THE FLORIST. 



79 



this self-fertilisation, you must have previously fixed on your flowers 

 to be crossed ; and having done this, with a small camel-hair pencil 

 remove the pollen from the one, and place it on the pistil of the other ; 

 tie up your bloom with matting, or some substitute, if you have no 

 bags to put over it, to prevent bees and flies from undoing what you 

 have done. My plan is, to have a few bags made of the fine Not- 

 tingham net, such as ladies' caps are made of ; I tie these over the 

 bloom, which they permit to enjoy the benefit of air and sun. I 

 have never yet removed the anthers, as some do ; but I believe it to 

 be necessary. One thing I discovered last year, and that is, that 

 every Tulip does not possess an ovarium. Out of about forty Poly- 

 phemus breeders, I could only find four that possessed an ovarium. 

 It is interesting to watch the swelling of the pericarpium. When 

 the petals have fallen, I get a stick, into about every inch of which I 

 insert with a saw a number of nicks, so that I can move the covering 

 as the stem increases in height. I then get a piece of glass about 

 five inches square, and insert it in the stick, so as not to touch the 

 pericarpium by an inch, and then fasten the stem of the Tulip with 

 metallic wire in two places, which keeps it from moving to and fro. 

 I find the glass to prevent the pericarpium from rotting at the top, 

 by protecting it from rain, which is apt to lodge upon it, and cause it 

 to decay ; at the same time it permits sufficient air to get to it, which 

 is not the case if it is covered with a small hand-glass. 



It may be asked, why select breeders for seeding ? I answer, 

 because they are more vigorous than broken flowers, and produce 

 much finer seed ; and I have proved by experience that it is only 

 an idle tale that seed taken from breeders will never break into 

 colour. One year I had five bloomed broken the first time, and 

 the last season I had several very fine ones. I have never yet seeded 

 but one broken flower (Lillard Violet) during twelve years, and I 

 have now upwards of thirty fine varieties broken in my best bed to 

 bloom next season, and some thousands of seedlings from my best 

 seed yet to bloom, being only four years old and under. 



I would recommend the amateur to sow seed every year, and 

 after the fourth year he may expect a continuation of new seedling 

 breeders. 



Time of Sowing. — During the first three years I sowed the seed 

 in October, and did not raise a single bulb ; I then tried the first 

 week in January, and met with a little better success ; I then tried 

 the first week in February, and from these sowings being so produc- 

 tive, I have every year sown at this season. I once tried an experi- 

 ment with some seed sowed from Turner's Lord Hill, which I did 

 not like to sow and raise seedlings from. I sowed it in April, and a 

 fine brood I had ; and, strange to say, some of the roots weighed four 

 grains, whilst the heaviest of those sown in February weighed only 

 two grains. 



Method of Sowing. — Get a Carnation pot, and put plenty of drain- 

 ing crocks into it ; obtain some grassy turf, and half fill the pot, then 

 put in the following compost : — one half maiden soil, one fourth well- 

 rotted manure, as fine as the soil, and one fourth good leaf-mould, 



