33^ 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 339. 



the two parents. On one plant it resembles the Shaffer ; on 

 the other it is more nearly intermediate, or nearer the Gregg. 

 In the darkest of them the color is much like that of a black- 

 cap just before it is fully ripe. 



Fontenay X Cuthbert (Rubus Idaaus x R. strigosus) : There 

 are five plants of this cross, four of which did not germinate 

 till the second spring after sowing the seed, and they are bear- 

 ing little or no fruit. Three resemble the Fontenay in charac- 

 ter of growth, one the Cuthbert, and one is intermediate. The 

 little fruit thus far produced shows no particular value. 



Shaffer X Cuthbert (Rubus neglectus x R. strigosus) : Thirty- 

 one plants of this cross are growing, combining the characters 

 of the two parents in various intermediate stages. The ma 

 jority seem to resemble the male parent in character of plant 

 and method of propagation. Of those which germinated the 

 first spring after sowing and are now fruiting well, some pro- 

 duce typical red Raspberry fruits as light as Cuthbert in color, 

 while others are dark like Shaffer. One in particular bears a 

 promising large, bright red berry, resembling Cuthbert in 

 shape and flavor. Another productive plant bears a medium- 

 sized dark berry, which has an unusually rich and agreeable 

 flavor. The greater number, however, have not produced 

 fruit to any extent the present season. 



Cuthbert x Shaffer (Rubus strigosus x R- neglectus) : 

 Three plants of this cross show various intermediate charac- 

 ters, but nothing of especial interest at present. 



Ada x Cuthbert (Rubus occidentalis x R. strigosus): Three 

 comparatively weak hybrids, the offspring of the above parent- 

 age, are growing, but none of them are yet bearing fruit. All 

 seem to resemble the male more than the female parent in 

 the character of the canes. As yet they show no indication as 

 to the manner in which they will propagate. 



The above are all crosses between different species, if we 

 recognize Rubus neglectus as a species. At least, the types 

 are different, whether we regard them as species or not. Of 

 crosses between varieties of the same species there are three 

 plants from Cuthbert pollenized with Turner, and seven 

 plants of Turner x Cuthbert. None of them are bearing suffi- 

 ciently to indicate their value, but they show the same general 

 law of intermediate gradations as the others. 



Perhaps the most interesting point in connection with these 

 results is the emphasis which they give to the value of breed- 

 ing for a purpose in the case of plants as well as of animals. 

 Horticulturists, more, perhaps, than any other class of people, 

 have depended chiefly on chance to aid them in their progress 

 toward an ideal excellence of the various fruits which they 

 cultivate, yet there is no necessity for this. The laws govern- 

 ing the reproduction of plants are no more intricate than those 

 governing the reproduction of animals, if, indeed, theyarenot 

 the same. There is nothing new in the discovery that plant- 

 crosses combine the characters of both parents in various de- 

 grees, and that nothing radically different need be expected, 

 but it needs constant repetition and enforcement. With this 

 principle in view, systematic, persistent effort to combine the 

 qualities desired ought soon to give us varieties quite in ad- 

 vance of the ones we now have. 



University of Nebraska. Fred IV. Card. 



Carinas. 



"VTOTING the improvements in Cannas several years ago, a 

 ■L ' friend of mine gave it as his opinion that we should soon 

 have varieties with flowers as large as those of the Gladiolus. 

 That stage was past when Madame Crozy was introduced, 

 some three years ago. This variety has been the standard by 

 which all subsequent varieties of its color have been judged. 

 When looking at a large bed containing some three hundred 

 plants of Madame Crozy recently at the University garden, 

 Cambridge, it was hard to imagine how this can be excelled. 

 The dwarf, erect, free-flowering habit of this variety, with its 

 large spikes of scarlet flowers, bring it close to absolute 

 perfection. 



Going to Claredon Hills, Boston, the home of Mr. James 

 Farquhar, I was astonished to see some of Crozy 's latest pro- 

 ductions, which, by special favor, Mr. Farquhar was allowed 

 to select while in France last summer, some of which exceed 

 even Madame Crozy in brilliancy of tone and finish. Most 

 meritorious among these are : 



Baron M. D. Hirsch : Flowers large, but brighter than the 

 type, with a very narrow, but clearly defined, yellow edge. 



Paola Radaelli : Deep crimson flowers and bright yellow 

 edge. 



Antoine Crozy : More erect flowers. 



C. H. Morlin : Large, compact, vermilion spike and hand- 

 some foliage, which give it great promise both as a bedder 

 and a pot-plant. 



James Farquhar : Flowers striped as well as bordered with 

 yellow. 



