254' 



REPORT ON THE 



stimulated by the capricious and unseasonable gleams of sun that we get in 

 some winters, and bursts into bloom at a time when " a frost, a killing frost," 

 is only too likely to damage the blossoms, or, if this does not happen, the 

 flowers are liable to be rotted with wet or snow. Of course this is, to some 

 extent, prevented by laying a Fir branch or other protection over the plant. 



The formation of a thick rootstock, of tubers, of fleshy roots, or of large 

 winter buds, may all be taken as indicative that the plant is thrifty enough 

 to lay by a provision for the future, and, moreover, that it adapts itself to 

 falling temperature and other untoward circumstances, and goes to rest. To 

 afford such rest in our uncertain climate is, as all gardeners know, occasionally a 

 difficult matter. In my own experience, which, if personally small, is vicariously 

 large, I find much virtue in a covering of Fern, straw, or a Fir branch. 



The foregoing remarks apply to plants growing in the open air, or with 

 no other protection than a cold frame in winter. Under glass the require- 

 ments are somewhat different, and the conditions likewise. The plant is 

 grown for some special purpose, and the gardener considers not so much the 

 natural " habit " of the plant under normal circumstances, and the way in 

 which he may promote its welfare, as the manner in which he can induce it to 

 adapt itself to his requirements, and the conditions he offers. He may even 

 find it requisite or advantageous to invert the natural course of things — to 

 force when the plant, left to itself, would go to rest, to check growth when 

 the natural tendency would be to progress. For instance, the formation of 

 the Cyclamen tuber is an indication that the plant, under natural circum- 

 stances, has a season of rest ; and before Cyclamen culture had reached such 

 a pitch of perfection as it has now attained, growers were wont to give the 

 tubers an enforced rest by drying them off. Now, that practice is quite 

 reversed ; and that such an amount of rest as the old growers gave the plant 

 is not necessary under artificial conditions is shown by the fact that the 

 foliage of the Cyclamen is persistent, and no deficiency of food to sustain this 

 prolonged season of growth is to be feared, for food the gardener can give 

 freely and at times when Nature herself might close her stores. This justifies 

 the treatment of the Cyclamen as if it were a bulb with evergreen foliage. 



Servile imitation of Nature— such imitation, that is, as we can compass ! — 

 is, to say the least, not very much better than mechanical routine. The 

 wisdom of the gardener is shown first in his knowledge of plants and their 

 ways, and next in the skill and judgment which he brings to bear in inducing 

 or helping the plant to adapt itself to unnatural conditions, and to the 

 fulfilment of artificial requirements. Whether from the point of view of the 

 physiologist, or from that of the cultivator, a thorough study of the life-history 

 of plants is absolutely essential to complete success. It is not given to any 

 to reach the highest standard, but it is a satisfaction to know that every step 

 in the way is a real gain — a link in the chain of true progress — a progress 

 which, at least as far as the community at large is concerned, knows no 

 counter-march.* 



The Chairman : There are one or two questions that have 

 cropped up in talking to friends about the culture of the Prim- 



* The publication of MM. Van Tieghem and Douliot's paper on the " Anatomy of 

 Primroses," in the Annates des Sciences, July, 1886, vii. ser., vol. 3, p. 292, may lead to 

 inferences of value to the cultivator. In that paper the authors detail the varied 

 anatomical structure and mode of growth of the species of Primula.revealiug differences of 

 structure which are probably co-related with differences of growth. (See p. 273.)— M. T. M. 



