PEOPAGATION. 



63 



in 1861 by the writer of these lines. The leaves ai-e 

 oblong-lanceolate, thick imd leathery in texture, 

 about eighteen inches long, and two inches across, 

 deep rich green above, paler below : peduncle standing 

 erect, deep red, beai-ing a large ovate-oblong spathe, 

 some three inches long and two inches broad, of a. 

 umfomi rich deep scarlet ; spadix cm-led, oi-ange- 

 scarlet. The spathes are very persistent, lasting in 

 full beauty some three or four months. 



In the varietj- Williamsii the spathe is pure white, 

 and the twisted spadix is lemon-colour. The variety 

 Sothsehildiaiiiim has a white spathe, spotted with 

 carmine. In the variety JJ'ardii the spathes ai-e much 

 enlarged, being upwards of six inches long and fom- 

 inches broad, of an intense deep crimson-scarlet; 

 whilst the form called maximum produces large 

 oblong-ovate and acuminate spathes, some nine 

 inches long and four broad, of a rich crimson-scarlet. 

 Summer months. Costa Eica. 



A. Veitehii. —There is no doubt that this is one 

 of the most extraordinaiy inti'oductions of modem 

 times ; petioles upwards of two feet long, the blade 

 of the leaf attaining a length of three feet or more, 

 whilst its width is about eight or nine inches. The 

 leaves are leathery in texture and transversely 

 waved, which gives them a bullate appeai-ance ; 

 ground-colour deep green, sufEused with a bronzy 

 hue. Columbia. 



A. Waluiewi. — Leaves cordate-acuminate, twelve 

 to eighteen inches long, and about eight inches 

 broad; deep olive-green, with a rich metallic hue 

 spread over the surface. Before they reach matu- 

 rity they are sufEused with a rich tinge of reddish- 

 crimson. Venezuela. 



A. Warocqutainim. — This is a remarkable and 

 liandsome species ; leaves some twenty' and even 

 thirty inches long, and only seven or eight inches 

 broad ; the ground-colour of the blade is of t rich, 

 bright, velvety-green, the midiib and primary veins 

 being nearly white. Xew Grenada. 



PEOPAaATION. 



By W. ■Watson. 



rHTEODUcriOJr. 



THE ait of multiplying plants by special methods, 

 more or less artificial, as well as by those 

 taught by nature, is one of the most important of 

 the branches into which horticulture is now divided. 

 Much has been done during the last twenty years to 

 swell very largely the demand for plants of all kinds, 

 both bv the immense increase in the niraiber of 

 those who practise horticultural pursuits either for 

 pleasure or profit, and by the tendency of scientific 

 inquiry into the laws of vegetable physiology and 



morphology, to add an additional interest to plants. 

 The effect of all this has been to render the art of 

 horticulture much more important as an industry 

 than it ever was before ; and especially to raise the 

 art of propagation and improvement of useful and 

 beautiful plants to a place of higher interest, and of 

 vastly augmented importance. Scientific inquiry 

 has been devoted more especially to the laws which 

 govern the principles of fertilisation and seed-bear- 

 ing among plants ; and a large amount of useful in- 

 formation, capable of being turned to good account 

 by the practical cultivator, has been evolved from 

 these inquii-ies. It is now possible for the hybridiser 

 and cross-breeder of plants to perform his work ac- 

 cording to known rules, which, if properly acted 

 upon, are almost certain to bring about the desired 

 result. Until the late Charles Darwin and other 

 eminent naturalists unravelled the mystery of flower 

 fertilisation, and laid bare the laws which govern 

 this particulai' function of plants, hybridisation was 

 a haphazard, empirical art, and the results of the 

 operator were governed by chance. He was to a 

 large extent working in the dark, and trusting to 

 luck for success. 



Propagation, apart from seed-raising, is still, and 

 must perforce remain, an' empirical art, for a know- 

 ledge of which we are compelled to look to the prac- 

 tical and skilful operator. We have, however, much 

 infoi-mation upon the most successful modes of mul- 

 tiplying plants by artificial means, and it is to the 

 elucidation of these that we intend to devote a large 

 proportion of the following chapters. 



Although it may not be really necessary to the 

 successful propagation of plants that the practi- 

 tioner should possess a knowledge of the physiology 

 of vegetable life, yet it must be evident that to 

 know something of those functions that ai-e called 

 into action by his operations, and of the laws which 

 govern to a large extent his work, would be of great 

 assistance to him, and would add largely to the in- 

 terest of his experiments. By it many failures 

 wovdd be avoided, because impossible things would 

 not be expected, as is too often the case when the 

 operator is ignorant in matters of this kind. The 

 right road to success would often reveal itself to him 

 who knew something of the laws that govern plants 

 under various conditions as regards their growth and 

 reproduction. "Writing over forty jeaxs ago, Dr. 

 Lindley said : " It is, I confess, surprising to me that 

 the real nature of the vital actions of plants, and of 

 the external forces by which they are regulated, 

 should be so frequently misapprehended, even among 

 writers upon horticulture ; and that ideas relating to 

 such matters should obtain among intelligent men in 

 the present state of what I may call horticultural 

 physiology." 



