AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HORTICULTURE. 



161 



HYBERNIA. This is a genus of slender-bodied 

 moths, which are frequently destructive, as larvae, to the 

 foliage of trees and shrubs. In all species, the female is 

 almost wingless, while the male has wings from l^in. to 

 1 in. in spread. The males have the antennae more or less 

 pectinated. In colour they are all some shade of brown, 

 often verging to reddish, with darker bars crossing the 

 front wings. Their larvae belong to the group of Loopers ; 

 they are slender, and are always inconspicuous (shades 

 of green or brown) in colour. The moths emerge between 

 October and March, and the females crawl on to the 

 food-plants to lay their eggs. H. leucophcearia (Spring 

 Usher) lives on Oak; H. rupicapraria (Early) on Haw- 

 thorn, Oak, &c. ; H. aurantiaria (Scarce Umber) on Haw- 



FIG. 250. HYBERNIA DEFOLIARIA (MOTTLED UMBER MOTH), 

 showing Male, Female, and Larva. 



thorn ; H. defoliaria (Mottled Umber, see Fig. 250) on Oak, 

 Hawthorn, Blackthorn, Hazel, and many other trees. The 

 pupae of all the species lie in the ground near the trees off 

 which the larvae have dropped: hence, an occasional dress- 

 ing of gas-lime around the trunk, from October onwards, 

 will be beneficial ; but care is required, to avoid 

 injuring the tree. To prevent the ascent of females 

 to lay their eggs, various applications to the trunks of 

 the trees have been recommended, e.g., cart-grease and 

 Stockholm tar, in equal parts ; or a rope dipped in a 

 mixture of tar and oil, and tied round the trunk. The 

 larvae may be cleared off by shaking the branches over 

 cloths spread on the earth around the trees. Care must 

 be taken to remove those hanging by threads, as well 

 as those that have dropped on to the cloths. 



HYBRID. A cross between two species. 



HYBRIDISING. Most of the so-called Florists' 

 Flowers have been brought up to their present standard 

 of excellence by careful and systematic Hybridisation. 

 The mere operation is easy enough ; it is simply neces- 

 sary to convey the pollen, by means of a camel-hair 

 brush, or otherwise, from the male parent, and place it 

 on the stigmatic surface of the flower of the female, or 

 seed-bearer. Of course, unless the latter is receptive, 

 this proceeding would be ineffective. As a rule, when it 

 is fit to be acted upon by the pollen, the stigma becomes 

 more or less glutinous ; in some plants, this condition 

 occurs before their own anthers are ready to discharge 

 the pollen, and in others after the pollen has been shed. 



Vol. II. 



Hybridising continued. 



In both these cases, the arrangement is evidently to pre- 

 vent self -fertilisation. Not a few plants, however, de- 

 velop stigma and anthers at the same time, and with 

 them it is necessary to remove the anthers before they 

 burst, and, at the same time, by means of fine gauze or 

 otherwise, to prevent the visits of insects, which might 

 convey pollen from another flower, and thus effect an 

 undesirable cross. Continuously working with pollen of 

 certain flowers not unfrequently conduces to sterility, 

 and then a fresh strain must be used, possessing one 

 or more of the qualities it is wished to perpetuate 

 and improve. For instance, a flower of good form, but 

 defective in colour, is, perhaps, crossed with another 

 which is faulty in shape, but of a novel and desirable 

 shade. A weakly-growing variety, of good habit, may be 

 used with effect in combination with a stronger grower 

 lacking the particular qualities present in the former. 

 Sometimes, the florist's ideal has been kept so constantly 

 in sight, that the pollen of a particular strain becomes 

 more or less abortive. More than one very successful 

 raiser of Cyclamens and Gladioli habitually call in the 

 aid of the microscope to determine the state of the pollen 

 in highly-bred seedlings. If this is uneven not plump, 

 clean and regular in size and outline, the plant is dis- 

 carded as a male parent, and another chosen (with perfect 

 pollen) which promises to attain the desired results in 

 size, form, or colour of flower. 



Hybrids between two distinct genera are by no means 

 common. A good example is Philageria (a cross between 

 the beautiful climbing Lapageria rosea and the bushy 

 Philesia buxifolia), which is intermediate in character 

 between its two parents, though not nearly so desirable 

 as either. Species of the same genus frequently refuse 

 altogether to cross with each other, and some, again, 

 will only cross one way. No definite rules can be laid 

 down, and exceptions can only be learned by experience. 



The following remarks, anent double flowers, are taken 

 from a lecture by the Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, de- 

 livered before the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, 

 some thirteen years ago. The gentleman in question is 

 a well-known and very successful hybridiser. " In my 

 experiments, I have discovered that, for the production 

 of double flowers, it is important that the pollen used 

 for impregnation should be borne on a petaloid anther 

 that is, an anther bearing a small petal and that this 

 is still better if from a double flower. I also observed, 

 that the larger and better developed this petaloid anther, 

 the better chance for a fine double offspring; for, as 

 might have been expected, the anthers being connected 

 with the corolla, the number of petals would be increased 

 by such an operation. I found, also, that, for the most 

 perfect and symmetrical flowers, it was better to select 

 single flowers, which were the most perfect in their 

 petals, for seed-bearers ; and that single or semi-double 

 sorts with perfect corollas, when impregnated with peta- 

 loid pollen, will produce double flowers of a regular 

 symmetrical formation. Of this I have the most conclu- 

 sive evidence in the Camellia Wilderi, and many other 

 fine double varieties in my collection, which were pro- 

 duced from the single red and single white Camellias, 

 fertilised by pollen from a petaloid anther of double 

 varieties." 



(from Hydnon, the old Greek name used 

 by Theophrastus for the Truffle). A genus of about 200 

 species of hymenomycetous fungi, varying greatly in size 

 and substance, but all distinguished by the fructifying 

 surface (hymenium) consisting of prickles projecting from 

 the cap (pileus). The species are found in all climates, 

 but are most frequent in temperate regions. H. repandum 

 (see Fig. 251) is not uncommon in Britain; it occurs in 

 woods, in scattered patches or large rings, and, if pro- 

 perly cooked, affords an excellent article of food. The 

 specimens, which must be perfectly fresh, after being 



