling, &c., 467; varia- tion or sport in a, 99 ; seedlings, graft- ing, budding, &c., 466. Chestnut, double-flowered, 99 ; family, 523; graft variegation in a, 61. Chimonanthus family, 226; from cuttings, 48. Chrysanthemums, 248 ; proportionate re- turns of good seedling, 94. Cinchonacese, 237. Cinchona, dimorphism of, 241. Cinchona or Calisaya, 241. (See ' Quinology of the E. Indian Plan- tations,' by J. E. Howard (Reeve & Co.), for information on seed- ling, cross-bred, and hybrid forms.) Cinchona, sorts and propagation of, 241. Cineraria, 249; seed, value of, 25 ; double- flowered, 250. Cistus, natural hybrids of, 7. Citron family, 197. Citrullus vulgaris, Livingstone on, 104. Citrus japonica, increase of, stock for, 590 ; on Limonia stock, 60 ; fruiting of, 197. 6o8 INDEX. Clarke, Trevor, on Begonia hybrids, 200 ; on cross-bred Cottons, 388. Clay luting for grafts, 68. Cleft-grafting, 76. Gleistogamous flowers, 144. Clematis Candida, 150. Clematis family, 506 ; grafting, stocks for, 86 ; Hendersoni, 127 ; hybrids and seed- lings of, 510; hybrids of, &c., 164; Jackmanii, long-kept pollen of, 150 ; pollen of, 109 ; propagation of, 509 ; when and how to root-graft, 584. Clerodendron, 560. Climate and fertilisation or impregnation, 133 ; and hybridism, 151. Olivias, 181. Cloves, little axillary, bulb-like buds, 49. Cockscombs, 172. Cocos nucifera, a precocious seedling of, 91. Codiseum, 304. Ccelebogyne ilicifolia, 100. Co/ea arabica, 237. Coffea, propagation of, 242. Coffee, 237. Coleus, 359 ; hybrids, list of, 360. Collodion for cuttings, 52. Colour and hybridism, 122, 214 ; and hybridity, 540 ; changes induced in by culture, 95 ; change of cross-fertilised Peas, 106; De Candolle on primary, 119 ; of flowers and insects, 88. Columbines, 508. Colza, hybrid nature of, 211. Commelynaceae, 245. Composite, 245. Coniferse, 257. Conifer seeds, germination of, 260 ; whence imported, 25. Conifer sports, 266 ; grafting, 262 ; in- crease of, from cuttings, 588 ; manage- ment of seedling, 261 ; naked' seeds of, 114; seedling, 257; stocks for, 263, 264. Consanguinity, Galton on, 98 ; or relation- ship, 57 Convolvulacese, 267. Coral-tree hybrids, 433. Cornacese, 268. Corn-plants, 339. Correa, seedlings of, &c., 522. Corylacete, 270. Cotoneaster, stocks for, &c., 468. Cotton family, 385. Cowslip, American, 450. Cranberry family, 559. Crane's-bill family, 318. Crassulacese, 272. Crassula, stock for, 86. Cratsegus (Hawthorn), 468. Crinum, mixed seeds of a, 128 ; hybrids of, 173 ; species and hybrids of, 176. Crocus, 348. Cross-bred plants, increased fertility of, 102. Cross-breeding, 6 ; artificial, 148 ; general remarks on, 87 ; instructions for, 149 ; natural, 137 ; propensities of Cabbage, 211 ; proportionate results of, 94. Cross - fertilisation and fertility, 100 ; arrangements in flowers for, 141 ; natural, 89. Crossing with long stamens, 163 ; with short stamens, 160, 162. Croton, 304. Croucher on propagating Cacti, 218. Crown-grafting, 75. Cucumber, a Melon-bearing, 103 ; family, 276. Cucurbitacea?-, 276 ; variation in some species of, 6. Cultivation, changes induced by, 10. Cultural variability, 95. Culture and variability, 95 ; as a disturb- ing cause in plant-life, 96. Cupressus, fertilisation of, 257. Currant family, 343. Currants, stocks tor, 345. Cuscuta, germination of, 31. Cutting and storing grafts, 70. Cuttings, 47 ; bottom-heat for, 53 ; collo- dion for, 52 ; definition of, 49 ; grafted, 85 ; hard and soft wooded, 53 ; herba- ceous, 55 ; how and when to prepare, 50 ; in water-bottles, 53 ; leaf, stem, and root, 51 ; moisture for, 50, 52 ; of a Kose, variations in, 99 ; of Cycas revol- uta, 53 ; of leaves, starch in, 588 ; pack- ing materials for, 41 ; parts of plants suitable for, 51 ; propagation by, 47 ; sand and water for, 53 ; sawdust for, 53 ; soils for, 53 ; rooting media for, 55 ; tabular view of, 51 ; tender, packing in hot countries, 41 ; Thomson's Styptic for, 52. Cycad family, 279. Cycas revoluta, cuttings and offsets of, 53. Cyclamen, 449. Cyclamen Atkinsi, 449. Cyclamen persicum, 449 ; seed growth of, 31. Cydonia (Quince), 469. Cyperacese, 280. Cypripedium Harrisianum (C. barbato- villosum), 93 ; hybrids of, 423, 424 ; longifolio-Schlimii, 154 ; Sedeni, 154 ; Sedeni (C. Schlimii-longifolia), 93 ; hy- brid, seedling, &c., 422. Cyrtanthera, 168. Cytissus, grafting of stocks for, &c., 432 ; hybrids of, 432. DAFFODILS, cross-bred, 182; hybrid, 121. Dahlia hybrids, desirable, 253; thinning flowers of, for seed, 590; cuttings of, 587; grafting, 86, 251; increase of, 251; introduction of, 250 ; proportion of good seedlings of, 94. Dalechampia, 304. Daphne, seedlings of, grafting, &c., 556. Daphnes, grafting, &c., 584; hybrid, 557- Darlingtonia, 526. Darwin on cross-fertilisation, 87; on di- morphism, &c., 117; on Potato-grafting, 548; on self -fertilised Bee-orchis, 144; on the Oxlip, 7 ; on the direct action of foreign pollen, 104. Date-Plum family, 282. Date-Plums (Diospyrus), stocks for, 590. Datura, 539; Naudin on hybrid, 155. Daucus (Carrot), 558. Dead Nettle family, 358. Decaisne on cultural variability, 95. INDEX. 