SOME NOTES ON FRAGARIA. 

 By C. W. RICHARDSON. 



(With Two text-figures.) 



Flower colour. Continuing my experiments recorded in this 

 Journal (Vol. vii, No. 3, May 1918 and Vol. in, No. 3, Feb. 1914) I selfed 

 in 1918 a pink double F2 of my cross double flowering vesca x single pink 

 and obtained a family of 110 all pink doubles. The shade of pink varied 

 but little and never reached the stage of crimson. 



On going over the plants of a cross-back {virginiana x chiloensis) F^ 

 X chiloenMs lucida, to trace the last remnant of virginiana (which I 

 failed to do), I lighted on many pink flowers and one plant with partially 

 crimson flowers of abnormal shape. In the bud the petals were green 

 or edged with crimson, on opening they showed white splashes on a 

 green ground which rapidly turned crimson. The stamens and carpels 

 were malformed and the flowers sterile. The general effect of the 

 crimson was to make the flowers resemble pear blossom though the old 

 petals were darker in colour. Runners taken with every care from the 

 parts of this plant yielding abnormal flowers have flowered perfectly 

 normally this season (1919). 



Now in the ordinary pink vesca, colour appears in the early bud 

 stage and is passed on to its descendants : but this colour must not be 

 confused with that arising from damage by rain or grit, which is of 

 frequent occurrence. To this latter condition may now be added damage 

 from abnormal weather conditions causing defective nourishment, as in 

 the so-called "summer" of 1918. 



Double flowering. As already stated my F3 doubles from doubles 

 were all double, none were of the single, extra petalled F^ type. Any 

 very strong flowering plant of a garden variety, or of a species cross, may 

 give rise to plants with extra petalled or even slightly doubled flowers, 

 but I have not found this condition constant, still less capable of trans- 

 mission from parent to child. The real double, never quite perfect, 

 arises from a lasting change in the sex organs. 



