THE GARDENERS 5 CHRONICLE. 



21 



— c-m* is effected after "a few weeks, or only after 

 whtt li«r ** ^ ne mMeV is jus t the same, and it is well 



2 the fertility of young plants may be accele- 

 ~£Tk« rraftui" on a ripened stem which can supp y 

 ^:S* Si" to the ascending sap. The tendency in 

 !L i^L before°us is either to make no progress towards 

 2? Cm*tion of flowers and their proper organs, or only 



several^ 



duty incumbent on us to preserve these acquisitions in 

 all their vigour, and without change from disease, by 

 propagating them according to the rational principles 

 laid down in our preceding articles. Thus we may 

 transmit, intact, to posterity the fruit of the labours of 

 our ancestors. 



But another much more important duty also devolves 

 on us, and that is not to interrupt the chain of possible 

 improvement. We ought to re-sow successively the 

 seeds of the best hardy kinds of Pears, in order to 

 improve on the results already obtained. The chances 

 of success are not now so problematic as when Van 

 Mons commenced his sowings ; for he had to employ 

 either the seeds of varieties of indifferent quality, or 

 those of sorts from more southern regions than ours. 

 By sowing the Seeds of these, rearing the seedlings, and 

 so wins: their seeds -as soon as they bore fruit, and again 



are produced in abundance, 

 patches, or beds, 

 annuals. 



It is welt adapted for pots, 

 One of the very best Californian 



£ proceed through the primary stages of metamor- 

 hnSTvithout accomplishing the grand end to which 

 ?h» changes in the leafy appendages tend. It may 

 £ absolutely impossible to discover m such cases any 

 **anic ma |formation ; but as it is sometimes evidently 

 duHo exuberance of growth, it is sometimes equally 

 evident that it is want of tone which produces sterility. 

 If however, they are really constitutional, and not due 



at all to external causes, the most judicious treatment 



may fail, and for the very reason that we cannot discover o _ , p ^ 



the precis© constitutional conditions to which the effect the first seeds of this third generation, and so on, he 

 'sdue. Means, however, will be taken to repress unna- obtained six or eight generations in the course of half a 



. . _•„ *i rtAO ~ ™ + rt »;«»» w ftWk *™<> + A century ; and by these means, conducted on fixed prin- 

 ciples, he has done more for acclimatising and improving 

 the Pear tree in our latitude than chance had during 10 

 centuries. According to this system, it is no longer neces- 

 sary to sow the seeds of such old varieties as the Beurre 



ISUUC. 4MV~-w, , 



iural luxuriance in the one case, or to give more tone to 

 the system in the other, and such pains will often be 

 rewarded with partial success. It frill very rarely 

 happen, however, that inveterate constitutional tendency 

 can be altogether surmounted. 



Oue of the most ordinary causes of sterility, 



24: 





whether permanent or temporary, is the hypertrophy of 

 some particular part of the plant, in consequence of 

 which the nutriment which should have been employed 

 in the formation or perfection of the organs of fructifi- 

 cation is diverted to some other purpose. Plants, for 

 instance, like Tarragon, which increase much by the root 

 without any abnormal development, seldom produce 

 perfect seed, and trees which send up many suckers or 

 feeders are comparatively unproductive : instances 

 arising from artificial hypertrophy (238), to which mul- 

 titudes might be added, are mentioned above. 



243. The organs of fructification may be apparently 

 perfect, and yet no impregnation may take place, even 

 though the pollen grains may germinate. It is probable 

 that in such cases there is some deficiency of power in 

 the ovules, or the vegetative force by which they are 

 excited, and not in the pollen grains themselves — an 

 inference supported by analogy in the animal kingdom. 

 This force in the pistillary organs is sometimes so great, 

 as in Coelehogyne, as to supersede the necessity of the 

 anther altogether, a fact analogous to those instances in 

 the animal kingdom where increase takes place by 

 budding, as in several of the Radiatce. It appears 

 from the mass of facts stored up by Gartner, Herbert, 

 and others, on hybridisation and muling, that the 

 influence of the male and female parents are not 

 altogether correlative. It does not follow that because 

 the pollen of a will [produce perfect fruit in 6, that 

 the pollen of J should have the same effect on a. It 

 appears, too, that the same male parent does not produce 

 equal fertility in female parents which it is capable of 

 fertilising. The pollen of Dianthus superbus will 

 fructify D. barbatus, Armeria, chinensis, Caryophyllus, 

 caucasjcus, and arenarius, but it will not impregnate 

 them in the same degree, and the number of seeds 

 produced will diminish in the order in which the names 

 tfthe species are written down. External affinity is 

 not always the measure of success. The coats of seeds 

 are sometimes affected even where perfect impregnation 

 <toes not take place ; and as any derangement 

 the mutual " " 



