ANTIRRHINUMS AT WISLEY. 1920. 
357 
ANTIRRHINUMS AT WISLEY, 1920. 
Two HUNDRED AND THIRTY-THREE stocks of Antirrhinums were sent 
to Wisley for trial in 1920, including one lot of cuttings (No. 233). 
The seed was sown on March 8 to 11, and as soon as ready the seedlings 
were pricked out into boxes, this work being completed by the be- 
ginning of April. The boxes were kept in cold frames until May 12, 
when planting out commenced. All but the tall varieties were planted 
out during that week on well- drained soil which had been dug and 
lightened by the admixture of burnt refuse and decayed vegetable 
matter, the tall varieties being planted on May 19 and 20. From 
twenty-four to thirty plants of each variety were planted in a block, 
the dwarf or Tom-thumb varieties being one foot apart each way, 
the intermediate fifteen inches from row to row and zigzagged twelve 
inches apart in the rows, and the tall eighteen apart each way. All 
made excellent growth, and by the time they were in flower in mid- 
July the intermediate varieties had completely covered the ground and 
they provided for weeks a most attractive mass of blossom. The varie- 
ties had been grouped as far as possible in similar shades, which gave 
an excellent opportunity of comparing the merits of closely related 
stocks. The trial was examined at intervals by the Judging Committee, 
who took into consideration not only the beauty of the varieties 
judged, the quality of the spike and of the individual flower, but also 
the trueness of the stocks grown. In no case was a stock containing 
more than a very small percentage of rogues allowed to receive any 
commendation, and in recommending the higher awards importance 
was also attached to regularity of height, branching, colour of foliage, 
and the like, characters which make much difference in the value 
of these plants for bedding. 
Considering the great value of these plants for use in beds, borders, 
and for cutting, the long period through which, by removing old 
spikes, the plants may be kept in flower, and the fact that to produce 
them and grow them well to flower in summer calls for the use of 
practically no artificial heat, we may expect them to be grown much 
more in the future than they have been hitherto. Attention may 
perhaps here be directed also to their use as pot plants in cold green- 
houses. It is intended to grow, next year, a large number in this 
way at Wisley, in the hope that others may attempt it as a means 
of furnishing houses which it is now difficult to heat. 
In many cases the stocks sent in for trial were extraordinarily 
true to type, but in some there appears to be considerable 
difficulty in securing complete freedom from rogues, especially 
where the more delicate shades of pink are concerned and where 
that shade is imposed upon a yellow ground. The \'arious shades 
