Viviand-Morel: Amateur Rose Breeding 



419 



times in small pots or flats, but more 

 frequently directly in the hot-bed itself. 

 Sometimes they were sown under a 

 temperate glass house. 



Not all the seeds which were planted 

 germinated. Many, although perfect in 

 appearance, contained no embryos; but 

 enough grew each year to plant a good 

 sized piece of ground. 



If in a thousand seedlings grown in 

 this manner, the grower found half a 

 dozen noteworthy new varieties, he was 

 well satisfied. It is worth noticing that 

 the roses thus obtained from seeds did 

 not flower at the same time. I have seen 

 some bloom the same year they were 

 planted, while others would only pro- 

 duce their first flowers after five or six 

 years. Many had simple flowers, others 

 half -double, some double. Some flowered 

 scantily, others abundantly. The ones 

 selected were grafted on eglantine (Sweet- 

 briar), then studied, and finall}^ put in 

 the trade if they were worth it. 



This was not the only method of pro- 

 cedure followed by the rose growers of 

 Lyon. Some added seeds produced 

 from artiflcial pollination between par- 

 ticular varieties, such as I shall discuss 

 a little later. 



WHY they vary 



To understand how ordinary seed- 

 lings of roses cultivated in gardens could 

 produce anything profitable, you must 

 remember that most of them are de- 

 scendants of hybridization or cross- 

 breeding. Now it is well known that 

 plants descended immediately or dis- 

 tantly from hybrids or crosses do not 

 come true from seed. They are endowed 

 with innate variability. Their charac- 

 ters separate, combine to produce others, 

 and run through a whole circle of \^ari- 

 ations which manifest themselves in di- 

 verse ways. 



Simple propagation by seed of the 

 best varieties of roses can be recom- 

 mended, on one condition, which is to 

 go at it with separate varieties and to 

 follow the results by pedigree culture to 

 the third generation. Some of the vari- 

 eties have been so much sowed and re- 

 sowed that in the last half century they 

 have produced just about everything 

 good there is in them. 



Pedigree culture offers two advan- 

 tages. First, the planter is not required 

 to waste time sowing a second genera- 

 tion of seeds from plants which produced 

 nothing good in the first generation. If 

 he does not want to carry his experi- 

 ments any farther, he will at least know 

 that he has missed nothing good as far 

 as he has gone. But if he has the in- 

 tinct for plant breeding he may find in 

 succeeding generations, if not remark- 

 able novelties, at least good seed bearers 

 or pollenizers — that is good mothers and 

 good fathers, often simph^ semi-double, 

 with which he can make productive 

 crosses. 



Good pollenizers or producers are 

 rarely put in the trade by their origina- 

 tors, who keep the monopoly for them- 

 selves. Their influence is seen as a sort 

 of trade mark in the varieties which are 

 subsequently put into the trade. 



Before taking up hybridizing and 

 cross breeding, it is worth while noting 

 that Nature has set a limit to the en- 

 largement of flowers, to their duplica- 

 tion, florabundance, etc. 



One more often attains large size in 

 flowers by working through those of 

 medium size, than by using large flowers 

 to start with, unless the latter are semi- 

 double. As for duplication, if it is exag- 

 gerated, the flowers do not open well, 

 and therefore it is to be avoided. But 

 very double roses, when they possess 

 good pollen, can be utilized with a 

 chance of success to fecundate — after 

 castration — semi-double mothers. The 

 same is followed with other genera such 

 as carnations, petunias. Pelargonium 

 zonale, and begonias. 



By cross pollination between hybrid 

 remontants and the yellow rose {Rosa 

 hitea)M. Pernet-Ducher obtained Soleil 

 d'Or, and following it that series of vari- 

 eties which approached vermilion in 

 color. 



sterile roses. 



There are plenty of cases where beau- 

 tiful roses are absolutely sterile, gen- 

 erally because their pistils are hyper- 

 trophied or atrophied. Don't waste time 

 in pollinating them; but if they them- 

 selves possesss good pollen, it may be 

 used on other females. 