Gris, Chaumontel, St. Germain, or Virgouleuse ; and 

 scarcely those of the Passe Colmar, Beurre' d'Hardenpont, 

 Beurre Diel, and Beurre Ranee. This would be labour in 



vain 



of 



and 

 of 



as 

 the 



balance of the parts of which 

 *& organism consists is more or less fatal to the 

 completion of such delicate processes as the vivifi- 



M 1 k the contenta of the embryo sac, it is conceiv- 

 able that a thousand circumstances may prove impedi- 

 ments though wholly beyond our powers of research, 

 wh ,? trictl y s P e *king, sterility may be absolute, e> c » 

 nere there is, according to the gardener's views, a 

 penect crop of fruit. In some cases, and perhaps in 



it would be like taking hold of the chain by the 

 wrong end and landing at the bottom, instead of com- 

 mencing at the lowest link and ascending to the highest. 

 The varieties above mentioned have not, generally, a 

 strong constitution, and they are much exhausted in 

 consequence of a bad system x>f propagation. The 

 seeds of the following varieties may, however, be success- 

 fully employed : — Conseiller de la Cour, Comte de 

 Fiandres, Dr. Trousseau, Prince Albert, Due d'Orleans, 

 Comte de Paris, Rousselet de Janvier, General Dutilleul, 

 Beurre Berkmaus, Calebasse Tougard, Nouveau Poiteau, 

 Souvenir d'Esperen, and Triomphe de Jodoigne. Iu 

 our severe and changeable climate, vigour and hardi- 

 ness for bearing in the open ground are more especially 

 required. Should the fruit be only second-rate, yet it 

 is better to use the seeds of hardy sorts than those from 

 fruit of first-rate quality produced by trees of a broken- 

 down constitution. The Eyewood, raised by Mr. Knight, 

 must be reared as a pyramid, by means of a support, 

 during the first three years from the bud or graft 

 on the Pear stock ; this is a proof of its debility. By 

 careful pruning this variety will form a handsome 

 pyramid in five or six years ; but the shoots are too 

 flexible. Its branches have not sufficient substance. 

 Although from its fertility, and the excellent quality of 

 its fruit, it deserves a place in every fruit garden, yet 

 it would not be advisable to sow its seeds with the view 

 of obtaining improved varieties, for the seedlings would 

 most probably retrograde. Marie Louise Nouvelle, of 

 Van Mons, from its greater vigour, and its larger and 

 more delicate fruit, is doubtless several generations in 

 advance of the Eyewood, but appears to have come from 

 the same source. The seeds of this fruit uould be 

 preferable to those of the Eyewood ; but it would not 

 be advisable to sow either of them. The varieties above 

 recommended make handsome trees, are hardier, and 

 their fruit keeps longer. In obtaining a new variety, 

 which ought to be considered at the present day a real 

 improvement, it ought to possess, as already stated, good 

 vigour, hardiness, and handsome form of growth. In 

 short, the trees ought to bear as orchard standards in 

 our coldest localities. The fruits, in form and flavour, 

 should equal, at least, those which we already possess ; 

 and the period of ripening should be later, commencing 

 even i in December and ending in April. 



By following the preceding instructions, astonishing 

 results will be obtained before the end of the century, 

 as regards varieties adapted for orchard culture. In 

 pursuing with perseverance the experiments, a number 

 of varieties will also be found suitable for gardens. It 



Jo»t, succulent fruits will not swell and proceed to per- 

 jciiou wnhout impregnation; but it is certain that in 



Tirtu lnS f a ? | Ces » M irx the common Mulberry, the full 



interv S ^cocarp may be perfected without the is likewise very probable that some amateurs, knowing 



that c entl ° D k °* an -^ ma ' e blossom; and it is notorious the vigour, beauty, and productiveness of a good seed- 

 dcciip • lCUI u • » rS °* €norm °U3 size, and many other fruit, ling, will give it the preference, to a certain extent, to 

 rJL o Whlchiti * impossible to find a single perfect 



ovule R ----- -~ —possible to find a single perfect 



bear no ! the best varieties of Grapes and Oranges 

 *s the ^T ' and the same mav be sai(i of exotic fruits, 

 however rt^ a ° d Breadfrui *- I* does not follow, 

 youno g t , e rudime nts of fruit may not exist in the 



The inflii ° r that the P ollen m *y exert 1U > power. 



