April 27. 1871. ] 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUER AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



299 







WEEKLY 



CALENDAR. 















Day 



Day 





Average Tempera- 



Rain in 



Sun 



Sun 



Moon Moon 



Moon's 



Clock 

 after 

 Sun. 



Day 



of 



Year. 



Month 



Week. 



APRIL 27-HAY 3, 1871. 



ture near London. 



43 years. 



Rises. 



Seta. 



Rises. 



Sets. 



Age. 











Niffht. 





Days. 



m. b. m. b. 



m. h. 



m. h. 



Days." 



m. 8. 





27 



Th 



Meeting of Koyal Society, 8.30 p.m. 



59 3 



85.7 



47.5 



18 



43af4 14af7 



48af9 



41afl 



I 



2 26 



117 



28 



F 





60.8 



85.7 



48.2 



18 



41 4 16 7 



65 10 



16 2 



8 



2 35 



118 



29 



S 



Anniversary Meeting of Zoological Society. 



60.0 



37.5 



49.0 



15 



39 4 17 7 



after. 



47 2 



9 



2 44 



11!) 



30 



SCN 



S Sunday after Easter. 



61.0 



39.1 



50.1 



17 



87 4 i 19 7 



23 1 



12 S 



10 







1 



M 



Meeting of Entomological Society. 



61.4 



39.2 



50.3 



16 



35 4 1 21 7 



42 2 



35 8 



11 



3 1 





2 



To 





62.7 



39.1 



60.9 



15 



83 4 ; 23 7 



3 4 



56 3 



12 



S 8 



122 



3 



W 



Royal Horticultural Societv, Fruit. Floral. 



62.4 



42.2 



62.3 



20 



31 4 1 24 7 



27 6 



15 i 



13 



3 15 



123 







[ and General Meeting. 













1 



From observations taliea near London during forty-three years, the average day temperature of the weeli is 61.2°, and its night tem- \ 



perature 38.3°. The greatest heat was 81°, on the 28th, 1840 ; and the 



owest cold 18°, on the 29th, ISOl. The greatest tall oi ram was | 



0.75 inch. 







1 



RULES FOR HYBRIDISING AND CROSS- | 

 BREEDING. 



Y lenfitliened pursuit of the very fascinating 

 art of hybridising and cross-breeding flowers 

 having enabled me to reduce my practice to 

 a system that is easy to follow and certain 

 to command success, I feel warranted in 

 offering the results of mj' experience for 

 the consideration of amateurs, triistiag that 

 T^iytf. many will follow my example, and that they 



^M' iiia-.y derive the same amount of interest 



as I have enjoyed while riding this, my 

 favourite, hobby. The hints that I propose to offer are 

 applicable, with modifioations, to most genera of plants, 

 though they have special reference to those having flowers 

 of a tubular form, which latter may. with few exceptions, 

 be brought under entire subjection to the will of the ope- 

 rator. Primulas, Polyanthuses, Phloxes, Petunias, Peri- 

 winkles, Verbenas, Thunbergias, Achimenes, and a host of 

 other genera are only awaiting the attention of scientific 

 hybridists to develope a large increase of floral beauty. 



To insure success nothing must be left to chance. Each 

 seed or pod of seed ought to be the result of careful thought 

 and manipulation, undisturbed by the interference of winds 

 or insects. 



The system which I advocate requires the strict observ- 

 ance of three rules — viz., isolation, preparation, and regis- 

 tration. These rules I will consider in their turn, and then 

 conclude with a few remarts. 



Isolation can only be secured by having the seed-bearing 

 plants in pots, to allow the hybridist during the period of 

 fertilisation to keep them apart from the general collection. 

 Preparation is effected by removing all blooms that are 

 either fully expanded or more than half formed. As the 

 buds arrive at this stage of growth, with a pair of fine dis- 

 secting scissors cut open the right side quite to the base of 

 the calyx, and then extract the anthers without shedding 

 the pollen. When the mutilated flowers are almost readj' 

 to fall, touch the stigma with an anther from the plant you 

 wish to cross with, which can be conveniently accomplished 

 by using a small pair of fly- dressers' tweezers. 



