206 GENERAL REVIEW. 



In the Wellington Nurseries, St John's Wood, where many 

 hundreds of hybrid Begonias are grown, we noticed a pretty 

 double -flowered one, of a pale blush or pink colour, and ot 

 good substance and form. We are informed that the plant in 

 question bloomed for the first time in 1872, and that it has 

 since then well sustained its character. 



A beautiful double-flowered Begonia of the Boliviensis- Veitchii 

 group was exhibited at the Paris Horticultural Exhibition of 

 1875 by M. Lemoine, of Nancy. The plant was healthy and 

 vigorous, and the flowers large, double, and of a bright orange- 

 red colour. 



THE BERBERIS AND MAHONIA FAMILY (Berber idacecz). 



A small natural group of dwarf herbaceous perennials 

 (Epitfttdium), or deciduous or evergreen shrubs (Berber is). 

 The flowers are mostly yellow, borne in axillary clusters, 

 and are remarkable as having sensitive or contractile stamens, 

 which close around the style if irritated with a pin. The 

 anthers discharge their pollen from two oblong apertures, each 

 of which is closed by a little trap-door-like contrivance or 

 valve, which seems designed to secure the pollen from the 

 effects of damp. Nearly all the species fruit freely ; and some 

 as B. vulgaris, B. aquifolium, and B. asiatictis are then 

 highly ornamental. B. Darwinii is one of the best of the 

 early-flowering species. It is interesting to notice that the 

 stamens of Berberis are individually sensitive, just as are the 

 leaves of the Sensitive plant and Dioncza. 



Berberis. Nearly all the species are readily to be multiplied 

 by seeds sown as soon as ripe either in open air or nursery-beds, 

 or in boxes of light rich sandy earth in a pit or frame. Tender 

 varieties are- best sown in boxes. Cuttings are successful 

 inserted on a north border in the autumn, while the low- 

 growing kinds are readily propagated by layers. The seedless 

 form of B. vulgaris, which is much esteemed for preserving, 

 must be propagated either by cuttings or by grafting, as suckers 

 fail as a rule to reproduce the seedless form. It would be in- 

 teresting to know the cause of the berries of some individuals 

 being seedless, while others growing in the same soil, and ap- 

 parently of the same age, produce fertile seeds only. Some 

 Grapes, Cucumbers, Melons, and Passion-flowers furnish us 

 with analogous cases ; and it seems probable that the cause is 

 insufficient fertilisation, owing to debilitated pollen a state 

 of things not unfrequently brought about in cultivated plants 