ifl fluence S*/ S* P ° llen is not > h ° wever > tlie only 

 organs of f -? ll1 CftUse the succulent portion of the 



Wion is «■ lfieation t0 S *«H. The process of caprifi- 

 th « orifice f ln ?f ance in P oint > as a,s <> that of touching 

 •With an ^ a . lg with oiI > or piercing the young walls 



* n oiled straw. Jlf. jr. B . 



N Raising^ew varieties of pears 



w . FROM SEED. 



view S\L mhy be asked > is the ob 3 ect t0 be ke P fc in 

 v *rieties of P resc, J t da ^ in raising new and improved 



tte ▼arietiM ^f* n seed ? 0n examining attentively 



* ud especilL°^ med fr ° m seed b y our Predecessors, 

 Ute Van Mn • raised from the la8t sowili g s of the 

 Pushed, and th * WOuld seem as if the task was a *com- 

 la ^els. T n J ; * e have only to repose und 



er our 



tat *<i on thl f p tj the Vl 8 0ur of certain varieties culti- 

 ou * dimate is 11 J * is ev . ident > their hardiness in 



! 



intestable 

 m! *ne us 



*»i that 



to 



mT el ! k . nown > their productiveness is in- 

 ■nci their varied and delicious flavours 



tiayi 



*"»k that the conquest is already made, 

 fccclimatised '^ m * y be almost considered as 



{7 mat the P* . — wu^uesi «s aireaay ma 



i* m 8 ^cli m ati ft ?/ " - ree ^ be a,most considered 

 b S attained ntVV Ur northe ™ latitude, and as 



d Perfection. Such being the caL, it is a 



propagated trees, which do not always exhibit the most 

 desirable properties. A period will thus be reached 

 when the more intelligent amateurs, in sowing the seeds 

 of a variety, of which the perfection has been carried 

 to the utmost limits, will not plant, trusting to the prob- 

 ability that seedling varieties will spring up and form 

 magnificent long-lived trees, bearing fruit of the highest 

 excellence. This is, moreover, the opinion expressed 

 by Van Mons in various passages of his fl Pomonomie. ,, 

 We unreservedly share it as regards our own seedlings, 

 all derived from the last sowings of that skilful pomolo- 

 gist. Iu fact, out of more than 500 of these seedlings, one 

 could scarcely find 25 which do not exhibit, in their 

 upper parts, all the characters of civilised trees, that is 

 to say, having the appearance of good productive 

 varieties. In the face of such evident facts, it is 

 impossible not to be convinced. 



In conclusion, by following a good system of propaga- 

 tion, and improving the condition of trees already 

 existing, the horticulturists of the present day will fulfil 

 their duties in regard to their successors. This, we 

 think, ought to be the aim of every person in all the 

 countries of Western Europe who takes a distinguished 

 part in the cultivation # df fruit trees. /. De Jonghe, Rue 

 des Vuitandines, Brussels, Dee. 5, 1854. 



LIST OF ANNUALS. 



[Concluded from p. 6). 



Leptosiphon luteum is a pretty little plant, with 

 needle-shaped leaves. Its flowers are golden yellow, and | large orange 



Zimnanthes alba. — This is a good thing, either for 

 early or late flowering ; it grows about inches high. 

 The flowers, which are produced abundantly, are of a 

 dull white colour ; it is best adapted for patches. It is 

 a native of California. 



Zinaria macoura is a most interesting annual, wifti 

 flowers like the common Toadflax in shape, and pale 

 lilac in colour. It grows about a foot high. It is a 

 most profuse bloomer, and is well adapted either for 

 beds or borders. It is a native of the south of Europe. 



Zinum grandifloJiwi rubrum. — This is a plant of a 

 very delicate and slender habit, much resembling the 

 common Flax. It grows about a foot high, and has 

 large, brilliant red flowers. If it could be induced to 

 flower well, it would be a splendid plant for pot culture* 

 It was introduced from Paris. 



