expanded segments is set with minute hairs, which, when the divisions of the pistil are erect, lie close against its inner side, and, as the segments open or curve back, stand out at right angles and form a kind of brush. The Pelargonium is thus dependent on exterior sources for fertilisation, which is not the case with many other kind of flowers. I think, therefore, the value of the present observations is increased by this property, though, of course, there is always a possibility of miscarriage in some details in every long investigation.

When the hybridisation is completed, it is necessary, of course, to preserve a record of the operation, if only to secure variations in the act; and without a means of marking the details, none of the results which I am about to describe could have been obtained. When the number of subjects to be operated on is as large as I used, a system of registering the act became absolutely necessary. I devised, therefore, the following plan for marking the floret. operated on, so as to show me, when the seeds were fit to be gathered, what pollen had been employed for fertilisation. I describe my system, and which has been arrived at after several variations and developments during many years, for the benefit of those who may like to use it, as well as to show how far my experiments may be relied upon as giving correct results as to the parentage of my seedlings.

Of course, in my catalogue every variety which I grew had its number, and by which any plant could be at once identified. What was required was something to mark the floret operated upon, and which would denote the number of the pollen plant used. The originality of my plan consists in being able to represent any number from 1 to 300 or 400 by means of a material which could be readily tied around the pedicel of the floret. What I use is variously-coloured worsteds and silk thread. In my scheme, the worsted (Berlin wool) represents the units, and sewing or purse-silk the tens, and the various colours of the spectrum with black and white give the several numerals, thus:

above plan :-Suppose that I desired to cross Jean Sisley with Sir Charles Napier, using the pollen of the former on to the stigma of the latter. On taking pollen from Jean Sisley, the number of which was 38 in my catalogue, I should take a piece of violet silk to denote 30, and a piece of orange wool denoting 8, or together 38, and tie them around the pedicel of the pip operated upon; this would, of course, remain until the seed was ripe. On gathering the seed, the mother-plant would be witness for itself, and the male parent would be known by the colours used.

Each seed in my experiments was at once labelled on gathering, and placed in a small pill-box, and its numbers marked on the lid, thus 73 x 38, the former being that of Sir Charles Napier in that year's catalogue. On sowing, each seed was sown singly in a thumbpot, and a small glass label, written with a scratch diamond, inserted at the side. These labels are cheap, indelible, and indestructible, and I have found them very suitable for my purpose.

Before proceeding, I may here say that for the purpose of taking the pollen, I prefer the use of velvet to the camel's-hair brush, and always used the former. The velvet may be tied around the top of a stick, when it represents somewhat the bumble bee. I prefer also black velvet, with which it is easy to see what pollen one has collected, and it is very easy, after each operation, to cleanse the velvet by passing it three or four times across the coat sleeve. I consider that the camel's hair-brush cannot be so readily cleaned, nor can it be ascertained whether it is cleansed, so that it would have been difficult to feel certain that only one kind of pollen had been used in any single operation. In many instances, it is better, perhaps, to use no instrument, but to apply the pistil itself, but this could not always be achieved, and it involves the destruction of the bloom and more time, and with the velvet no chance of admixture of pollen need happen.

The seeds were sown in the autumn of the same year, 1877, and, as already said, they did not bloom, except in a very few instances, till the summer of 1879.

For carrying on the present inquiry, each seedling on blooming, so soon as it arrived at its best, was placed between a plant of its male

1880. ]

131

and female parent, and a separate note of the apparent predominating influence of its male. or female parent in each case arranged under the following divisions:-A, in habit; B, in the foliage; C, in the colour; D, in form of pip; E, in the truss; F, in the time of flowering. During the latter part of the investigation, the last-named inquiry was abandoned; and as regards the habit, as already stated, any satisfactory conclusion could be drawn only in 85 cases, while results were obtainable on most of the other points in 550 examinations.

In noting the influence that seemed to predominate in each plant, the following letters were employed,-M, when the male influence was most apparent; F, when the female influence was more marked; I, when the result was intermediate between the male and female; and N, when no resemblance was to be detected. A table formed out of these, as below, was employed to arrive at the conclusions.

The above, which is an extract from a page in the note-book formed as described, identifies the seedling by a number in the first column, gives next its male and female parent, and then, by the symbols used, denotes whether the male or female influence predominated in the particulars of each column, or whether the effect was intermediate or nil. It will be seen that often the predominating influence was different in the different parts of the same seedling. This No. 18 resembled its female parent in the foliage, but the male in form of pip, while the colour of the corolla was intermediate, and this variability of influence was evident in a great majority of instances.

To arrive at any general conclusion, the table thus formed, when 550 seedlings had been examined, was analysed, and the following general results were obtained,—that is, the various columns have been analysed, and the calculations reduced to the same ratio, or to a ratio per centum :

from the above table, to some of which I will direct attention.

