1»2 



IRISH GARDENING 



DECEMBER 



be despised, as for many forms of decoration it is 

 to be preferred to its more formal brother. In select- 

 ingf varieties for hybridizing a considerable amount of 

 knowledge and care is necessary, only those possessing 

 the good qualities named above and of sound constitution 

 should be used. It is very important that the parents 

 of our new hybrids should be vigorous, healthy plants, 

 for it would simply be a waste of time, money and 

 energy' raising a flower, no matter how beautiful, if the 

 plant gradually dwindled after producing its first flower. 



Another very important and complex point is the 

 fertility of the various species and hybrids. Although 

 sterility of hybrids does not prevail in the narcissi, still 

 some of the hybrids are so hard to get to bear seed that 

 for practical hj'bridizing purposes they might as well be 

 sterile. Again, some varieties bear a good crop of 

 seed when crossed by a certain variety, whereas if 

 crossed by another variety with equally potent pollen 

 may not bear a single seed. However, that is a point 

 that can only be learned by experience of the varieties 

 being worked with. 



The following is a very reliable list of seed-bearing 

 plants and all flowers worth working with. Among 

 older trumpets. Emperor, M. J. Berkley, Mrs. W. 

 Ware, Horsfieldii, and Madame Plemp are good flowers 

 and vigorous plants. Maximus, although rather delicate 

 on some soils, is worth a trial on account of its fine 

 colour and because it is said to be vine of the parents of 

 King Alfred. Among newer trumpets Madam de Graaff, 

 Golden Ball, King Alfred, Mrs. Robert Sydenham. Mrs. 

 J. H. \'eitch, Weardale Perfection, and Judge Bird are 

 all fairly fertile. Other good seed-bearers are Artemus, 

 Lady Margaret Boscawen, Crown Prince, Dorothy 

 Wemyss, Maggie May, Minnie Hume, Blood Orange, 

 Oreflamme, Cressit, Incognita, Lady Edith Foljambe, 

 .\cme, Cassandra and Homer. 



As pollen plants the Poeticus section is the most 

 valuable, and should be extensively used. Generally 

 speaking, the pollen of Incomparabilis, Barrii, Leedsii 

 and Burbidgei sections is not so fertile as the Trumpet 

 and Poeticus varieties. .Again, amongst Trumpet varie- 

 ties the bicolors do not give so fertile pollen as the 

 yellow and white Trumpets, one outstanding e,xception 

 being bicolor Judge Bird, the pollen of which seems to 

 have a wonderful effect wherever applied, and practi- 

 callv everv flower touched with its pollen produced seed 

 in abundance. The readers of Irish Gardening may 

 consider the prices of some of the varieties enumerated 

 a bit high. The up to-date hybridist, however, recog- 

 nises that to get the best results it is necessary to have 

 good material to work with, and, therefore, frequently 

 pays over £,20 for a bulb of a good hybridizing variety. 

 The actual operation of cross hybridizing is very simple, 

 so I will merely touch on it. The first thing to be done 

 is to remove the anthers, which should be done with a 

 small scissors or tweezers immediately the flower opens 

 and before the anthers burst. Then in two or three 

 davs, according 10 weather conditions, the stigma 

 should be ready to receive the pollen, which should be 

 applied during the early part of a sunny day with a small 

 camel hair brush, the flower carefully labelled as 

 crossed. 



When it is seen that the cross has taken the seed pod 

 should be staked and tied, the seed carefully watched 



and gathered as it ripens, then sown broadcast in boxes 

 as early as possible after it had all been collected. 

 The boxes should be set in a cold frame and left there 

 for two years. At the end of that time the bulblets may 

 be lifted and planted in beds in the open, where a small 

 percentage will flower at the end of the fourth year 

 from sowing. J. SangstER. 



Lissadell, Sligo. 



Roses. 



By ODONEL Browne, .M.D. 



SOME of my readers may have lately received or 

 seen a cop}' oi a gardening paper with a large 

 plate in it on which were depicted photographs 

 of some celebrated rose raisers of the British Isles, and 

 amongst them I find four well-known Irish faces.- It 

 must be admitted by all that the man who raises a 

 good and new rose by *' new," I mean a seedling rose, 

 derived from cross hybridizing, is a benefactor to the 

 rose world and deserves all the praise we can bestow 

 on him. 



Few readers have any idea of the time, patience 

 and brain work that lie in this most complexing 

 work, but merely think that cross-breeding is an easy 

 business. True, the actual crossing of two flowers is 

 not, in itself, a difficult work, but all does not lie here. 

 The seeds in the fertilized pod have to be ripened — 

 they have to be separated and sown in pots. When 

 they commence to grow — sometimes it takes months 

 for that seed to germinate — the tiny plant, a rose 

 growing on its own roots, must be tended most care- 

 fully, and bye and bye up comes a tiny flower showing 

 the colour of the future rose, but hardly anything more. 

 Just as an animal in its infancy is weak and difficult to 

 judge of its future looks and parental likeness, so the 

 young rose is a different looking flower from what it 

 will be in future time. For it takes a rose sometimes 

 several years of successful budding and growing on 

 briar stocks before it gains its maturity. It seems as if 

 it gained some inherent power of soil and climate to 

 develop some of. its qualities. Now, when this little 

 seedling rose has borne its first flower the buds on this 

 rod are taken and budded on to briars. The whole 

 future of this new rose depends on these buds, and the 

 attention they get is very great. As fast as he can the 

 raiser works up a stock of the variety, and it is this 

 testing and labour which makes new seedling roses so 

 costly when they are first sent out. I have been told 

 by the best raisers that it sometimes takes six years 

 from the seed-sowing to the actual sale, and when you 

 come to think of all the work and care the raiser has 

 spent you surel}* cannot grumble at his price. Lest you 

 should think that every seed sown is destined to become 

 a glorious flower, let me explain that nine-tenths of 

 them do not fulfil this requirement. Only recently I 

 asked one of our Irish raisers about another raiser's 

 success, and he replied, "X. does not know how lucky 

 he has been." I may mention that X. had raised a fine 

 flower at the time. Now, lest some raisers other than 

 our Irish raisers should grumble, and say I write this 

 article to "puff up" our raisers, let me assure them 

 that I do not wish to do so, for vou can purchase any 

 of the varieties raised bv all the rose raisers in the 



