Mat 25, 1912. 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE, 



407 



distinguishable from the form (BM) pro- 

 duced by crossing the female B with the 

 male M. If these be crossed again, the 

 female MB with the male BM, the result 

 is all M (or niuricata) again. If^ on the 

 other hand, the male MB be crossed with 

 the female BM, the result is pure B (or 

 biennis). A few years ago, Mr. Bateson 

 observed, this would have seemed to us pure 

 mvstery but we now know that the male 

 and female germ-cells contain different fac- 

 tors. Not only is this the case where the 

 male and female are separate organisms, 

 but we can see in hermaphrodite plants 

 that the male and female cells carry diffe- 

 rent characters. The lecturer explained 

 this by the examples of petunias and stocks, 

 and showed why the latter bred only from 

 single plants, while in the former the double 

 plants also made pollen, which was em- 

 ployed in fertilisation to produce double 

 plants in the next generation. He con- 

 sidered this an extremely important field of 

 investigation. 



Proposed Honour to a. Great 



Gardener. — A committee has been 

 fornieil in France for the purpose of erect- 

 ing a statue to I^e Notre, who obtained 

 much fame as the designer of the Versailles 

 gardens. Le Notre's father and grand- 

 father were both gardeners of distinction, 

 but he was trained to be a painter, and only 

 took up the profession of his ancestors when 

 convinced by a philosophic friend that 

 Nature's irregularities were to be overcome. 

 On taking up his father's position in 1637 

 as gardener at the Tuileries, Le Notre 

 stated that his cho'ce was due to the fact 

 *^ that gardening gives exactly the same 

 opportunities as painting." He made rapid 

 progress in his new profession, and at the 

 age of twenty-seven received the appoint- 

 ment of Designer-in-Ch"ef of gardens to the 

 King. He designed many great gardens 

 in France, but his greatest achievement w^as 

 the creation of the gardens at Versailles. 

 In perpetuating the memory of Le Notre, 

 the horticulturists of 



are doing 



France _ 

 honour to a great gardener and evincing 

 judgment of a high order. 



Distribution of Oxydases in 



Primulas. — In a paper contributed by 

 Dr. F. Keeble and Dr. E. F. Armstrong to 

 a recent meeting of the Royal Society on the 

 cistribution of oxydases in the plant and 

 their role in the formation of pigment, it 

 was suggested that the methods of investi- 

 gation in general use do not admit of the 

 determination in detail of the distribution 

 of oxydases in the tissues of plants and 

 animals. Hence the hypothesis that pig- 

 n^ents are produced by the action of oxy- 

 <|Jises in colourless chromogens, though ren- 

 <^(erecl probable by recent researches, can- 

 not in the opinion of the authors, be re- 

 ■'■^>^fl ;)s established. Methods are now 

 j wliich allow of the macroscopic 



if microscopic recognition of plant oxy- 

 '^^es. By the application of these methods 

 Z'-:^ slinwn that in the Chinese primrose 

 '^"Hila sinensis) the distribution of oxy- 

 ^ '^^es m tlie tissues coincides with that of 

 ^•i^ pigments of the flower and other parts 

 the plant. Thus, the hypothesis with 

 •^pect to the role of oxydases in pigment- 

 pro^^^;^^^ I'^oeives confirmation. It is 



that P. sinensis contains two per- 

 <lases. M-bich differ from one another in 



reactions and in their 

 It is proved definitely that 

 !='muit white flowers contain a substance 



v!] "^^^^i"^^' ^^'t does not destroy, per- 

 ;"^se. Experiments with recessive white 



i;»nietical behaviour of which 



. tl 



lat tlu^y lack either peroxydase 



, show that they contain per- 



hroino^en 



t;,j,. ^---Jismuch as reoessiv** wli tesoon- 



inhibitor of oxvdase. failure to 



form pigment is to be attributed to lack 

 of chromogen. The distribution of peroxy- 



. ..^».ded 

 typical of that in flowering plants generally, 

 and the method appears to be capable of 

 wide application in the stud\^ of the distri- 

 bution of oxydases. 



Gardening in 

 teenth Century. 



the Seven- 



— A no r the r n co n - 

 temporary reminds us that La Quintinie, 

 the celebrated gardener to Louis XIV., 

 " did all tliat is accomplished to-day. Dur- 

 ing the month of December, 1GG9, he pro- 

 duced asparagus for the table of the King. 

 In the following January, he had raised 

 red radishes and lettuce, in ^March cauli- 

 flowers, peas in May, and melons by the 

 end of June, so the table of the French 

 King nearly two centuries and adialf ago 

 could compare favourably with the Royal 

 tables of to-day." Yes; but what about 

 our forced strawberries, roses^ and carna- 

 tions at Christmas, peas in April, and 

 French beans still earlier. There are other 

 things, also, to prove that gardening has 

 advanced materially since 1669, but they 

 are so obvious to those with open eyes and 

 a knowledge of the past, that there is no 

 need to particularise. 



Australian 



Fruit 



Export 



Trade.— The export of fruit from the 

 Australian Colonies continues to increase, 

 but there have been so many complaints 

 with regard to the financial results that the 

 Commonwealth Government have appointed 

 a Royal Commission to enquire into the 

 present position, and the prospects of the 

 export trade in fruit. The Commission 

 consists of seven members, and the Federal 

 Minister for Customs has very plainly 

 stated that there is to be no trip to this 

 country in connection with the investiga- 

 tions, and that the evidence to be taken 

 here will be on commission. There is no 

 difficulty in understanding the disappoint- 

 ment of the growers wdien they send con- 

 signments to this country, and receive re- 

 turns showing a loss on the transaction, 

 and the cause of the loss is readily under- 

 stood by those who are acquainted with 

 market conditions. On more than one 

 occasion the supplies have been in excess 

 of market requirements, and a considerable 

 quantity of fruit has come to hand in a 

 rather poor condition. For apples of high 

 quality there is invariably a good demand, 

 especially during the London season, and 

 Western Australian growers who have been 

 careful to market suitable fruit in the 

 best possible condition have obtained satis- 

 factory returns. 