609 De Candolle on Brassicas, 210 ; on colours, 119; on grafting Oleaceous plants, 406; on temperature, 13. De Clos on hybrid Pinks, 235. Deheian and Landrin on seed growth, Delphinium formosum, 98; varieties of, 515. Denny on cross-breeding Pelargoniums, 124; on crossing Pelargoniums, 322, 323; on male prepotence, 120; on sud- den impregnation, 116. Deutzia, seedlings of, &c., 441. Dianthits barbatus-superbus, 235 Dianthus deltaides, insect-fertilisation of, 142; fertility of cross-bred seedlings of, 102;. origin of some cultivated, 231. Dielytra family, 312. Digitalis (Foxgloves), hybrid, 102; hybrids of, 532. Dimorphic flowers, 117. Dioacious : a term applied to species which bear male and female flowers — i.e., male and female organs in separate flowers on different plants, as in Aucuba, Garrya, &c., 15. Dioecious and monoscious plants, 100; hybridisation of, 15. Dionsea, 281. Diospyrus, graft -increase of, 590. Dipladenia hybrids, 188; grafted cuttings of, 85. Diptera, pollen-eating, 144. Disa grandiftora, 419. Division as a means of reproduction, 43 ; propagation by, 43. Dodecatheon, 450; seeds, germination of, 451- Dog_wood family, 268. Dolichodeira, 337. Dominy's hybrid Orchids, 421. Don on hybrid Begonias, 201. Double-grafting, 69 ; early records of, 60. Douglas on Vine-grafting, 570. Draba violacea, 153. Dracaena, 365; hybrid and seedling, 366, 367; ringing of, &c., 584. Dragon-trees, 365. Drainage for cuttings, 53. Droseraceae, 281. Drosera, 282 ; how to increase, 47 ; rotun- difolia, 144. Drupaceous family, 457. Dubreuil on stocks and soils, 71. Duncan on pollen-tubes, 113. Duplication of embryos in the Orange, 66. Dwarfing stocks, n. Dyer on immediate or direct influence of foreign pollen, 104 ; on the forms of Lily fruits, 103. EBENACE^E, 282. Eccremocarpus, seeding of, 208. Echeveria, hybrids and seedlings of, 273. Echinocacti, seedling, 219. Ehretiaceae, 283. Elective atfmity, Gaertner on, 236. Electricity and hybridity, 151, 193. Elm family, 559; stocks for propagation of, &c., 559. Emasculating the flower, no. Emasculation, no, in, 148. Embrothrium coccineum, increase of, 457. (This plant ripens seed which grows readily). Embryo of Hymeuocallis, 130; duplication of, 65. Embryonic grafting, 65. Epacridacese, 302. Epacris family, 302. Epidendrum einnabarinum, 105. Epimedium hybrids, 207. Epiphyllums, best stocks for, 225 ; hybrid, 222, 223; seedling sorts of, 224; stocks for, 224. Eranthemum, 168. Erica tetralici-eiliaris (Syme), 288. (Near Penryn, W. Cornwall, Mr J. Cun- nack found this abundantly in ^74-75 '•> also another apparently hybrid form with a corolla as large as in Dabeocia polifolia. — Jour, of Bot, p. 281.) Ericas, 288; fertilisation of, 289; fertility of cross-bred kinds of, 102; list of hybrid, 290; new hybrid, 291. Eriobotrya japonica, 475; stocks for, 86. Eriostemon, 522. Erythrina hybrids, &c., 433. Eugenia (Psidium), 400. Euonymus japonicus (see Rhamnaceae), 520. (This plant succeeds well grafted on E. europ 37- Flute-grafting, 81. Foreign pollen, immediate effects of, 102. Fork-grafting, 77. Forsythia suspensa, 102 ; viridissima, 102 ; cross-fertilisation necessary for, 102. Foxgloves, hybrid, 102. Fragaria (Strawberries), 471. Frames for propagating purposes, 21; oiled paper for, 22. Francisceas, hybrids of, &c., 542. Fritillaria, 367. Fruit-bud grafting, 67. Fruit-tree grafting, 582 ; seeds, sowing of, &c., 592: stocks, experiments on (see 'Jour. Royal Hort. Society,' vol. iii., n.s., p. i), 457. Fruit-trees, budding in June, 587 ; grafting of, stocks for, &c., 579; number in an acre, 596; root - cuttings of, 53; stocks for, on different soils, 71. Fruits, hardy, constitution of, 12; im- provement of, 9; improved kinds of, 10; improvement of berry-bearing, 25; ob- ject of beauty in, 88. Fuchsia Dominiana (F. serratifolia-specta- bilis), 93. Fuchsia family, 408 ; varieties and hybrids of, 408; grafted, &c., 413; natural graft- ing in, 129; seed, value of, 25. Fumariacese, 312. Fungi, 313. GAERTNER on bud variation, 106 ; on con- stitutional affinity, 119; on hybrid Nicotiana, 543 ; on hybridising Primulas, 455 ; on mixed pollen, 127; on the direct action of foreign pollen, 104; "observa- tions on muling among plants " (see •Jour. Royal Hort. Society '(1850), vol. v. p. 156, and vol. vi. p. i). Galton on consanguinity, 98. ' Gardeners' Chronicle ' on Apple - stocks, 491. Gardenia, sorts of, 242. Garryacese, 317. Gentian, wild hybrids of, 318. Gentianacese, 318. Geraniacese, 318. Germain de St Pierre on hybrid Lagen- arias, 278. Germination, Lindley on, 30 ; of Mangrove seeds, 521; of seeds, Dehgian and Lan- drin on, 31 ; of " unripe" seeds, 29; pre- ventives of, 32. Gesnera, 332. Gesnera zebrina, male prepotence of, 122. Gesneraceae, 331. Gesnerads, hybrid, 122; hybrid, &c., 333- Geum rivale-montanum — is a hybrid, and is described in 'JSsterr. Bot. Zeitschr.,' Feb. 1876. Gilbert on seedling Belgian Pears, 482. Ginger family, 578. Gladioli, hybrids and seedlings of, 350. Gladiolus, 349. Glasses, blue, for seeds, 588. Gloxinia, 336. Godetia Whitney i- Lindley ana, 408. (This is a showy dwarf-habited carmine- flowered hybrid raised by Messrs Daniels of Norwich, and certificated in 1876. It is said to be a seedling of the fourth generation from G. Whitney ii, as the seed-parent crossed with the pollen of G. Lindleyana. — See ' Garden,' August 5, 1876. There are also lilac, purple, rose, spotted, and striped seedlings from the same cross. ) Godron on insect-fertilisation of Primula grandiflora, 453. Goldfussia, 168. Gomphrena, 172. Gooseberries, a good stock for, 59 ; stocks for, 345.' Gooseberry family, 343. Gordon, hybrids raised by, 121. Gossypium, 387. Gourds, cross-bred sorts of, 278. Grafting, 57; and budding, propagation by> 57? and longevity, 72; and pruning, unnatural, 1 1 ; Austen on, 73 ; best season for, 65; "budding "or bud, 78; bud or eye, 78 ; by approach (inarching), 83; Cactaceous plants, 218, 224, 225; changes induced by, 60 ; cleft, 76 ; com- plicated experiment in, 488 ; crown, 75 ; cuttings, 85 ; different modes of, 72 ; " double " on intermediate stocks, 69 ; essentials to insure success in, 65 ; flute, 81 ; fork and saddle, 77; her- baceous, essentials for, 66; hybrids obtained by, 60; leaves, 86; modes of, 72; natural, 6, 65; objects of, 59; on roots, 86; references to papers on, 57 ; roots, tubers, or leaves, 67 ; sad- dle, 77 ; side, 74 ; splice, 73 ; stocks for fruit-trees, 58 ; terminal cleft, 76 ; the Grape-vine, 570; under glass, 65; vari- egation induced by, 60 ; Vines at Battle Abbey, 63; wax for, 68; whip or tongue, 74- Grafts, half-breeds, 136; hybrids, 136; hybridism of Potato, 547; cutting and storing, 70; how to preserve, 64; tying materials for, 68. Graminacese, 339. Grape, Almerian, as a stock, 70 ; Aramon or Burchard's Prince, 103; grafting the, 82; Le