SOMETHING ABOUT HIPPEASTRUMS. 



87 



It should be noted that the results I am recording were of crosses 

 between Hippeastrurus of the same species that we see at shows. But 

 many of the attempted crosses had no result ; that is, the ovules were 

 not fertilised, and the ovary perished. They behaved very much as if 

 the attempt had been made between two different genera, or as if no 

 fertilisation had been attempted. 



It is not easy to decide whether these 71 results were crosses at 

 all, for they did not show any sign of inheritance from the father's side. 

 The father's pollen may have simply stimulated the ovary and ovules into 

 action, without entering into composition with the materials of the 

 ovules. The ovules may in these cases have been mere bulbils, or carpel 

 buds. 



Hyacinth growers, it is said, scoop out the bottom of the mother bulb, 

 which process gives rise to the growth of small bulbils from the edges of 

 the cut scales. The bulbils when grown to the flowering stage usually 

 inherit the characteristics of the mother bulb. We have never been told, 

 however, whether any sports occur among these offspring bulbils of 

 Hyacinths. 



Orchid hybridisers have noted that in their crossings the result is not 

 infrequently identical with the mother flower. So not impossibly the 

 Hippeastrum crosses, which have resulted in the repetition of the mother's 

 characteristics, may, after all, have been what are called " false crosses." 



Of course, in those cases where any inheritance of the father's charac- 

 teristics has occurred, we must infer that the father's part has been duly 

 performed. In nineteen of my recorded cases the mother's influence 

 appeared to have been wiped out, as the flowers resembled the pollen- 

 bearer. 



I have never seen an ovary whose pistil had not been pollinated grow 

 into activity ; it always perishes, and in many cases it perishes in spite 

 of the pollination. 



When any variation occurs which does not suggest any influence of 

 the father, although the flower may not be identical with that of the 

 mother, the variation may possibly be the result of sport, such as might 

 occur from cuttings or seeds of any plant. So that it is next to impossible 

 to determine whether the variation resulted from the father's influence or 

 from some other cause unknown. 



In a comparatively few cases the cross has inherited the colour only of 

 the mother, while the form came from the father, or vice versa. 



I have obtained some bulbs of Eippeastrum equestre, which I believe 

 originally came from Barbados. 



The pollen of those that I have, which are rather difficult to flower, I 

 have often tried on the stigma of ordinary Hippeastrums, but without 

 result. This year, however, I succeeded in obtaining from this cross 

 seven apparently good seeds in an imperfectly developed pod. five of 

 which have germinated. 



In India I obtained some fine results from crosses with H. tquutn, 

 and bulbs obtained from these, when flowered, showed nnminfWHi 

 signs of features derived from that species. Their petals were not itnjped 

 or feathered, but of one colour with a central equestrian star. 



The stigmas of H. equestre and of Sprekeha are identical to look at, 



