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JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



plants, but are many generations behind the present type of garden 

 Hippeastrum in the beauty and form of the flowers. But we must 

 not overlook evidence which tells in another direction, for it is alleged 

 that these may be hybrids and not parthenogenic offspring. In favour 

 of this assumption is the fact that Mr, Chapman raised typical Hippe- 

 astrum rutilum at Wylam-on-Tyne, and he declares that he used Vallota 

 as the female parent and a garden Hippeastrum as the male. If no 

 mistake occurred in his case it is quite clear that the H. rutilum he 

 raised is a hybrid; and, if so, why not the H. rutilum raised by the 

 reverse cross? 



Personally, I have regarded tliese alleged Hippeastrum and Vallota 

 crosses raised on Hippeastrum as parthenogenic offspring, and con- 

 sider that these instances provide an interesting study of the associa- 

 tion of characters. But there are other instances of like nature which 

 have come under my notice among Amaryllids. Mr. John Hoog, of 

 Haarlem, some years back crossed the two most beautiful Hymeno- 

 callids, H. speciosa and H. amancaes, together; but, as the offspring 

 were " wretched things of no beauty or merit whatever," he destroyed 

 the whole batch. This I consider to be another similar case of asso- 

 ciation brought about in consequence of parthenogenic reproduction. 



We should therefore anticipate some retrogressive variation in 

 parthenogenic generations in any optimum type of flowering plant, 

 because this optimum stage has clearly been attained through succes- 

 sive generations of sexually perfect progenitors; but it by no means 

 follows that typical or depauperated individuals will produce partheno- 

 genic progeny showing regressive variation. I have experimented 

 with several typical Habranthi and Zephyranthes and produced several 

 generations of parthenogenic offspring similar in every respect to the 

 parents. But in these cases I was dealing with species which habitually 

 reproduce themselves from offsets with great facility and rapidity, and 

 the character of the perianth was constantly associated with non-sexual 

 methods of reproduction in these species. 