Dwarf Forest of Southern 



California.— Among the sclerophyllous 

 woodlands recognised by Dr. Sohimper as 

 a feature of those regions situated m the 

 warm temperate zone where the rainfall 



coincides with winter is the chaparral, or 



An 



account of this formation by Mr. F. G.- 

 Plummer, indicates, we learn from Na- 

 ture," that it is a truly natural type, occur 

 rino' between the altitudes of sea-level and 

 8 000 feet and confined to the littoral dis- 

 trict from' Monterey to San Diego True 

 chaparral consists primarily of dwarf trees 

 ^^not shrubs— stunted by reason of an in- 

 sufficient rainfall. It is economically im- 

 portant as a ground cover for the water- 

 shed whence the water supply is obtained 

 for irrigation and municipal purposes. 

 About forty different species of trees are 

 combined in the formation ; the most de- 

 sirable are those which proiluce good shade, 

 are not inflammable and make vigorous 

 growth, such as Rhus laurina, Prunus ihci- 

 folia Heteromeles arbutifolia, and species 

 of Quercus ; less desirable, but dominant 

 are species of Adenosteoma and Ceanothus. 



dwarf forest of southern California. 



ATTRACTIVE FLOWER BEDS. 



In some gardens the same kinds of plants 

 are put out in the same positions year 

 after year^ and with good effect, too. For 

 a period ot more tlia.n ten years 1 had to bed 

 out about thirty thousand piaiits every 

 year, a large percentage of tliem occupy- 

 ing the same positions year after year, as 

 it was niy employer's wish. But I was free 

 to fill many beds as I thought best, and in 

 their case fresh arrangements were made 

 every year. 



For the benefit of those readers who are 

 inexperienced in the filling of flower beds, 

 1 will give a few hints on the subject. 



Sweet-scentod beds are generally much 

 appreciated in a garden, and more so when 

 plants with fragrant foliage are associated 

 with sweet-scented flowers. For a large 

 bed the following are suitable, namely: 

 Jasmine officinale, scented-leaved gera- 

 niums. Eucalyptus globulus, heliotrope, 

 Nicotiana affinis, scented-leaved verbenas 

 (Lippia citriodora), liliums, and clove car- 

 nations. The plants should be of various 

 sizes, some 3ft. high^ and not be over- 

 crowded. A distinct bordering is not 

 needed, the carnations sliould be planted 

 in groups nearest the edge of the bed, and 

 a few seeds of mignonette be also *sown 

 there. Such n bed will be a great souii c 

 pleasure throughout the season. Small 

 plants of the scented verbena put in rather 

 close together, and the shoots pegged down 

 so as to form a dense carpet six inches 

 high, or at most eight inches high, with 

 dot plants of heliotropium 3ft. apart all 

 oA'or the bed, will prove very attriu'tive. 

 The verbena may be cut back scv< ral x\mv^ 

 during the summer, when its young sJioots 

 will be very pleasing to the eye. The helio- 

 trope plants should be about 2ft. in height, 

 and those in the centre of the bed a few 

 inches higher. Another effective bed is 

 one planted with Lilium melpomene, 

 rubrum, and albiun; Nicotiana affinis, Zea 

 japonica, the caster-oil plant, Eucalyptus 

 globulus, and Plumbago capensis. If the 

 bed be a. large one, a bordering of Perdla 

 nankinensis would look well. Celosias and 

 Lilium album and L. melpomene form a 

 beautiful combination. 



Fuchsia President Grevy, Mith a ground- 

 work of blue violas, produces a charming 

 effect. The fuchsias should bo halt-stan- 

 dards or neat pyramids. Viola Blue Bell as 

 a groundwork.' with ivy-leaved pelargo- 

 nium Madame Crousse is very pleading, as 

 also is a. combination of Fuchsia Mrs. Mar- 

 shall and Madame do Bussey heliotropium. 

 Fuchsia fulgeus on a groundwork of Coleus 

 Verschaffelti. These three combinations, 

 respectively, are highly effective 



A pleasing effect in a l>ord(M- may be ob- 

 tained bv fiUing it Avith Zonal pelargonium 

 King of' Denmark, give phuits a distance 

 of 2ft. apart, with mignonette, and just 

 a few plants of the night-scented stock 

 (Mathiola bicornis) to fill up. The seeds 

 of the mignonette and stock should be 

 sown on the surface of the soil, and then 

 lightly raked in, after the pelargoniums 



are planted. . . 



In some gardens there are large imita- 

 tion baskets, about 9ft. long and 3ft. 

 wide, with handles of ivy four feet high. 

 The ivv is trained ever an iron rod. If 

 the ivy is well established it must^ be cut 

 before' anv plants are put in. The bed 

 should bo raised 2ft. high, with three 

 bands of stones to retain the soil in posi- 



The centre may be plantetl with 

 Zonal pelargonium Henry Jacoby, then 

 conies a band of CV^ntaurea candidissima, 

 and an outer one of gazanias. I feel sure 

 that those who have once tried this com- 

 bination of plants will wish to have it 

 many years in sucvession. ^ B. 



tion. 