1. That some effect from the artificial hybridisation was apparent in 90 per cent. of the whole.

2. It will be seen, on referring to the last column, where the general results appear, that the influence of the female was greater than that of the male parent in the ratio of about 3 to 2.

3. And that a joint influence of both parents was shown in rather more than onethird of the whole.

4. The above being the general influence, it will be seen that the influence of either parent varied considerably in the particular properties of the plants, thus :—

5. As regards habit, the female influence was the greater, as it was also in the foliage.

6. As regards the colour, for which the hybridiser often aims, it will be seen that the male and female influences are much more equally poised, and their joint influence in modifying the result was shown in 40 per cent.

7. As regards the pip, which includes that property which the enthusiastic florist so much. seeks after in England, " form," my table goes.

to show that the influence of male and female are much more equal than is usually supposed, the female influence really preponderating only in the ratio of about 6 to 5. In making this. estimate, the 31 per cent. of joint influence must not be omitted.

8. The eighth fact which the table shows, and which appears to be of a very encouraging kind to all hybridists, is that whether we look to the general effect, or to particular effects, the highest per-centages are on the line of intermediate influence of the parents. An intermediate result in Zonals may be expected at least in colour and size of truss.

INFLUENCES PREVAILING, PER CENT.

In habit. Foliage. [Colour. Pip. Truss. Generally 21.10

Male Female

18-82 25.22 21.35 25-65 14:45 47.05 40-22 23.95 33-91 25.17 Intermediate 24-70 27.72 40-52 31-08 50.58 None 9.17

84-06

6.81 14:16 9.34 9.791

34.92 9.85

two shades of colour produced just such an intermediate colour as would be derived by mixing the colours on a palette, as though the colour was produced by a mechanical admixture of the sap rather than a vital change. Thus, a scarlet and a white produced a seedling of light scarlet, like the result of mixing vermilion and white lead. A pink and a scarlet give a scarlet with a pink flush, a shade now quite familiar to florists.-W. H. O. SANKEY, Sandywell Park.

I'

PEGGED-DOWN ROSES.

ON the Garden of Logie in Aberdeenshire I saw a crescent-shaped bed of Roses, such as I have never seen equalled since. In the first place, the shape, was of that undeniable type, leaving no room for critics to find fault with, for having only circles true to their centres, there were no crooks nor awkward bends to conceal. The bed was only about 6 ft. in diameter, slightly raised at the back, and full in the breast of the crescent. Not only was the manipulation so deftly accomplished that I reckoned it a bed of Ranunculuses, so dwarf and close it seemed, but on coming near I found it was a bed of moss roses pegged down upon moss, with only the flower-stalks with their elegant blooms, to be seen. course such a bed requiries some cost and a good deal of forethought to get suitable plants for this style of planting, and it is only in early summer that this kind of thing tells; but when it does tell, it is remembered for many a day. We mount the H.P. Roses on stilts to get them near the eye, and we see them acting as starers in every cottage garden, and the larger the rose the better for the credit of the owner; but here the Logie bed of moss roses, like "good wine wanting no bush," was laid down to be admired, and seemed quite at home, as if it claimed kindred with the moss on which it reclined.-ALEX. FORSYTH.

Of

recent Show held at Ludlow. They were so fine as at once to attract attention from all who saw them, being vastly superior to other sorts produced upon that occasion. The fruit was large, and highly coloured, with a brisk, refreshing flavour, which I have not before met with so richly developed in a yellow-fleshed Peach. I am persuaded that this is also a Peach well suited for market purposes, as betokened by its firm flesh, which will bear carriage well. It is a mid-season variety, which, on account of its superior merits, will, doubtless, be more generally cultivated when it becomes better known. I believe Mr. Bond has grown it for some years, and, doubtless, will favour us with some particulars as to its growth and general behaviour, as may, also, others who have tried it.-GEO. WESTLAND, Witley Court.

THE EMPEROR ALEXANDER

APPLE.

HE proverbially shy-fruiting character of the large showy Apple, Emperor Alexander, is probably too well known for me to need to dwell upon the fact, before making the statement that I have in my orchard a very thrifty standard of this particular kind, probably about twelve or fourteen years planted, and having its branches sweeping down almost to the ground, most heavily laden with fruit, which are at this time swelling off freely. It would be especially interesting to know whether this is generally the case this season, in regard to trees of the same kind grown in other parts of the country.

This question appears to me all the more important, from the fact that as last summer was such an exceedingly cold and wet one, there seemed less likelihood than usual that flowers would have formed upon a sort such as this, which is so exceptionally shy-flowering. After all, might not the very moist season of 1879 be such as to suit this variety ?-WILLIAM EARLEY, Ilford.