Teinturier, 103; Royal Musca- dine as a stock, 63 ; wild American, for stocks, 83 ; American seedling, 566 ; cross - fertilisation of, 103; " double "- grafting for, 70 ; hardy hybrids desirable, 566; improved kinds of, 10; inarching the clusters of, 572 ; influence of stock on, 60 ; modern seedlings of, 573 ; varia- bility of grafted, 63. Grape-vine, 564. Graptophyllum, 168. Grasses, direcious, 100. Grevilleas, grafting, stocks for, &c., 457. Grossulariacese, 343. Groundsels, ornate, 255. Growth -promoting stocks, n. Guavas, 400. Gueldres Rose, 230. Gumbleton on Brownea hybrids, 431. Gymnostachyum, 168. INDEX. HABLITZIA, 172. Haguin cm fertilising Lilies, no. Half-bred bigeneric hybrids, 135. Half-bred plants, 136. Half breeds, grafts, &c., 136. Hamilodendfon, grafting, &e., 582. Hartson on pollen influence, 105. Haws, when to sow, 591. Hawthorns as stocks, &c. , 469 ; for Pyra- cantha, 60. Hazel family, 270. Heart's-ease, 146. Heat an essential to germination, 33; in relation to fecundating Aroids, 193 ; latent, and hybridity, 151. Heath family, 284. Heckel on seed growth, 32. Hedera, increase of variegated, 581. Heliotrope family, 283. Heliotropium Volterrce (H. Voltairianum, Hort.), 283. (This variety was raised from seed in 1845 by a M. Lemaire, gardener to the Countess of Boigne, at Chatenay, the birthplace of Voltaire ; hence the dedication to the great author. It was sent out by Thibaut in 1846 or 1847.) Hellebores, colour of, 541 ; hybrid, 516 ; root increase of, 590. Helleborus, 516. Hemp family, 228. Hemsley on Fuchsia hybrids, &c., 409. Henderson on Rose variations, 99. Henon on wild hybrid Narcissus, 181. Henslow on hybrid Digitalis, 102. Herbaceous grafting, 66. Herbert on cross-bred Conifers, 259; on cross - fertilisation and fertility, 101 ; on crossing Heaths, 289 ; on cultivated Roses, 502; on elective affinity, 120; on hybrid Alstrcemerias, &c., 130; on hybrid Cereus, 222 ; on hybrid Crinums, 176, 177 ; on hybrid Gladioli, 350 ; on hybrid Pelargonia, 324 ; on hybrid Narcissus, 182; on hybrid Rhododen- dra, 121. (The late Dean on Hybridisation among vegetables — see ' Jour. Royal. Hort. Society ' (1847), vol. ii. pp. 1-81.) Herbert on hybridism, 91 ; mixed pollen of, 128; on mixed pollen, &c., 133; on old pollen, 107 ; on permanence of varieties from seed, 387 ; on prepotence, 121 ; on Nerines, 186 ; on seedling Camellias, 551. Hermaphrodite flowers, emasculation of, no, in ; plants— those which bear male and female organs, or stamens and pis- tils, in the same flower. 15 ; plants, some practically monoecious, 100. Hexacentris, 168. Hibberd on propagation of Roses, 501. Hibiscus, 389 ; pahistri-speciosus, 132. Hildebrand on direct pollen influence, 104. Hillock layering, 41. Hill on variability of grafted Pears, 63. Hippeastrums, cross-fertilisation in, 101 ; hybrid, 178. Hogg on cross-fertilised Pear-fruits, 104. Hollies, budding of, 189. Holly family, 189 ; graft variegation in, 62. Hollyhock family, 385. Honeysuckle family, 229. Hooker on hybrid Veronicas, 537. Hop family, 228. Hop-plant, monoecious, 228. Horner on Auricula fertilisation, 454. Horse-chestnuts, stocks for, &c. , 524. House-leek family, 272; wild hybrid of, 276. Houses, propagating, 17 ; for plant pro- pagation, temperature and dimensions of, 17. Hoya family, 194 ; nectarine mucus of, 114; nectar of, 196; propagation and fruiting of, 195. Humboldt on seed growth, 32. Humulus lupulus, 228. Hyacinths, 368 ; colours of crossed, 123 ; propagation of, 369. (M. Barleman, of the Berlin University Garden, has propagated Hyacinths successfully by inserting the entire leaves in a shallow pan of sandy soil as cuttings. Placed in a warm frame or greenhouse, near the light, they will begin to form little bulbs at the base in about a fortnight. The leaves should be removed directly after flowering; and in this way it is possible to augment the stock obtainable by cutting up the bulbs in the usual manner). Hybrid Gesnerads, 122. Hybridisation, object and results of, 92 ; of monoecious and dioecious plants desirable, 15. Hybridising experiments^ how to perform, 117; care necessary in, 117. Hybridism a proof of affinity, 101 ; definite results of, 93 ; general remaks on, 87 ; graft in Potato, 547 ; natural, 6 ; and climate, 151 ; and colour, 122. Hybridity and colour, 540 ; artificial, 148 ; complicated nature of, 136 ; Herbert on, 133; opinions on, 157; suggestions on, 1 66. Hybrids, fertile pollen of, 97 ; increased size and vigour in, 89 ; sterile, or mules, 102 ; variability of, 158 ; wild, 7 ; bigen- eric, 135 ; fertile, 98 ; graft, 60, 136 ; on recording, &c., 135 ; reciprocal or in- termediate, 154 ; spontaneously pro- duced by cultivated species, 135. (Catalogues of the seeds and plants grown in M. Thurct's garden at Antibes were carefully compiled ; and, thanks to the care with which these lists were prepared, M. Thuret, and his aide-de-camp M. Bornet, were often enabled to note the production of spontaneous hy- brids between various species of Pittosporum, Polygala. Callistemon, Passiflora, Acacia, Stapelia, Ar- meria, Statice, Narcissus, Aloe, Scilla, &c. The underwood was composed of Cistuses. These C'is- tuses, several thousands in number, were the result of artificial fertil- isation. All the forms figured in 612 INDEX. Sweet's Cistinece — such as C. corbar- iensis, Cyprius, purpures, &c.