282 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
of the horse-shoe, having in the first place observed with the glass 
that no pollen grains had been deposited there. by insects. Carefully 
enveloping the flowers operated on in net bags tied with scarlet worsted, 
the flowers fertilised speedily withered. Eventually I succeeded in har- 
vesting a certain amount of seed. The silky, feathery awn, where it is 
attached to the axil, soon shows when the seed is ripe, and requires to 
be sharply looked to, for if not carefully protected would soon fly 
away. 
On ripening, the seeds were gathered and sown at once in pans, placing 
them in gentle heat. The seedlings appeared in three weeks; a certain 
number showed a stripe of white, or rather cream colour, on their seed 
leaves. All having green seed leaves were thrown out. The produce was 
grown on in pans and seed boxes for some time, a large proportion 
showing a provoking amount of green; a smaller proportion parti- 
coloured leaves ; a still smaller proportion white or yellow; completely 
etiolated individuals speedily died a natural death. After careful nursing 
through the winter there were a considerable number to prove in the 
spring : those having parti-coloured leaves I found most inclined to send 
out a branch with the true characteristic tricolour marking. The branch 
was cut off and struck; the plant so raised kept its character most won- 
derfully. Of the collection of seedlings some did not break or develop 
their true character for years, although it was easy to see the golden 
blood in their veins. In our moist climate of Scotland I found them 
very delicate, and inclined to damp off in the winter season. In dry 
summer weather no more beautiful objects could be looked at than a cold 
frame filled with tricolour and silver-leaved Geraniums, although like 
many other good plants they seem to have gone out of fashion, probably 
assisted by damp seasons, when they were difficult to keep. 
TurtED Pansies oR VronAs.—The Garden Pansy has been a favourite 
with all lovers of flowers, and its florist varieties have been brought to a 
high state of perfection and beauty. Its origin is still uncertain, our 
native Viola tricolor, crossed with Viola altaica, having the honour of 
furnishing the original plants from which all the florist varieties have 
been derived. As far back as 1835 the march of improvement in quality 
of petal, size, and shape commenced; and the illustrations of the Pansy 
in the floricultural magazines of that period give some idea of the 
immense improvement that has been brought about by crossing varieties 
of the Garden Pansy. With its advancement in refinement, however, 
it was found that its constitution did not improve, and costly varieties 
had a habit of suddenly dying in hot weather. This led hybridists to 
turn their attention to endeavour to secure a hardier race by crossing some 
of our wild species with the Garden Pansy, the result being the plant 
now popularly known as Viola, but a still better name is Tufted Pansy. 
At present it is a plant with a very dwarf habit, abundance of fibry roots, 
moderately large flowers, and a compact tufty appearance. ‘The fibry 
roots enable the plant to withstand the changes of temperature and 
climate which affect plant life, and which we are all so well acquainted 
with. In general, one man succeeds in crossing two plants of different 
species, while another takes up the idea and carries out this fertilising 
process a step farther. In 1878 Mr. B. Williams, of London, succeeded 