"In consequence of the impression made on me by Mr. Hibberd's lecture on fruit-culture at the Society of Arts on February 9th, 1876, I planted a collection of young trees in the spring of that year; in fact, immediately after hearing the lecture. I set apart for the purpose an open but somewhat sheltered spot, on a good loamy soil, in a western suburb of London, and planted several young healthy trees of thirtyfour sorts, comprising pears, plums, and cherries. It was not needful for me to plant apples, as my spacious lawn is surrounded with apple trees, and one old giant renowned for fruitfulness stands all alone near the centre of it. These trees are now in their fifth year, and I send you a photo of one of them, a Winter Nelis Pear. They have been abso

lutely untouched by the knife during the whole of the time, and in the first two years they caused me some anxiety, in consequence of the long rods they threw out, and that threatened -so I thought-to monopolise the strength of the trees. But I held firm to my purpose, and I am well rewarded. From the first I might have had supplies of fruit, but in the first year I removed all that appeared except on the Louise Bonne of Jersey, which I allowed to ripen a few. In 1877, there was a fair show of fruit, considering the youth of the trees, but most of it fell, and we secured but little. In 1878, there was again a good show, but the frost in May nipped it, and we secured only about a third of the whole crop, which, however, was greater in bulk than we imagined to be possible.

In 1879, the crop was next to nothing, having been crushed by the cold spring and the excessive rain that followed. We have now, 1880, an immense crop, and I am having it well thinned, both to save the trees from exhaustion and to avoid damage as the weight increases. The trees are, with a few exceptions, extremely beautiful in form and proportion; they have, in their own way, mended most of their original irregularities, and the crop of this year will put a stop to their vigorous growth, which is certainly to be desired. The Winter Nelis is a fair example of the growth throughout, and demonstrates that non-pruning promotes fruitfulness, and fruitfulness checks growth; and thus the trees, being left alone, will, I expect, keep themselves pretty well within bounds.-J. E. SAUNDERS."

HARDY ORNAMENTAL

ANNUALS.

MONGST the many occupants of the flower-garden, the class of hardy and

half-hardy annuals may be specially recommended to the notice of those who desire to utilise the beauty and variety to be imparted to their gardens and pleasure-grounds by the use of distinct types of ornamental plants. This has been well illustrated during the past summer by the exhibitions of annual flowers made by the Messrs. Carter and Co., at the gardens of the Royal Botanic and Royal Horticultural Societies.

The first special merit attaching to annuals is that they are within reach of everybody, since, for a comparatively small outlay, an abundant variety may be secured by any one who cares to grow them. A second recommendation is that the annuals are a hardy race, that need little or no coddling-at least, there are amongst them a large number which need but the simplest course of treat ment. Thirdly, they afford a wide choice of colours, some of them furnishing hues of the most brilliant character. Fourthly, they can be cleared away at once when the bloom is over, to make way for their successors, since, of course, seed-saving in a tidily-kept garden is not to be thought of. And finally, though the blooming season may be brief, as compared with many of the bedding plants, they at least last as long in flower as the average number of bulbs or herbaceous plants, and can be much more easily brought under control, so as to furnish a succession of blossom. These are

good qualities, which should secure for them a greater degree of popularity than at the present time they enjoy.

It may, perhaps, be urged that in the case of public gardens the necessity for a continuous display has led to their rejection, and the same objection might possibly be taken to their use in private establishments as materials for furnishing formal or geometrical gardens; but even here their introduction might be considered an advantage, in the eyes of those who object to the glare of a whole series of beds full of bright blossoms, since it would be comparatively easy to adopt a design which would admit of a well-balanced set of the beds being devoted to a succession of annuals, the first crop of which would possibly be quite coeval with the earliest summer bedding, and the second crop, while growing, would tone down the full summer blaze. This method of including a design within a design, we hold to be the most perfect of all arrangements for flower gardens, since it admits of introducing the different materials adopted for successive effects in winter, spring, summer, and autumn, in the same parterre; and though the successional pictures produced may be less gorgeous, the element of variety is constantly coming in, to add to the interest of the display. But irrespective of this, there are in all gardens, public and private, isolated or outlying places where annuals would not affect the symmetry of the arrangements, but where the variety they would impart would be most welcome; and there are also the mixed borders, to which they could be freely and very advantageously introduced.

As to the available materials, there are many perfectly hardy annuals of which three crops of flowers might be obtained during the season, by having recourse to sowing the seeds in autumn, in early spring, and later on in the spring months; while a little extra feeding, which is now so easily supplied by means of one or other of the many excellent concentrated fertilisers now in the market, of which Clay's, Jackman's, Gyde's, Stephens's, and the Flor-vitæ, are familiar examples, would supply all that would be required to support the successive crops, even if they were confined to the same plots, which possibly they need not be, in all cases. Of those kinds which would not en