— were thus reproduced.) Hydrangea family, 346. Hymenocallis, embryo of, 130. Hymenoptera, pollen-carrying, 143. ILEX, graft variegation in, 62. Imantophyllum cyrtanthiflorum, 97. Imantophyllums, 181. Impatiens f ulva, 1 46 ; Noli - me - tangere, 146; parviflora, 146; self-fertilised kinds of, 146. Impregnation or fertilisation, 116; and climate, 133; artificial modes of, 134; partial or imperfect, 129; time requisite for, 128 ; means of, 10. Inarching ; or splice-grafting "by approach," 83 ; fruit-clusters of Grapes, 572. (In this form of grafting, two branches on the same plant, or on different plants, are spliced together, neither being severed until a union is effected.) Increased vigour, 89. India-rubber tree, stock for, 582. Insects and colour of flowers, 88 ; and valuation in plant form, 126 ; fertilisa- tion, 139 ; and pollen, 106 ; and Stapelias, 196 ; and the colours of flowers, 88 ; pollen-eating, 143. Introduction, i. Ipecacuanha, propagation of, 240. Ipomcea Horsfallia:, stock for, 86; Hors- fallice, stocks for, 267 ; root-grafting of, 582 ; paniculata as a stock, 86. Iresine, 172. Iris, 353. Iris family, 346. Ivies, 194. (Cuttings should be inserted in Septem- ber on a sheltered border, where they will root freely.) Ivies, how and when to graft, 581. Ivy family, 193. Ixora, propagation of, 244. JAFFRAY on propagating Ipecacuanha, 241. Jasmine, Cape or Gardenia, 243. Jasminum, variegation in, 61. Jatropha urens, pollen of, 109. Juglandacese, 356. Juncaginaceae, 358. Juncus bufonius, pollen-tubes of, 146. Jussieu on the pollen of Malpighiacese, 147. Justicia, 168. KAKI fruit, the, 283; fruits, stocks for, ,390- Kalendar, seed-sowing, 595. Kalmia, 292. Kerner on hybrid Primroses, 452 ; on pol- len, 106 ; on the origin of the Auricula, 453- Keynes on Dahlias seeding, 253. Kitchen-garden seeds, when to sow, 595. Knaur or " uovoli " propagation, 49, 50. Knight on direct pollen influence, 105; on fruit-tree stocks, 72; on grafting blossom or fruit buds, 67 ; on the varia- bility of grafted fruits, 63. Koch on hybrid Arads, 190; on hybrids, 8. Kcelreuter on cultural variability, 96. Kumquat, grafting of, 197. LABIATES, 358. Laburnum, variegation in, 61. Lactuea, 255. Lagenaria, hybrids of, 278. Lagerstrcemeria, 384. Lapageria family, 442. Larch, seed-sowing of, 584, 586. Larkspurs, 515. Latent characters, 98. Lauraceae, 361. Laurel family, 361. Layering, hillock, 46 ; how performed, 44 ; multiple or compound, 46. Layers, 44 ; propagation by, 44 ; Pink and Carnation, 234. Leadworts, 444. Leaf-cuttings, 47, 580 ; grafting, 67 ; graft- ing succulent plants, 86. Lecoq on Auriculas, 455 ; on hybrid Mira- bilis,402; on preserving pollen, no. Lemons for stocks, seed-sowing of, 595. Lentibulariacese, 361. Lettuce hybrids, 255. Libonia, 168; hybrids of, 169. Lilac, 406. Liliaceae, 362. Lilies, 369; fertilisation of, in; Knight's Star or Amaryllis, 173; pollen of, no. Lilium, 369; bulbiferum, fruit of, 102; davuricum, fruit of, 102; hybrid of, 372. (L. testaceum (see ' Paxt. Mag. Bot.,' 1843, p. 221) is a handsome plant, bearing butt-tinted flowers. It was always supposed to be of hybrid origin, and Mr Barr informs me that Col. Trevor Clarke has reproduced it by crossing its parents, L. candidum and L. chalcedonicum. — See also ' Flore des Serres,' vol. i., for a full account of this distinct plant.) Lilium pollen-keeping properties of, 150. Lily family, 362; fruits, direct action of pollen on, 103 ; Water, 403. Limonia trifoliate, as a stock for Citrus Japonica, 590. Linaceae, 377. Linaria family, 528 ; hybrids of, 532. Lindley on adventitious buds, 49; on Digi- talis, 532; on hybridism, 92, 94; on hybridising Clematis, 513; on sexual prepotence, 170; on supertcetation, 120; on the influence of different soils on fruit-trees and stocks, 71 ; on the vitality of seeds, 36. Linnaeus on hybrid Salsify, 256; on pollen of Jatropha, 109; on Violas, 145. Linum, 377. Liriodendron, 390. Livingstone on pollen influence in Melons, 104. Lobelia, 379; hybrids of, 380. Lobeliaceae, 378. Lonicera, hybrid or seedling, 230; sorts of, 229. Loosestrife family, 384. Loquat, propagation of, 475 ; stocks for, 86. INDEX. 613 Loranthacese, 382. Love-lies-bleeding, 172. Lubbock on cross-fertilisation by insects, 87. Lychnis, 236; diurna, 128; hybrids of. 231, 237. Lycopersicum a hybrid, 105. Lynch on hybrid Aloes, 154. Lythraceaj, 384. MACLEAN on pollen-tubes, 113. Madura, 397; aurantiaca, natural grafting in, 65. M'Nab on the definite results obtainable in hybridising Rhododendra, 93. Magnolias, 390; seedlings of, 391; stocks for, 391. Mahonia family, 206 ; hybrid of, 207. Malpighiacea, pollen of, 147. Malva, insect or self fertilisation of, 142. Malvaceae, 385. Mandirola picturata, 122; Roezli, 122. Manetti roots as Rose-stocks, 67. Mangrove family, 521; germination of, 31- Maple family, 170. Maples, propagation of, and stocks for, 171. Marantaceae, 392. Marck on large versus small seeds, 33. Marvel of Peru family, 402. Masters on bud variation, 99; on hybrid Passion-flowers, 438. Mastic, cold grafting, 68. Matthiola annua, pollen of, 115; hybrid of, 213 ; propagation of, 213; maderensi- incana, 213. Maule on Potato-grafting, 549. Mauz on direct influence of pollen, 104. Max Leichtlin on hybrid Gladioli, 352. Maximowicz on direct pollen influence, 102. Meadow-saffron family, 393. Medlar, Japanese, 475 ; stocks for, 86. Medlars, stocks for, &c., 475. Meehan on a Pear-apple, 105 ; on Bouvar- dia leantha, 240; on cross versus self fertilisation, 90; on natural grafting or fasciation, 66 ; on the direct influence of foreign pollen, 103 ; on the fixation of races and forms, 126. Melanthaceae, 393. Melastomacese, 394. Melianthus, propagation of, 524. Melon-cucumber, a, 103. Menziesia, 292. Mesembryacese, 395. Mespilus (Medlars), 475. Meyenia, 168. " Michaelmas Daisies," 247. Miller on seedling Pine-apples, 216. Mimulus hybrids, forms of, 534. Misseltoe family, 382 ; stocks for, 384. Mock-orange family; 440. Mongrels or half-breeds, 136; variability of, 158. Monkey-flowers and Musks, 534. Monk's-hood, 507. Monnier on the fruition of Violets, 145. Monoecious — a term applied to plants which bear their male and female organs in separate flowers on the same plant, as in most Cucurbits, 15; grasses, Palms, 100; plants, hybridisation of, 15. Moore, p., on grafting Nepenthes, 400. Mountain-ash, graft variegation in, 62. Mucus stigmatic, 113. Mulberry family, 396 ; introduction of the, 396- Mule Pink, origin of, 233. Mules, or sterile hybrids, 102; or hybrids, Muller on insect-fertilisation of Mallows, 142 ; on insect-fertilisation, reference