YOL. LV.— No. 3,077. 



SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1912 



THE 



GARDENERS 



MAGAZINE 



NOTE OF THE WEEK. 



4^ 



Horticultural Evolution. 



Some year or so back much interest was 

 evoked at one of our great chrysanthemum 



apples, pearSj plums, clierries, etc., hoc practically perfect, and lend themselves but 

 genus omne. In this connection^ interest little, if at all, to cultural improvement. In 

 would be further increased if some idea many cases, indeed, it may be argued that 



could be given of the apprixiniate date at 

 which what may properly be termed horti- 



when these 



cultural evolution began 



I.e., 



man s intervention has not led to improve- 

 ment at all, but has only succeeded in 

 destroying simple natural beauty, and re- 



shows by the concurrent exhibition, side by normal wild plants came under the influence placing it by substitutes of infinitely less 

 side with the finest specimens of the culti- of human selection. In this way, the rela- charm. 



vated forms, of the insignificant single wnld 

 species from which undoubtedly the whole 



tive rapidity in improvement cr develop- 

 ment by man, as compared with purely 



All this, however, is largely a 

 matter of taste, and it must not be for- 

 gotten that the selective florist is guided 



series of enormous and variously tinted natural selection would be clearly shown, by the fact that flowers are used for many- 



flowers had been produced by simple 

 and long-continued selection, and indepen- 

 wonderful contrast between the 

 small, daisy-like blooms of the 

 original wild progenitor and 

 those of its offspring brought 

 home to the spectators in the 

 most striking fashion the pos- 

 sibilities which lie within even 

 the simplest flower of being 

 developed by selection into not 

 merely a practical infinity of 

 forms, but these also of the 

 most varied and brilliant hues, 

 dent of any hybridisation. The 

 Such comparative exliibits, we 

 think, might well be extended in 



The begonias, for in- 

 would lend themselves 



scope, 

 stance 



equally well thereto, although 

 in their case it is true much of 

 the variety has been induced 

 by hybridisation, as more than 

 one species have been concerned 

 in their production. If, how- 

 ever, a prominent position were 

 awarded, for instance, to the 

 two small flowering species 

 which gave the start to the now 

 brilliant array of the tuberous 

 section, the contrast would be 

 immense, and to many pfHipIo 

 ^ eommoii origin w<iul<l a])pear 

 almost incredible. S<». to a hv^s 



rnanv otber 

 (^Miniph's (if liorl iciil- 



|»a( t n s 



I'\(Mi in fulmarv ve*.;;*'- 

 tables, tilt' oxliibit ion of a plant or l\\<t ol' 

 tl^e still conur.on coiistai \\(r<l Hia>-i'.:i 



oleaeea. 



extent, with the <lalil las. anil 

 of the most strikin 

 ^^iral triumphs, it 

 could bo 



tlii' ori!" inal 



showii . 



in ron jiin.'l ion 



conur.on cojim a i wi r< 

 , the wild <-aitlt;iLi;o. 



^ith some of tln^ Ixv^t typts ot l.h-^^. s, 

 ^russels sprnnts. <':inlill<)wei-s. kal* s, and 

 •^ohl rabi. wonhl ciM-tainlv onlianco tb 



Merest in i\u 

 such 



e in- 



■ 



roup. if. as is riHpiisittMn all 

 cas(\s, a j)lain ex [>la na lorv !U)ti((^ were 

 to accHimpany it. In short, a special exhi- 

 bition, announced as 1 



^vould, on the lines; indicate<.l, convey 

 0 a largo number a nnuss of instructive 

 "^^ormation on a subiec.^ wbich 



)ouig evoiUti 



nal 



a subject wnu-li at |)re>eni 

 «»ly grasprd bv a verv feu". Wil<l fruits 

 ^J^iW also be included and 



<^ontrast to tho fin er <!(n c'lopinent s of 



show n , 



bv 



particidarly in many of the later floral other purposes than merely gaiden decora- 

 developments — the begonias, for example, tion. Cut flowers, to wit, need unnaturally 



long stalks, and hence, as with 

 carnations, the natural dwarf 

 or even dense habit of its family 

 (the Dianthus) is sacrificed en- 

 tirely to meet the need afoie- 

 said, so that in this case the end 

 ustifies the means, even though 

 Nature be outraged. 



Mr. Walter Irving, who 



has charge of the collections of 



herbaceous and alpine plants at 



the Royal Gardens, Kew, is a 



well-known authoritv on what 

 are generally considered as 



hardy plants/' It is interest- 



ing to notice that garaeners 

 group plants in curious fashion, 

 and so hardy plants exclude 

 trees and shrubs, fruits, and 

 vegetables in the common lan- 

 guage of the garden. 

 Irving has about 7,000 species 

 of plants under his care, and 

 these are ptante^l in and around 

 the Herbaceous Ground and the 

 Itock Garden. His gardening 

 career commenced a t Easton 

 Park, near Wickham Market. 



Suffolk. wluMe bis father was 



Later on he gaintnl 



experience in several gar<lens 



■1 



Mr. 



GM446 



ME. WALTER IRVING. 



in wliicli til,, whole of the work covers but am| 



gardener. 



1 ho 



as t'a^hioTie<! 



a <lo( ;ulrs. tbonub that of the chry 

 tlieinuni <'f)\ers centiwies. Even centuries, 



h<t\viM (M'. aro insignificant periods as regards 

 natural >ole('tinn of the law material 



)v the select iv(^ action of the 



■ 



inject world, or othe^r uninttMligeiU aii;*Micie.s. 



other hand, how *ner, wo 

 to mar\ el at the iloral <levelopments 

 produced in so many (■a>cs i)y Nature alon;> 

 as ri\als e\en tu man's bt^st productions. 

 The rostv lias l)cen ccnverte<l by his ai<l 

 from simple llowi-rs to indescribably orna-le 



of the floral 



Old 



nur>eries 

 Windsor with 



including 



s t a \' 



at 



Sir 



Murrav. 



and some time 

 smith 



will 



e 



On tii( 

 fail 



cannot 



In- 



knowle<lge of 



ones ; 

 world 



but the rival quetvn 

 the lilv, is found in a wi'd state in 



its full beauty, and practically <lefies im- 

 pr() \ enit nl of it^ natural ( liai nu So with the 

 Lrloi iosas. dat nra^. la paiierias, and a host 

 of other niaL::nili<'ent flowers, which, though 



the outciuniMif purely nafiral >ele; tion, are w* rk. At tlte present moment ano 



a 



Charles 

 in the old Hamnuu- 

 nurseries of Messrs. Lee and 

 Son. Subvsequently Mr. Irving went to Bel- 

 voir Castle, where, under the 'ate Mr. 

 ^ram. be obtain€Kl a 

 hardy flowers and their use in gaiden 

 decoration. From Belvoir he came to Kew, 

 in 1890, and in 1893 he obtained li s present 

 position, succeeding the late Mr. D. Dewar. 



who went to tak<^ chariie of tin 

 Botanic Gardens. 



the Rock Garden at Kew is being re-made, 

 and in some measure re-mcdelled, although 

 the general idea of the dry bed of a IVie- 

 nean stream .still remains. Large portions 

 of the Rock (iarden havi' been entirely !e- 

 iiKult*. and grea t success has followe<l t lie 



ther 



( « lastiKW 

 \ n<ler Mr, Irving's care 



