422 



Garden and Forest. 



[August 27, 1890. 



concerned. A camel's-hair brush is rarely of service. If 

 pollen can be gathered in quantity, as from Rye, Roses, Honey- 

 suckles, etc., it may he placed in boxes and applied from the 

 point of a knife or by placing the ripe anthers themselves in 

 contact with the receptive stigma. 



In performing the operation the bud should be opened, the 

 green anthers removed and the bud tied up in close, fine tissue 

 paper. Open it only to apply foreign pollen to the stigmas, 

 and at once again protect them from possibility of contact with 

 any other pollen. If fruits and seeds then develop we are con- 

 fident that the seeds are cross-breeds. 



About fifteen years ago we began crossing Wheats. While 

 engaged in this way it occurred to me to make the attempt to 

 hybridize Wheat and Rye. The result of pollenating many 

 heads was ten seeds, nine of which germinated and wintered 

 safely. Eight resembled Wheat in every way, and the plants 

 scarcely differed from the mother, which was Armstrong, a 

 beardless variety. The ninth plant was peculiar in having 

 hairy culms and long, narrow heads, of which there were 

 about twenty; and these twenty heads were so nearly sterile 

 that they bore only a grain or so apiece. The other plants 

 were all fertile, and several of them were again pollenated with 

 Rye. It would take a long time to recount the suggestive, in- 

 structive history of these plants. I have now plants which by 

 blood are fifteen-sixteenths Rye. These were nearly sterile, 

 and all attempts to again cross with Rye have resulted in abso- 

 lute sterility. Some of the fifteen-sixteenths Rye plants grow 

 more fertile each year. Many of the three-fourths Rye plants 

 are now fully fertile, and so well fixed that we are propagating 

 them for introduction, while three of the half-breeds have 

 already been introduced. Many of the hybrids bear very large 

 kernels, long heads, with close spikelets. Some of them are 

 as early as Rye, and perfectly hardy at my home. Thousands 

 have been destroyed on account of their conspicuous 

 worthlessness. 



Some years ago Professor William Saunders, of Canada, told 

 me he thought he had effected a cross between the Raspberry 

 and the Blackberry. We made crosses the next season and 

 every season since. The Raspberry alone was used as the 

 mother plant the first year. Some of the seedlings were 

 Raspberries in every way, some were Blackberries in every 

 way, a few were intermediate. Whether an improved variety 

 will come out of these remains to be seen. Thus far, all that 

 have fruited produce imperfect berries ; that is, berries with 

 from one to a dozen drupelets ; while others bloom but do 

 not fruit at all. Professor Saunders' Hybrids were from some 

 accident destroyed before fruiting. 



We have never raised a Rose from any other seed than that 

 borne by Rosa ritgosa. This plant is very hardy, bearing 

 leave's of exquisite beauty — thick, leathery, with a glossy, 

 wrinkled surface. The flowers are large, single, and in color 

 white or pink. Asa pollen parent we used the first summer 

 Hanson's Yellow, and that alone. This is a very hardy 

 Austrian Rose with small leaflets, bearing semi-double yellow 

 flowers. Most of the seedlings died from mildew. Only about 

 thirty survived. When it is considered that R. rugosa differs 

 from all other Roses in such a marked way, one would natur- 

 ally have supposed that its seedlings would be stamped with 

 its peculiar characteristics rather than with those of the male 

 parent, which may be said to resemble, in a general way, a 

 hundred other Roses. Such was not the case. Most of the 

 seedlings resembled the male parent in having small leaflets 

 which were neither wrinkled nor of unusual thickness. The 

 flowers were a yet greater surprise. All the single flowers are 

 small, the colors being rosy white, pink, dark pink. There 

 were neither yellow nor pure white flowers. One bush bears 

 small single flowers, which are a feeble Rose color around 

 the edges, then white and finally yellow about the base. Of 

 the double flowers one bush bears pink flowers, which are as 

 " double " as a Rose well can be. The leaflets show the Rugosa 

 blood plainly. Three others bear Rugosa foliage. The 

 flowers of two are semi-double, of the color of General 

 Jacqueminot. The third, which during the past year 

 has been propagated for introduction by a leading nursery 

 firm, bears flowers identical in color with those of General 

 Jacqueminot. The color is also the same. It is as nearly a 

 perpetual bloomer as is the mother plant. The leaflets, while 

 preserving much of the thick, wrinkly texture, are larger than 

 those of R. rugosa. Would any one have prophesied that a 

 yellow Rose crossed on a single pink Rose would have pro- 

 duced a plant so closely resembling General Jacqueminot ? 