to papers on, 147; on pollen-eating flies, 144; on the Apidae, 143. Musaceae, 398. Mushroom family, 313. Musk, stigmatic movements in, 535. Musks and Monkey-flowers, 534. Myrtaceae, 399. Myrtle family, 399. N^EGELIA, 332. Nageli on direct pollen influence, 105 ; on hybrids, 102. Narcissus, changes in, by hybridisation, 124; colours of hybrid, 124; cross-fer- tilisation of, 181 ; fertilisation of, 112; hybrids of, 121, 181. (See 'Paxt. Gard. Mag. of Bot.,' iii. (1851) p. 169: N. poculiformis elegans, N. Leedsii, N. major-superbus, pi. 289, N. aureocinctus, N. incomparabilis expansus, N. biculor maximus.) Narcissus, hybridity of, 121; hybridism in, 124; incomparabilis, 124; Leeds's hy- brid, 185; poeticus, 124; Pseudo-nar- cissvis, 124; species and hybrids of, 181 ; Tazetta papyracea, 125. Nasturtium family, 549. Natural cross-fertilisation, 89. Naudin on hybrid Cucurbits, 279; on hybrid Daturas, 155, 539; on hybrid Lettuce, 255; on hybrid Linarias, 533; on Petunia hybrids, 539; on hybrid Petunias, 544. Nectar of Hoyas, 106. Nectarines, Apricot stock for, 69; bud- ding, 460; '• double "- grafted, 69; new seedling, 461 ; grafting, 459. Nepenthaceee, 400. Nepenthes cuttings, moss and spar for, 53, 54 ; hybrids of, 401 ; grafting of, 400. Nerine, propagation of, 186. Nerium. seedlings of, 188. Nertera depressa, 237. Newman on cuttings, 47. Nicotiana (Tobacco), fertilisation of, 129; rustico-paniciilata, 129; hybrids, 543. Nierembergia, 544. Night-blooming plants, 88. Nightshade family, 538. Noble on variegation in "Mountain-ash," 6x. Nutrition and variability, 99; of plants, how influenced, 12. Nyctaginaceae, 402. Nymphacese, 403. Nymphaea hybrids, 404, 405. OAK family, 270. Oaks, varieties or sports of, 271. Offsets, kinds of, 5 ; Cycas revoluta, 53. 614 INDEX. Oleacese, 406. Oleanders, fertilisation of, 188. Olive family, 406. Oliver on self-fertilising Bell-flowers, 146. Onions, 364. Opuntia, increase of, by grafting, 219 ; seedling, 221. Orange family, 197. Orange, leaf-grafting of an, 67 ; bud-graft- ing of, 8 1 ; osage, the, 397 ; propagation of. 198 ; when to sow seeds of, 595. Orchid, a hardy hybrid, 8, 421; family, the, 414; genera hybridised, &c., 419; seeds of a bigeneric hybrid, 105 ; fertilisation of, 416 ; hybrid, 421 ; hybrid, list of, 422, 423 ; increased vigour and size in hybrid, 89 ; natural hybrids of, 8 ; seeds of, &c., 417-419 ; supposed natural hy- brid, 118 ; wild hybrids of, 414. Orchidaceoe, 414. Orchis apifera, self-fertilisation of, 144 ; hybrids of, 8. Osage, Orange, 397 ; natural grafting in the, 65. Osmanthus aquifolius (see Oleacese), 406. (This oleaceous plant is found by Messrs C. Lee & Sou to be quite hardy at Isleworth when grafted on the Common Privet (Ligustrum vulgaris) as a stock.) Ovary, development of seedless, 152. Oxalidaceae, 424. Oxalis acetosella, cleistogamous flowers of, 146; seeds of, &c., 425. Oxlip, the, 7. Ozone and cross-fertilisation, 151. PACHYPHYTUM as a stock, 86. Packing for cuttings, 42. Pseonia (Peony), 517. Palm, a hybrid, 426; Cocoa-nut, a pre- cocious, 91 ; dioecious kinds of, 100 ; seeds, importation of, 39. Palmacese, 425. PandanacesB, 426. Pangenesis, Darwin on, 99. Pansies, 563. Pansy family, 562. Papaver (Poppies) hybrids, &c., 427. Papaveraceaj, 427. Papilionacese, 428. Papyrus family, 280. Paradise, true French, as an Apple-stock, Parkinson on Carnations, 232 ; on " double " grafting, 69. Parsley, 557. Parsnip, Buckman on, 558. Passiflora cceruleo-onychina, 130 ; hybrids of, 438. Passifloraceee, 436. Passion-flower family, 436 ; fertilisation of, in. Pastinaca, 558. Pavia, grafting and budding of, stocks for, &c., 525 ; hybrida, precocity in seedlings, of, 91. Pavis on pollen influence, 104. Pea family, 428. Peach - budding, 460 ; stocks for, 72 ; splice-grafting the, 74 ; and Nectarines, stocks for, 458 ; seedling, &c., 461. Peach and Nectarine grafting, &c. , 459. Pear-apple, a, Meehan on, 105. Pear-grafting, curious feat in, 488 ; orch- ards, rejuvenating, 487 ; double-grafting of, 69 ; double-grafting for, 484, 485 ; propagation of, 481 ; ornamental stocks for, &c., 489; stocks for, 483 ; variability of, when grafted, 63. Peas, cross-fertilised changes in, observed by Mr Laxton (see ' Jour. Royal Hort. Society,' vol. Hi. (n.s.)p. 10), 105, 433; cross-fertilised, Wiegmann on, 105; cross- fertilisation and change of colour in, 106; fertility of cross-bred or garden, 102 ; sorts of, 433 ; varieties of, 434 ; flowers, structure of, 428. Pelargonium, colour of, 123 ; double-flower- ed kind of, 328 ; grafting, 326 ; hybrid, &c. , 322 ; ivy-leaved varieties, 328 ; old cut-leaved, 325 ; stocks for, 326, 327 ; tricolor, colours of, 125; types of, &c., 3I9- Pentstemon, hybrids of, 535, 536 ; propor- tion of good seedlings in, 94. Peonies, herbaceous list of, 519-; list of Tree or Moutan, 518 ; types of, 517-519. Peony family, 506 ; root-grafting of, 517. Perennials, hardy, hints on sowing, 37. Pereskia, propagation of, 224 ; stocks for Cacti, 224. Periwinkle family, 186. Permanence not an exclusive right of wild species, 95. Persimmon, 283. Peruvian Bark, analysis of hybrid, 242 ; family, 237. Petrcea volubilis, root-grafting of, 587. Petunias, colours of, crossed or hybrid, 123 ; hybrids of, 539 ; hybridism and increase of, 544. Philadelphace*, 440. Philadelphus, varieties of, 441. Philageria Veitchi, 443. Philesiacese, 442. Philodendron, hybrids of, 190. Phlox family, 445 ; dimorphism in, 446. (Mr John Downie kindly informs me that the early-blooming race of the tall-growing or herbaceous Phlox has descended from P. suffruticosa, and the late or autumn flowering kinds from P. decussata.) Phlox, hybrids, 446. Phloxes, proportion of good seedlings in, 94- Phyllocacti, 220. I'hyllocactns Jenkinsoni, hybrid of, 109. Pine and Fir family, 257. Pine-apple family, 214. Pine-apple, introduction of, 215 ; Lamb- ton Castle seedling, 217 ; origin of some sorts of, 217. Pinguicula, 361. Pinks, layering, 587; origin of the, 231. Pinus, time for grafting, 76. Pipings, Carnation and Pink, 234 ; (i.e., cuttings) of Pinks, &c., 587. Pisum, 433; fertility of cross-bred and self-fertilised sorts of, 102. Pitcher-plant family, 400 ; American, 526. Pits, propagating, 17. Pittosporuin, seed-germination of, 151. INDEX. 