Van dem Berg : With considerably larger flowers than the 

 type, and of a lighter shade of scarlet, and a wide yellow mar- 

 gin. It is a strong dwarf grower. 



Among some of the Crozy seedlings raised at Claredon Hills 

 is one very bright and beautiful variety well adapted for bed- 

 ding. It is dwarf, and though the flowers are small, the 

 spikes are large and even, and last for a long time — a very 

 good recommendation. It has never been named, and Mr. 

 Macdonald, the foreman, said it had not been kept because it 

 was thought to be any better than Crozy, but because it was 

 different, and just as effective as a bedder. 



Among yellow varieties of recent introduction it is hard to 

 say which is at the head. Captain Suzzoni has large round- 

 petaled flowers, spotted with reddish brown, but does not 

 carry either so large or handsome a spike as Florence 

 Vaughan, the flowers of which are more densely and darkly 

 spotted. Following this is Mrs. Cowing, raised by A. H. 

 Fewkes, of Newton Highlands, Massachusetts, and recently 

 decorated with a silver medal by the Massachusetts Horticul- 

 tural Society. This carries an elegant spike of carmine 

 spotted flowers, each standing out well and evenly, and giving 

 a certain fullness of aspect often lacking in others. 



Monsieur Crozy's introductions for 1895 will include the 

 grand yellow Madame Montifiore, which is a very strong 

 grower. The spikes are large, erect and open. In general 

 form and color it resembles Captain Suzzoni, and may be de- 

 scribed as a great improvement on that variety. I could not 

 help observing how well Admiral Courbet, a fine canary-yel- 

 low bedder introduced several years ago, holds its own among 

 the newer introductions. 



While visiting among the growers I found every one in love 

 with J. D. Cabos, the comparatively new bronze-leaved variety 

 with salmon flowers. Admiral Aurellan, one of Crozy's for 

 1895, is several points ahead of this. The flowers, on compar- 

 ison, are larger and more regular in ouiline. Ingegnoile Fra- 

 telli is another handsome dark-leaved variety with buff-colored 

 flowers. General de Miribel is salmon, with green foliage, 

 and Secretary Nicholas clear brick-red. Charles Henderson, 

 so far as seen, has not come up to general expectation. The 

 spike is open, regular and erect, and the flowers, though not 

 extra large, are a very bright crimson. The general opinion 

 is that it does not come up to Alphonse Bouvier. What was 

 once considered a defect in this is now considered a recom- 

 mendation by many. The hanging spike, when half open, is 

 succeeded by a secondary one just above it, and considerably 

 enhancing its effective value. As far as I have seen, there is 

 nothing new in the way of Paul Marquant. Its dwarf, erect 

 habit and full spikes of satiny, salmon-red flowers should rec- 

 ommend it to all, and especially for winter blooming. Paul 

 Bruant has extra-large vermilion-colored flowers, but they do 

 not hold well, so that there are never many open at one time. 

 Egandale is promising, and apparently is better as a foliage- 

 plant than President Carnot. To the many admirers of this 

 lovely variety it will appear to be saying a good deal. 



Francois Crozy is a new green-leaved, salmon-tinted variety, 

 of which much was expected. It does not seem to hold its 

 color well. As the first flowers to open were very fine in tone, 

 I should like to hear from growers whether this color defect is 

 likely to be characteristic. 



Speaking about raising Cannas from seed, Mr. Macdonald 

 showed me a lot of self-sown seedlings scattered where the 

 bed had been last year, and particularly where a bunch of fifty 

 or so came up together on a spot where he had dropped a 

 handful of seed the previous autumn. From this one may 

 conclude that Canna seeds sown in a cold frame in the autumn 

 will come up the following spring. 



Wellesley, Mass. T. D. Hatfield. 



Violet Notes.— August is a critical month with Violets, for it 

 is now that the dreaded "spot" makes the greatest headway. 

 Some growers affirm that the disease is started at this season 

 by the hot sun glare on the plants while the leaves are wet 

 with dew, and they contend that if the sunshine is kept from 

 them until the foliage is dry that the "spot" can be warded 

 off. In my experience, however, plants have been quite as 

 badly diseased when grown where the early morning sun did 

 not strike them as those in the sunniest location possible. 

 Until this time our plants are clean, with the exception of some 

 old roots of the Cape Cod or Double Russian variety, wintered 

 in the open. It is too soon to be confident, however, and a 

 few days may bring quite a change. We make a point of 

 looking over our stock at least twice a week for signs of dis- 

 ease. All spotted leaves should be picked off, and badly 





