Rudolph Beer 223 



The crowded arrangement of the flowers in a terminal inflorescence 

 was in some cases very like that occurring in F. fulgens and altogether 

 dissimilar to the loose, paired arrangement of the blooms in F. virgaUi. 

 This feature was particularly well developed in the hybrid 3 P and the 

 tact that the individual blooms were all very like those of F. virgata 

 made the appearance all the more striking. These hybrids showed a 

 very wide variation in size, some being stronger growing than either 

 of the parent forms whilst others were very diminutive. PI. XXIV 

 represents the two extremes in size among these seedlings. The taller 

 plant measured 130 cm in height, whilst the dwarf specimen was only 

 8 cm. high. 



The late E. J. Allard, Superintendent of the gardens of the John 

 Innes Horticultural Institution, made a cross between Fuchsia corym- 

 biflora ( $ ) and Fuchsia hybrid (" Ballet Girl ") (^ ). The flowers of F. 

 corymhiflora were castrated at an early stage and precautions were 

 taken to prevent foreign pollen reaching the plant. 



A number of seedlings were obtained which resembled the female 

 parent in all respects and showed no trace whatsoever of the male 

 parent " Ballet Girl." I made further crosses between these seedlings 

 and " Ballet Girl " and obtained three fruits in one case and two from 

 another cross, but unfortunately the work was interrupted before the 

 seedlings from these fruits could be raised. 



Meehan recorded in 1891 the fjict that Fuchsia arhorescens{%) 

 crossed with pollen of a garden variety of Fuchsia yielded offspring 

 which solely resembled F. arborescens to the total exclusion of the 

 characters of the male parent. 



I made a large number of crosses between F. arborescens and F. vir- 

 gata and between F. arborescens and Fuchsia hybrid (" Ballet Girl "), 

 but none of the fruits set, probably owing to the lateness in the season 

 when F. arborescens first came into flower that year. 



From what has been said above it will be seen that there are 

 certainly two instances of " faux hybrides " in the Fuchsias, viz., the 

 cases of F. fulgens and F. corymbiflora. A third instance — F, arbores- 

 cens — has been recorded, but this requires to be repeated with all the 

 precautions which we now know to be necessary to prevent foreign 

 pollination. 



The underlying cause of the appearance of these " faux hybrides " 

 in Fuchsias can only be determined by a careful cytological study of 

 the individual cases. Several explanations are, however, possible. It may 

 be that, as in Caelebogyne ilicifolia, Euphorbia duJcis, Nothoscorchnn 