6I5 Plane-tree family, 443. Planes, seedling varieties of, 444. Plant improvement, aids to, 10 ; improve- ment, how most desirable, 16. Planters' Table, 596. Planting, table of right distances, 597. Plants, careful selection of, for seed- bearing, 14; dioecious and monoecious, for hybridising, 15; hermaphrodite, 15; improvements in cultivated, 9 ; insect- fertilised, 140 ; life of, 7 ; night-bloom- ing, 88; nutrition of, 12; per acre or rod, how to cultivate, 596 ; per post, 41 ; review of cultivated, 168 ; succu- lent, how to increase, 48 ; wind-fertil- ised, 138. Platanacese, 443. Plum, Magnum Bonum, sport of, 99. Plumbago family, 444. Plums, late-keeping, 477; seedling varieties of, 480 ; types of, stocks for, &c., 476. Poinsettia, 306. Polemoniacese, 445. Pollen, 106. (A paper " On Pollen," by M. P. Edge- worth, was read at the Linnean Society's meeting, March 2, 1876. The author treats of the shape and relative size of the pollen- grains in many orders of plants. About 400 different species have been investigated by him— each mea- sured to scale, and sketched accor- dingly. Some families of plants, he finds, present great uniformity of figure and size in their pol- len; but, on the contrary, others are as notable for diversity, even in what would seem closely - related species. In the ' Gardeners' Chron- icle' (1876) Mr W. G. Smith gives careful sketches of about 100 sorts of pollen, the results of his observa- tions being much the same as those obtained by Mr Edge worth.) Pollen, action of, foreign references to writers on, 104; and insects, 106; appli- cation of the, in; application of, to the stigma, in, 113; application of, 129; facilitating the growth of, 114; growth of, fertilising-tubes of, 113; growth of, in nectar, 196; how obtainable, 42; how to preserve, no; immediate effects of foreign, 102; insect-carried, 143; irregu- larity of, not a test of hybridism, 96; keeping properties of, 50; masses (see Pollinia), 143; mixed, 127; natural pro- tection of, 107 ; of a Clematis, 109 ; of a Rhododendron, 109; of Lilies, Azaleas, Ceratozamia, Caladium, Date - palm, &c., no; of Jatropha, 109; of Willows, 109; per post, 42; potency of common Cabbage, 211; preservation of, 106, 109, 151; prepotence of foreign, 89; prepo- tence of foreign, in Passiflora, in; quan- tity requisite, 116; variability of, in- duced by culture, 96 ; varieties of, 106; waxy, of Orchids and Asclepiads, 113; wind-wafted, 138; tubes, growth of, 115. (The extremely thin tubes emitted by pollen-grains commence to grow in about thirty minutes after they are placed in Hoya nectar or Agave mucus on a strip of thin glass or microscopic slide, and they continue growing rapidly until the nectar dries up. These tubes are trans- parent, and a current or circulation of their contents is plainly visible under a moderately powerful glass.) Pollen-tubes of Tigridia, 113. Pollinia— the pollen of such Orchids and Asclepiads as is glutinous or adherent in wax-like masses, 143. Polygoniaceae, 447, Pomaceous family, 457. Pondweed family, 358. Poplar family, 523. Poplars, increase of, 581. Poppy family, 427. Porcher on Fuchsia hybrids, &c. , 400 ; on hybrid and seedling Magnolias, 391. Portulacacese, 447. Potato family, 538; grafting, 547; seed of, 546- Potatoes changed by grafting, 61. Prepotence, 120; male, Herbert on, 121; of male and female parents, Lindley on, 170; of pollen -parents in Zonal Pelar- goniums, 323; preservation of pollen, 106. Primrose family, 448. Primroses, 451. Primula, 451 ; Chinese, seed-sowing, &c , 587 ; seed treatment of, 455 ; elatior, 98 ; hybrid, Darwin on, 7 ; wild hybrids of, 7. Primulacese, 448. Primulas, wild hybrid, 452. Propagating-houses, 17; houses for hardy plants, 17; pits, 17; pits, arrangement of, 1 8. Propagation, artificial modes of, 43; by cuttings, 47; nature's main plan of, 6; vegetative, 43. Propagator's Calendar for each month of the year, 579. Proportionate results of cross-breeding, 94. Protandrous flowers, 116. Proteacese, 457. Protean family, 457. Protogynous flowers, 11. Protogyny in Calceolaria, 531. Prunus (Plums), 475. Psidium or "Guavas," 400. Purslane family, 447. Pyracantha on Hawthorn stock, 60. Pyrus (classically, Pirus), 481; Aitcuparia, graft variegation in, 62. QUERCUS, 271. Quetier on hybridising the Radish, 211 ; on Radish and Cabbage hybrids, 211. Quince, 469 ; stocks for, &c., 471 ; stocks for Pears, 484 ; stocks for Pyracantha, 60. RACES, permanence of, or fixation of, 125. Radish, hybridism of, 211 ; races of, 211. Ranunculus, 519; hybrids of, 520; in- crease of, 581. Raphanus, hybrids of, 211. Raspberry, the, 504. " Rat's-tail" Cereus, 219. Reciprocal hybrids, 154. Reciprocity of scion and stock, 63. 6i6 INDEX. Red-roots (Ceonothus), 520. Regel on hybrid Begonias, 202 ; on Potato- grafting, 548 ; on seed growth, 28 ; on the cultivated Grape-vine, 565. Reichenbach on Orchid hybrids, 421. Remembrancer, kitchen-garden, 595. Reproduction, nature's plan of, 6. Restricting stocks, u. Review of cultivated plants, 168. Rhamnacese, 520. Rhamnus olecefolim, precocity of seedlings in, 91. Rhizopharacese, 521. Rhododendra and Azaleas, hybridism of, 160, 161. Rhododendrons, 292 ; a dwarf race of, 91 ; aboreum, 162 ; Aucklandi, 162 ; bud- grafting of, 8 1 ; caucasicum, 157 ; cham- cedstus, 157; ciliaium, 155; cinnamo- meum, 157; definite results in hybridising the, 93 ; Edgeworthii, 155 ; Edgeworthii- ciliatum, 156; family of, 284 ; grafting the, 293 ; greenhouse hybrids of, 301 ; Grif- fithii, 162 ; hybrids of, 292, 293 ; hybrids, tabular view of, 297; Jasminiflorum,i6o ; Jasminiflorum-javanicum, 93 ; javanico- JoAmlniflorum, 122 ; Jenkensii, 156 ; pollen of, 109 ; pollen, preservation