Having done this, registration becomes necessary the 

 observance of which is of great importance, for by its aid 

 the requisite quantity of seed of each cross can be secured, 

 and excess is avoided. Again, in the case of failure, the 

 operator can begin de novo, or after repeated defeats he 

 can decide what species will not hybridise. 



Registration is comprehensively carried out by ruling a 

 metallic paper memorandum book to the annexed pattern — 



blandus . 

 pictas . . . 

 oculatus . 

 ruber . . . 

 nanus ... 

 f ulvus . . . 



W.T. 



o.s. 



B.T. 









2 



3 



6 









WT. 













8 













w.s. 













6 













No. 626.— Vol. XX., New Sekies. 



The pocket of the book will hold scissors and tweezers, 

 ivith a supply of white, blade, and grey thread, also white, 

 black, orange, and gentian silk. 



The first column shows the numbers that represent the 

 various plants that are named, in the second column the 

 squares record the different crosses that have been made. 

 Thus a glance at the registration table shows that No. 1, 

 or blandus, has been fertilised with pictus, oculatus, and 

 fulvus, and that white thread, orange silk, and black thread 

 distinguish the respective crosses. By doubling the threads, 

 or combining the various colours, any reasonable number 

 of registrations may be recorded. 



Lastly, let me advise beginners not to be soon discou- 

 ra^ed, for even those who possess an average knowledge of 

 the practice of cross-breeding require to work for two or 

 three years on any species they may wish to improve be- 

 fore they are able to do so to the greatest advantage. 



— A, CL.iPHAJI. 



EARLY-FLOWERING SHOW PELARGONIUMS. 



There was in a recent number of the Journal [page 157] 

 an interesting article on this very useful class of conserva- 

 tory decorative plants. I have not the number to refer to, 

 but the article emanated from Drayton Manor Gardens, 

 and gave practical details of cultivation in the production 

 of early bloom. A list of varieties was given. Crimson 

 King, if I recollect rightly, occupying a prominent place. 

 Having a continuous display of flowers to keep up, and 

 having considerable demands for cut blooms for room de- 

 coration, I find nothing more useful during the months of 

 March and April than this very useful class of plants ; 

 indeed, so acceptable are they, and so greatly admired, that 

 I wonder how they can be dispensed with to the extent 

 they are. No plants can be cut with less injury, and none 

 give a greater variety of colours, or have a better appear- 

 ance in vases, epergnes, &c. 

 ! Without making cultural remarks, which would only be 

 a repetition of the article referred to, I shall enumerate a 

 few kinds which never fail to do good service with me, and 

 which will do as well with others who require them. All 

 the varieties named I have in bloom now, several of them 

 having been flowering for some weeks past. Crimson 

 King is undoubtedly one of the earliest, but it is not bright 

 enough, and has a wiry habit of growth which is a draw- 

 back ; still, on account of its natural precocity it can hardly 

 be dispensed with. A sort quite as early, and in all re- 

 spects better, I find in Floribunda ; it is deeper in colour, 

 a better trusser, and more rigid in habit. Another in this 

 line of colour is Gauntlet, a very useful variety ; and one 

 a few days later, but better than either, is La Crimee. 

 The old, but still good, French variety Eugene Duval is 

 very useful as an early bloomer. It is rather prone to 

 legginess, but the trusses are always good. Distinction 

 has been in fine bloom a long time ; it is one of the best. 

 A few other dark varieties, better than the above in point 

 of intrinsic merit, although not so early by a fortnight, 

 are Leviathan, Charles Turner, Incomparable, Mrs. C. 

 Binder, and Beacon. These are of bright colours, and may 

 be gay in the early days of April. Diadem, fine at any 

 No, 1178.— Vol. XLV., Old Semes. 