The next year we used pollen from Hybrid Perpetuals, and 

 the next, as well as the present, season from Yellow Teas 

 chiefly. Of these none that have bloomed are yet worthy of 

 remark ; we have about 300 in all. The present season 



has been specially favorable to an abundant harvest of hybrid 

 seed ; probably we have no less than 3,000. 



When the hardy and distinct characteristics of Rosa rugosa 

 are considered, one would suppose that the children of such 

 a rugged mother would be healthy and strong. The fact is, 

 however, that nine-tenths die of mildew. It is worthy of re- 

 mark, also, that not one seed in ten is viable. They are 

 shells without embryo. 



Finally, you have all heard of the Great Japan Wineberry. 

 Though this is the old Rubus phaniico/asius, which has been 

 in certain nurserymen's catalogues and in private collections 

 for a dozen years, it is still a most remarkable Raspberry, 

 worthy of a place in every collection. The forming berry is 

 enclosed within the sepals, which are covered with pur- 

 ple viscid hairs, like the bud of a Moss Rose. This protects 

 the fruit from worms, for all small insects are caught and held 

 by the sticky exudation. As the berry ripens, the sepals fall 

 back. The berry, at first a bright, diaphanous scarlet, turns, 

 as it ripens, to a rich ruby color. The berries are juicy and of 

 a refreshing, sprightly quality, with scarcely a trace of the 

 peculiar Raspberry aroma. Upon this we have succeeded in 

 crossing both the Blackberry and the Rose. 



SPECIAL FERTILIZERS UNDER GLASS. 



Professor S. T. Maynard, in a paper on this subject, began 

 by saying that the three essential conditions for the successful 

 growth of plants under glass are these : the proper amount of 

 water, a temperature suited to their growth and an abundance 

 of plant food. All of these conditions are necessary, and it is 

 difficult to say whether one is more important than another; 

 but the last condition, that of plant food for greenhouse crops, 

 was alone to be discussed. 



In making up the soil for greenhouse plants, whether grown 

 in pots or beds, the principal ingredients are : turf, more or 

 less decomposed, or garden soil, and stable manure either 

 fresh or decomposed, according to the nature of the plants to 

 be grown. With these materials properly put together, very 

 successful results are generally obtained by the skillful gar- 

 dener ; but sometimes, either from poor quality of the manure 

 used, from a poor mechanical condition or "from improper 

 treatment after being put into the beds or pots, plants fail to 

 make the vigorous growth we desire. Then it is difficult to 

 get enough plant food into the small space of the flower-pot or 

 bench; a small amount of soil and root space being necessary 

 to secure an abundance of bloom. In houses naturally moist 

 we must use a small amount of soil to secure a healthful con- 

 dition for the growth of the roots; and therefore we must find 

 something to increase the food supply in the soil and to give 

 the plants a start. This has led to the use of liquid made from 

 stable manure. Green manure is placed on the surface of the 

 bench or pots and plant food is washed into the soil by a liberal 

 supply of water. Plants grow well under this practice, but 

 the manure is offensive and requires a great amount of labor 

 and care in its application. We believe that the necessary 

 supply of plant food may be more easily and safely obtained 

 from chemicals and special manures. 



After the mechanical conditions have been made right, there 

 is little danger of getting the soil too rich for the common 

 commercial crops, if all the elements of plant food necessary 

 for a complete and perfect growth for the purpose desired are 

 present; that is, if a leaf growth is sought for, potash and the 

 nitrogenous elements must be used, while if seed or flowers 

 are desired, the use of phosphoric acid in the form of fine bone 

 or bone black is recommended. 



After the crop has been started, one of the best ways to fur- 

 nish additional plant food is in a liquid form. The soluble 

 chemicals, however, like the potash salts and the soluble 

 nitrates, must be applied with care; for if the liquid is allowed 

 to remain for a considerable length of time on the foliage it is 

 liable to be seriously injured. The so-called flower-foods and 

 the standard commercial fertilizers of various manufacturers 

 have been very successfully used. For house plants, when 

 the grower is not skilled in the preparation of soil for the per- 

 fect growth of plants, the flower-food gives excellent results. 



Professor Maynard then gave the details of several com- 

 parative experiments in growing Carnations, Pansies, Lettuce 

 and Cabbage plants under glass with various special fertil- 

 izers. It is not necessary to give these in full, although the 

 complete tables in which the effect of the various fertilizers 

 were used singly and in combination would be very instruc- 

 tive. The summary of the whole matter is given in Professor 

 Maynard's own language as follows: 



Summing up the results of these various experiments we 

 come to the conclusion that, of the nitrates, the sulphate of 

 ammonia gives the best results ; that of the potash and soda 