of, 150; ponticum, 132; ponticum, hybrid seedlings of, 121 ; " Princess Royal," 93 ; races of, 127 ; stocks, treatment ot, 591 ; virgatum, 157 ; hybrid, 121, 127, 157, 159-165 ; parentage of, 127. Rhodora canadensis, hybrid of, 132. Rhynchopetalum, 379. Ribes, 343. Ribes aureum as a stock for Gooseberries, 59- Rivers on " double "-grafting Pears, 69 : on seedling Raspberries, 505 ; seedling Peaches, &c., 641. Robinias, 435. Rogeria, hybrid of, 245. Root- cuttings, 47, 53, 580. Root-grafting, 67, 86. Root-grafting Conifers, &c., 580 ; fruit- trees in America, 594. Rooting power of cellular tissues, 56. Rosa, 495. Rosacese, 457. Rose-budding, 498; curious account of, 62. Rose family, 457 ; grafting, 580 ; sport, a, 497- Roses, budding in August, 67 ; Christmas, 516; cuttings of, 499, 500; English- raised seedling, 502; from seed, 496; good seed-bearing, 497 ; Lacharme on seedling, 496; stocks for, 495; Tea- scented, new way of subterranean-bud- ding, 586 ; types or species of, 501 ; vari- ations in cuttings of, 99 ; when to root- graft, 583 ; when to splice-graft, 595. Rouillard on the Rose, 502. Rowan-tree, graft variegation in, 62. Rubus (Raspberry and Blackberry), 504; hybrids of, &c., 165. Rue family, 522. Ruellia, 168. Rumex, wild hybrids of, 447. Runners — offsets or proliferous above- ground, branches, the use of which is to enable the plant to increase itself in fresh soil, 5. Ruta-baga, hybrid nature of, 211. Rutacese, 522. SADDLE-GRAFTING, 77. Sageret on hybrid Cucumis, 279; on hy- bridising Cabbage-worts, 211. Salix cinerea, pollen of, 109, 150. Salix, hybrids of, 8; pollen of, 109; sele- siaca, pollen of, 109, 150; Wichura on hybrid sorts of, 523. Salsify, 256. Sand and water for cuttings, 53. Sapindacese, 523. Sarracenia hybrids, 526, 527. Sarraceniaceae, 526. Sawdust for cuttings, 53; for cuttings, evil effects of that from resinous trees or Conifers, 54. Saxifraga, natural hybrids of, 7. Saxifragacese, 527. Saxifrage family, 527. Scion and stock, reciprocity of, 63. Scions, tabular view of, 86. Screw-pine family, 426. Scrophulariacese, 528. Sea-lavenders, seedlings of, 444. Seden on reciprocal hybridity, 154. Sedge family, 280. Seed, gathering, 26; germination of, blue glasses for, 588 ; growth of chemical aids to facilitate, 32; conditions most suit- able for growth of, 28 ; growth, Heckel's experiments on, 32 ; tables of, 33 ; vari- able epochs of, 33; saving, 23; sowing, 23; calendar for, 595; sports, 136. Seedlings, varieties, propagation of, 99 ; variation of, 77. Seeds and birds, 588; and buds, analogy of, 92; autumnal harvested, 30; best treatment for, to insure growth, 30; covering for, after sowing, 28 ; culinary, when to sow, 595; distribution of, 4; evils of thick-sowing, 35 ; few and good, 594; from succulent or pulpy fruits, how to clean, 26; germination of, 28; germination of hybrid, 153; hints on sowing, 37; how deep to sow or cover, 27; how to obtain good strains of, 22; how to pack for exportation, 340; how to sow successfully, 27; hybrid and natural, in same capsule, 128 ; imported, bottles for, 39; keeping properties of, 36; large, best, 35; management of, to preserve, 36; Mr T. A. Knight on, 33; natural distribution of, 3; natural ger- mination of, 29; of Conifers, 259; pack- ing for importation, 39; per acre, how to find quantities, 596; Pink and Car- nation, 232; proportions of, in hybrid Dianthus, 236; quality and size of, 33; red-lead for, 588; snow-sown or alpine, 30; soils and other media for, 55; tem- perature requisite for, 28; thinning of, 22; value of, 25: very small, how to sow, 38 ; vitality of, 36. Seminal varieties, precocity of, 91. Sempervivum, 275. Senecio, 255. Serapias papilioiiacea-lingua (' Bot. Mag.,' t. 6255), 8, 421. INDEX. 6I7 (This is a wild hybrid, and was first found near Genoa, and subsequently at Berre, near Nice, and other places on the Riviera, as well as near Trieste and Lucca; and there are dried specimens at Kew from the department of Gers, in France. It must not be confounded with a very closely-allied hybrid between Orchis laxiflora and Serapias cordigera, which has been found as far north as Vaunes, in Brittany. The petals are rosy, tipped with green ; lip aa inch wide, rich purple in colour.) Sericobonia ignea, 169; Penrhosiensis, 169. Sericographis, 168. Service-tree, stocks for grafting, 581. " Set " — a part of a Potato having at least one "eye" or bud: "to set" is sometimes used as a synonym for "to plant ; " also used as synonymous for artificial fertilisation, 6. Sexual and vegetative vigour, n. Sexual organs, alternate development of, in hermaphrodite plants, 15 ; power, balance of, 120; vigour, how promoted, ii. Shading for propagating houses, 18. Shield-budding, 80 ; in spring, 80. Shrubs, hardy grafting, &c., 580; no re- quisite for rod or acre, 596 ; ornate, graft- ing, &c., 582; tender hothouse, graft- ing, &c. , 258 ; tender, bottom-heat for, 55. Side-grafting, 74. Silene noctiflora, 128. Skimmias, hermaphrodite, 270. Smith on Vine-grafting, 572. Snapdragon family, 528. Soils, best stocks for different, 71; for cuttings, 53; for cuttings, table of, 55; for seeds, tabular view of, 55. Solarium edule, 105 ; propagation of, stocks for, &c., 545. Sow-bread, 449. Sowing, careful mode of, 35. Spawn, Mushrooms, &c., 313. Species, permanence not an absolute test of, 95- Speedwells; hybrid shrubby, 537. Spider-wort family, 245. Spiraea, seedlings or hybrids of, 505 ; types of, 505- Splice-grafting, 73. Spores — reproductive bodies of crypto- gamic or flowerless plants — analogous to seed, 4. Sport, a Cherry, 99; a Plum, 99; a Rose, 99. Sports, 97 ; and seminal varieties, 98 ; of Conifers, 266; references to authorities on, 99 ; reproduction of, 99 ; seminal, or seed and bud, 136. Spurge family, 303. Stamens, long and short, 158; removal of, in; short, experiments with, 159. Standish on grafting Rhododendrons, 293 ; and Noble on cross-bred Rhododendrons, 296. Stapelias and insects, 196 ; seeding