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VOL. VII.] 



JULY, 1884. 



[No. 



THE CLEMATIS. 



Our readers are doubtless already 

 acquainted ■with the beautiful Clematis 

 Jackmanni, and if so they will be much 

 pleased to receive a colored plate of it, 

 such as the one that is presented to them 

 in this number. Of all the seedlings 

 that have been raised bj hybridizers of 

 this flower we know of none so popular 

 as the one that is here represented. And 

 it deserves its popularity. It has a 

 good constitution, consequently it does 

 not require to be constantly nui-sed to 

 keep it alive. It is naturally a vigor- 

 ous grower, having an excellent appe- 

 tite, hence, if sufficiently supplied with 

 food it will take care of itself. It is 

 also a profuse bloomer. The flowers too 

 are large and showy, and being pro- 

 duced on the wood of the current sea- 

 son's gi'owth, it matters not if the 

 growth of the last season is killed to 

 the ground. 



It wa-s about the year 1868 that our 

 Jackman's Clematis was introduced to 

 the attention of florists. Years before, 

 Mr. Kobert Foi-tune had sent to Eng- 

 land from C'hina the mauve colored Cle- 

 matis Lanuginosa. It made quite a 

 sensation when it first flowered in Eng- 

 land, but although it produced flowers 



of noble size, measuring from five to 

 seven inches in diameter, yet these were 

 put forth so sparingly, that cultivators 

 soon tired of growing a plant that re- 

 sponded so charily to theii- most assidu- 

 ous attentions. Besides it was not 

 sufficiently hardy for general open air 

 cultivation, and in consequence of these 

 defects it had fallen into neglect. 



Clematis viticella, introduced from 

 Spain in 1.569, had been long in culti- 

 vation, and although its flowers were 

 small in comparison with those of C. 

 lanuginosa, yet its constitutional vigor 

 was all that could be desired. Happily 

 it occurred to Mr. Jackman to tiy the 

 experiment of crossing these two species. 

 He chose a variety of C. viticella which 

 had dark reddish pui-ple flowers, and 

 with the pollen from these flowers hy- 

 bridized the large flowering C. lanugi- 

 nosa. In this manner he produced a 

 quantity of seedlings, from which he 

 selected a few having the vigorous hardy 

 wiry free flowering habit of C. viticella 

 with the large flower of C. lanuginosa. 

 Of these C. Jackmanni is the most valu- 

 able that has come under the writer's 

 notice, and although, since that time, 

 a great many hybrid seedlings have 



