DiriSIOX OF HORTICULTURE 691 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 

 attractive and hardy Rosa rugosa hybrids, the -well-known Japanese or Chinese bush 



rose. 



Geraniums. — A certain amount of crossing has been done with geraniums, and 

 several seedlings have been secured that are considered of sufBcient merit to name 

 and propagate. The tj^pes of geranium chosen for this wx)rk are the large singles 

 introduced within the last few years, such as Dublin, Shelley, and Chatsworth. 



During the past season a number of seedling geraniums, the results of previous 

 hand pollination between chosen varieties, have been grown. About one hundred of 

 these have flowered, many of which have proved very promising, the three best having 

 been named. 



No. 3,177, a cross between Dublin, F. and Chatsworth, M., has been named " Ver- 

 dun ", It is a single, large-flowered variety of a bright, crimson colour, the long and 

 strong flower stalk surmounted by a large cluster of flowers; a vigorous grower, free 

 flowering and the leaves are marked with a slight zonal. 



No. 3,106, a cross between Dublin, F. and Chatsworth, H., has been named " Sir 

 Douglas Haig." In colour it is of a rich carmine red, has a large, single flower and 

 the flower stalks are tall and strong, producing a large flower cluster. The foliage 

 shows a slight zonal. 



No. 3,173, also a cross of Dublin, F. and Chatsworth, M., has been named 

 " Elspeth " and is a large, single, salmon pink, borne on a strong and tall flower stalk. 

 The plant is a vigoroiis grower, foliage marked by a clear zonal and has proved to be 

 free flowering. , 



These new varieties are being propagated together with some of the best of those 

 that have not yet been considered worthy of name, and from these a number of new 

 seedlings are now being grown, the result of intercrossing between the promising 

 strains now secured. It is hoped to flower the majority of these during the coming 

 summer, and further promising types are looked for with confidence. 



Petunias. — An interesting line of work has been undertaken with petunias, the 

 economic object of the work being to secure new garden varieties of merit, but other 

 objects of interest soon began to manifest themselves. Parent varieties for this work 

 were the free-flowering, single, white, possessing yellow pollen ; a free flowering, smaU 

 single, deep maroon, with steel-blue pollen; and a large double, white, yielding little 

 pollen, but what there was consisted of a creamy white colour. Eeciprocal crosses 

 were made between these parents and a large number of the Fl plants were grown 

 and flowered in the field during 1915. The majority of these seedlings in general 

 plant character appeared to resemble the female parent. In colour of corolla no 

 definite tendency towards either parent could be determined, as a great majority of 

 plants produced an ugly reddish-blue corolla in no way resembling either parent,, 

 though plants possessing white flowers were more numerous than those possessing the 

 deep maroon. 



The chief point of interest was to be observed in the behaviour of the pollen of 

 these seedlings. The yellow pollen crossed with the steel-blue or the sfeel-blue crossed 

 with the yeUow gave in each instance, several, though not a large proportion of plants, 

 yielding distinctly green pollen. The appearance of the crossed pollen did not neces- 

 sarily coincide with the blending of the corolla colours, that, is, the green pollen was 

 not necessarily associated with the bluish-red corolla, and in these first generation 

 seedlings the appearance of white, bluish-red or deep maroon corolla seemed to be 

 inherited quite independently of the appearance of a yellow, green, or steel-blue pollen. 

 Instances were found of all the combinations, except white corolla with green pollen, 

 and even this might have been found, had the numbers grown been greater. 



This work is being carried on, several types discovered being selfed and several 

 crosses have been made between these types, with the object of determining, if possible, 

 any facts relating to the problem in hand. 



Ottawa. 