of, 197. Starch-formation in leaf- cuttings, 588. Statice, hybrids and seedlings of, 444. Stem-grafting, 86. Stem replacing stocks, 84. Stenogaster, 337. Stephanotis family, 194. Sterility, no proof of hybridity, 102. Stigmas, application of pollen to, m; different forms of, 113; lobed, 132; mucus of, 113. Stock and scion, reciprocity of, 63. Stocks and Wallflowers, increase of, 212 ; and soils, table of, 71; desirability of healthy, 64. Stocks, flowering, 209. Stocks for fruit-trees (see Fruit-tree stocks), 457, 579; increase of, 581; tabu- lar view of, 86. Stone-fruits, grafting of, 59 ; root-grafting of, 594. Stove shrubs, grafting of, 588 ; seeds, how to sow, 37. Strawberry seedlings, cross-bred, &c., 472, 473; types of, 471. Strelitzia, 399 ; pollen of, 399. Streptocarpus, 337; hybrids of, 338, 339. Strobilanthes, 168. Styptic for cuttings, 52. Succulent plants, 395; grafting of, 86; propagation of, 48. Succulents for seed, 591 ; increase of choice, 592; increase of some, 218, 272. Suckers, branches or young stems pro- duced from the root or root-stock, 5. Sundew family, 281. Superfcetation, Lindley on, 120 Sweet- William, origin of, 235. Syphoeampylus, 382. Syringa (Lilacs), 406. Syrphidse, pollen-eating, 144. TABLE for planters, 596. Tacsouias, hybrids of, 440 ; prepotence of •foreign pollen in, 89. Taylor on Potato-grafting, 547. Tea family, 550. Tecoma, increase of, 208. Temperature, unequal effects of, 13. Terminal cleft-grafting, 76. Ternstromiaceae, 550. Thinning seeds, desirability of, 26. Thomson on influence of Vine stocks, 570 on raising new Grapes, 576. Thorn-apples, 539. Thrifts, 444. Thunbergia, 168. Thyrsacanthus, 168. Tigridia, 354; pollen-tubes of, 113; pol- len-tube, growth of, 113. Tobacco-plant, hybrids of, 129, 543. Tomato, a hybrid, 105 ; grafting the, 549. Tomatoes, 539. Tragopogon hybridum, 256. Transmitting cuttings from abroad, 39 ; plants from abroad, 39; pollen from abroad, 39 ; seeds from abroad, 39. Trapa natans, seed growth of, 31. Trees, ornamental, transplanting, 580 ; re- quisite number for an acre and rod, 596. Trichinium, 172. Trimorphic flowers, 117. Triticum, experiments on, 341. Tropaeolaceae, 549. Tropaeolums, seedling and hybrid, 550. Tropical bedding-plants, increase of, 5* 580. 6i8 INDEX. Truffles, propagation of, 316. Tubers, grafting of, 86. Tulipa, 373- Tulip-tree, 390. Tulips, 373. ULMACE^E, 559. UmbelliferjE, 557. Utricularias, 361. VACCINIACE.E, 559. Vaccinium, hybrid of, 560. Valotta, seedlings of, 173. Van Houtte's hybrid Alstroemerias, 175. Vanilla, 420. Variability and nutrition, 99 ; induced by culture, 95 ; of the same fruits on differ- ent stock, 63. Variation, causation of, 98. Variation of plant-form and insects, 126. Variegation induced by budding or graft- ing, 60. Varieties, enhancing the permanence of, 125 ; fixity of, 98. Vegetable, seeds of, for an acre, 596 ; when to sow, 595. Vegetables, improvement of, 9; selected and improved, 10. Vegetative growth, how checked, 1 1. Ventilation of propagating houses and pits, 19. Verbascum, hybrids of, 529. Verbena family, 560; seedlings of, 560; types of, 560. Verbenaceae, 560. Veronica Andersoni, 154 ; salicifolia-speci- osa, 154 ; hybrids of, &c., 537. Viburnum, 230; macrocephalum, stock for, 230. Victoria Regia, cross-fertilisation bene- ficial to, 100. Vigour, constitutional, 122. Vinca, seed-sowing of, 587. Vine, the Grape, types of, 564. Vine- eyes for propagation, 569 ; in heat, 582. Vine-pollen, direct influence of, 103. Vines, grafting, 82, 570 ; inarching. 582 ; grafting barren with bearing wood, 584 ; stocks for, 569. Viola canina, 145; hirta, Monnier on, 145; mirabilis, Linnaeus on, 145 ; odorata, 145 ; self-fertilised, 145 ; tricolor, 146. Violacese, 562. Violet, cleistogamous nature of, 145 ; family, 562. Viscum, 383. Vitality of seeds, 36. Vitis vinifera, specific or hybrid nature of (see W. D. Focke in '^Esterr. Bot. Zeitchr.,' Feb. 1876), 567. Vitis, list of American species, 565. Viviparous — a term applied to Ferns and other plants which produce young plants on their stems or branches, 5. Von Mohl on ovules in Oxalis, Viola, and Impatiens, 147 ; on Violas, 145. WALLFLOWER family, 209. Walnut family, 356. Walnuts, seedlings and other stocks for, Water-lily family, 403. Wax or mastic for grafting, 68. Weddell on bigeneric hybrids, 135. Wellingtonia, 261, 266. (In Messrs Lee's nursery, Wood Lane, Isleworth, it is found that cuttings taken from some individuals of this species root freely, while those from others refuse to do so. Wellingtonias raised from cuttings are not so liable to mildew as are those raised from seeds. This in- dividuality is very apparent in Slants, as pointed out by Darwin i the case of Pelargonium, and as shown by Mr Pearson in the case of the Moor Park Apricot.) Welwitsch on Loranths, 382. Wheat, fertilisation of, 138, 340, 341. Whip-grafting, 74. Wichura on cultural variability, 96 ; on hybridism, 152; on preserving pollen, 109. Wiegmann on cross-fertilised Peas, 105. Wilder on seedling Camellias, 552; on the variation of seedlings, 97. Williams on cross-fertilisation and fer- tility, 101. Willow family, 523 ; hybrids, 523 ; pollen and bees, 154. Willows, increase of, 581 ; natural hybrids of, 8 ; pollen of, 109, 150. Wind-fertilised plants, 137. Wind-flowers, 507 ; increase of, 590. Wistaria, 435 ; grafting, stocks for, &c , 436 ; root-grafting, 582. Wood-sorrel family, 424 ; ovules of, 147. YEW-TREE, cuttings inserted in autumn in the open borders root well if firmly planted, 261. Yucca, 374 ; fertilisation of insect agency, 375 ; seeds, germination of, 376. ZEA MAYS, pollen influence in, 103. Zen on originating new varieties of the Rose by budding, 62. Zingiberacese, 578. Zinnia Darwini, 257 ; Haageana, 256. Zinnias, hybrid, 256. PRINTED BY WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS. LATELY PUBLISHED. DOMESTIC FLORICULTURE, WINDOW GARDENING, AND FLORAL DECORATIONS. 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