138 TRANSACTIONS OF THE [Sxss, LXXv. 
emphasis; and this is indeed exceptional, for in the case of 
most other hybrid roses the fruit is largely abortive. 
Probably this rose is pollinated from the tomentosa form 
which grows near it. 
In order to make certain whether the seed is fertile or 
not, I have, this autumn, sown a quantity of it. It would 
be very interesting indeed to know of its germination. 
In this group, as in the two following, R. pimpinellifolia 
or its variety R. sprnosissima is always one parent, but the 
question arises whether the second parent be R. tomentosa, 
Sm., or &. mollis, Sm. The problem is a difficult one, 
especially with regard to hybrids found in Scotland, where 
R. mollis is at least as plentiful as R. tomentosa. In the 
south of England, as Major Wolley-Dod has pointed out, 
Rk. mollis cannot be the second parent, for it does not grow 
there. Thus some clue may be obtained by noticing what 
species are dominant in the locality where the hybrid 
occurs. In the meantime the exact parentage seems to be 
obscure. The one conclusive proof would be to obtain the 
same forms reproduced from their parents by artificial 
methods. 
Crépin, in his “ Rosae Hybridae,”’! describes a form of 
Rk. imvoluta from Sutherland which he considers to be 
R. pimpinellifolia x mollis. One sheet of this hybrid is 
in the Botanic Garden herbarium, the specimen having 
been sent by Rev. E. 8S. Marshall, who, in a note, declares it 
to be from the original plant described by Crépin. The 
specimen certainly approaches nearer R. mollis than R. 
tomentosa in several of its characters, but in other forms 
of the hybrid, as, for instance, those found near Carnoustie, 
it is very difficult to decide which is the second parent. 
With regard to the Auchterarder rose, it seems quite 
certain that the second parent is the glandular form of 
R. tomentosa which grows beside it. In many features the 
hybrid is nearer R. tomentosa than R. pimpinellifolia. 
The second group, Pimpinellifoliz x Eu-canine is a small 
one, and collectively is called R. hibernica. The main 
prickles are stouter and more hooked than in the first 
group, often quite curved as in canina forms. The foliage 
recalls that of R. pimpinellifolia. The leaflets are small, 
1“ Bulletin de la Soc. Roy. de Bot. de Belgique,” 1894. 