Zoasa later itia. — Though much neglected, this is a 

 very pretty plant when treated as a climber and trained 

 on trellis work. Its flowers are pale scarlet, with a 

 dull white patch in the centre. It is rather tender, and 

 requires to be sown in heat. It is a native of Peru. 



lAipinus Moriizianus. — This is the very best of the 

 annual Lupines ; it grows about 30 inches high, and 

 has an erect habit. It is a most profuse blocnier, with 

 spikes of flowers about 7 inches long. Its blossoms are of 

 a rich blue colour, tipped with white. It is well adapted 

 for borders. It is a native of California. 



Malva zebrina. — This, although of a straggling habit, 

 is nevertheless a most beautiful plant, and well worthy 

 of cultivation, growing to the height of 2 feet, with large 

 white bell-shaped flowers, streaked with red. It is well 

 adapted for growing in clusters on borders. It comes 

 from the south of Europe. 



Mirabilis Jalapa (Marvel of Peru) is not so much . 

 grown as it deserves to be. Its long, trumpet-shaped 

 flowers are highly ornamental. It is a compact bushy 

 plant, which grows about 18 inches in height. There 

 are many varieties differing very much in colour, some 

 being self- coloured, while others are very much streaked. 

 It is best adapted for borders, but ought to be sown in 

 heat, to bring the plants to perfection. 



Nolana gi s at\dijlora. — This is a creeping ChiKan plant, 

 with rather succulent foliage. Its flowers, which are 

 much like those of a Convolvulus, are of a lightish 

 colour, streaked with blue. It is a pretty thing for 

 covering rock work or small beds. 



Occalis rosea. — This is another of the very prettiest 

 and best of annuals ; it grows about 6 inches high. Its 

 flowers are of a pale rose colour, and are produced in 

 abundance. It is a good thing for greenhouse decora- 

 tion in spring, and open borders in summer. It comes 

 from Chili. 



Per ilia nankinensis is a pleasing plant, with dark 

 purple foliage, for whose beauty alone the plant is grown. 



crisped ; the flowers are of no 

 of the variety it makes it well 

 deserves a place in borders, and requires to be sown in 

 heat. It is a native of China. 



Phacelia tripinnatifida. — This is a profuse blooming 

 plant, with dark-blue flowers and a habit like that of a 

 Heliotrope. It is quite hardy, and requires very little 

 attention. It grows about 1 foot high, and is well 

 adapted for beds or patches. It is a native of California. 



P/atystemon californicum makes a very showy bed, 

 and flowers very early. It grows about 1 loot in 

 height Its flowers are of a whitish colour, and are 

 produced abundantly. This is also a native of California. 



Podolepis rugata is rather a showy plant, and remains 

 a long time in perfection. Its flowers are large, of a 

 pale yellow, much resembling the Old Everlasting ; it 

 grows about 18 inches in height. P. chrysantha much 

 resembles it, with flowers of a brighter yellow. It is a 

 native of Australia. 



Portulacas. — These much resemble in appearance 

 an ice plant, having succulent stems and cylindrical 

 leaves. They are very showy plants, but require green- 

 house treatment, although they may occasionally be 

 turned out in the open border in summer. The best 

 are Thellusoni, which is the strongest growing — it has 

 large blood-red flowers ; T. flore plena, with double 

 flowers ; splendens, with pale-red flowers ; alba striata, 

 with white flowers, streaked with red ; and Thorborni 

 lutea, with yellow flowers. They are natives of tempe- 

 rate regions. 



Rhodanthe Mangiest.— This is a Swan River Annual, 

 and is a most beautiful thing. Its flowers are large, of 

 a rosy pink colour, and it grows from 9 to 12 inches in 

 height. It remains a long time in perfection. Its best 

 use is for greenhouse decoration in early spring, or it 

 makes a most beautiful bed in summer, but the seedlings 

 require pricking out in small pots to become established 

 previous to transplanting. 



Sap&naria calabrka is rather a slender spreading 

 plant, with pink and white flowers. It grows about 

 (i inches high. It is a most beautiful thing, well de- 

 serving pot culture, or it is well adapted for beds or 

 borders. It is a native of Calabria. 



Silene pendula alba has showy white flowers, some- 

 what resembling the common Bachelor's Button. It 

 grows a foot in height, and is a most abundant bloomer. 

 It is a splendid thing for greenhouse decoration, and also 

 for beds or borders. It flowers best in peat soil. It *s 

 a native of the south ot Europe. 



Sphenogiwe tptciosa is a pretty South American 

 plant for blooming through the summer. It bears 



and black-coloured flowers, which are 



The leaves are much 

 value, but on account 



