244 THE FLOKIST AND POMOLOGIST. [November, 



leaf, habit, and flower was very similar to the wild Dog Eose ! I was here, no 

 doubt, unfortunate in the choice of my parent or parents, and regard this issue as 

 an instance of the well-known tendency which the offspring of some cultivated 

 plants have of reverting to the normal form. The same year I crossed about 40 

 other flowers, but the crop of seed was indifferent, and the result nothing worthy 

 of record. 



This non-success led me to submit to microscopical examination the flowers 

 of a number of varieties of the Eose, with the view of ascertaining which were 

 likely to prove the best seed-bearers. The result of that examination is given in 

 the Rose Garden (2nd ed., pp. 96, 97). The conclusions I drew were : — 1st. 

 That certain varieties are sterile, incapable of forming perfect seeds under any 

 circumstances. Of these I found such kinds predominate as roll the petals 

 inwards, the centre of the flower being quartered in the manner of a crown. In 

 'others the pistils were weak or imperfect. 2nd. That many kinds where the 

 pistils are perfect, which in their natural state form seed-pods that wither before 

 arriving at maturity, may be induced to perfect their seeds by artificial fertiliza- 

 tion. This class of Eoses is the best for him who intends raising seedlings to 

 choose his female parents from, because there is little here to interfere with, mar, 

 or counteract his plans. 3rd. That those kinds which we find seeding abun- 

 dantly in their natural state are self -fertilized, and that their abundant production 

 of seed is due to this point, namely, the more perfect development of the organs 

 of reproduction, especially the polleniferous parts of fructification. 



Thus fortified, I selected some 20 sorts of Eoses, planted them in a separate 

 corner of the nursery, and in the month of June, 1846, crossed nearly a thousand 

 flowers. Success in seeding was complete. On the 30th of September of that 

 year I gathered 223 well-ripened pods of seeds, some of them of extraordinary 

 size. Two successive gatherings, of about 100 pods each, were made at intervals 

 of about a month, the whole number of hybridized and crossed pods gathered 

 and stored amounting to 444. The seed was sown the same winter, vegetated 

 during the succeeding spring and summer, and the seedlings bloomed at intervals 

 over the next six years — that is to say, some bloomed the first year, others were 

 six years old before blooming. The result of the hybridizing and cross-breeding 

 was apparent in many cases, but not in all. Two of the most striking and com- 

 plete I will describe. 



I had long thought that a bright dark-coloured climbing Eose was a deside- 

 ratum, as at that time nearly all our climbing Eoses were white or yellow. To 

 obtain this I hybridized the Eose Athelin (Hybrid Bourbon) with Eusselliana 

 (Multiflora). Paul's Vivid, a bright crimson climbing Eose, of great repute in 

 its day, and even now sought after, was raised from this effort. Again, I had 

 conceived that if anything could add to the beauty of the Moss Eose, it would 

 be to impart to it the exquisite tint of the E. Alba or Maiden's Blush. To obtain 

 this, I hybridized the Moss du Luxembourg with an Alba Eose, and among the 



