December i 5 , imt. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER 
521 
MTV Shl l le J^ beTd ’ C ’ F • Hore - w - J - Jefferies, E. B. Lindsell, 
T tt r> aSt u rS V Rev - F - Page-Roberts, G. Paul, J. D. Pawle, Rev. 
A I \ t f bert A° I l; l G- W - Pi P er > A - P r >nce, W. Rurnsey, J. Sargant, 
E ‘ West ’ E ' R ' Whitwell, E. Wilkins Rev.’ 
Wollaston and " ' H ‘ Wllllams ’ i[on - Auditors, J. D. Pawle and F. T. 
tb„w reg c rd *?! th ° Provincial Exhibition of 1889 it was decided that 
J fI T° n ;J 5f : c :’ th f Rev - H - H - D’Ombraln, should be instructed to write 
to the officials of the Horticultural Society in Dublin with a view to 
i ng ic Exhibition in that city, and the opinion of the meeting was 
strongly in favour of such a course. A vote of thanks to the Chairman, 
proposed by Mr. G. Paul, and seconded by the Rev. A. Foster-Melliar, 
Drought the business to a conclusion, but a meeting of Secretaries of 
affiliated Societies was subsequently held to endeavour to arrange the 
aates ot the shows next year to avoid clashing as far as possible. 
At 6 p.m the annual dinner was held in the same Hotel, the Hon. 
anci Rev. J. T. Boscawen presiding, and there was a good attendence of. 
members. 
HYBRIDISING AND CROSS FERTILISATION. 
Society of American Florists held their third annual convention 
at Chicago on August 16th, 17th, and 18th of the present year, and it 
has been previously noted that the meeting was a very successful one 
A volume devoted to the full report of their proceedings on this occasion 
has recently come to hand, from which we extract the following as of 
general interest :— 6 
Mr. John Thorpe of New York, after a cordial welcome, read a paper 
as follows—This subject has from time to time during the present 
century been so elaborately treated by such men as Darwin, Muller, 
Delpim, Hildebrand, as Scientists, on one hand, and by Lain», Lemoine 
and Bennett, as practical men on the other, that I feel it is one 1 know 
scarcely anything about. My experience, though of ifiuch interest 
personally, is of such limited extent as to make me feel as though I have 
no right in the field ; yet, some of my labours, contracted as they have 
been, may be of some service to those who are desirous of becoming 
producers of new varieties of plants by hybridising and cross fertiliSa- 
tion, if made known. 
The term "hybrid ” has been so generally wrongfully used, it is well 
tor me to say that there are no hybrids except they are the offspring of 
different species, as, for example, a seedling raised from seed of the well- 
known Gen. Grant (Pelargonium) Geranium as one parent, and Master 
Christine as the other, would not be a hybrid, but simply the result of 
cross fertilisation. But if a seedling could be obtained from Gen. Grant 
and the Rose-scented Pelargonium graveolens, then we should have a 
true hybrid At the same time, we must not forget that many of the 
most interesting groups of plants now cultivated were originally hybrids 
e s P e . cles > ^is is notably so in the Tuberous Begonias. The foundation 
of this supurb class being boliviensis, Pearcei. Davisii, Octopetala, 
admitted by botanists to be species, but the varieties in these groups to¬ 
day can be no longer hybrids, through their having been crossed 
repeatedly with one another. It must be borne in mind, however, that 
there is yet to be seen the influence of the original parentage in the 
different groups. J) or instance, the yellow varieties still retain the 
marbled leaves and dwarf habit of Pearcei, the orange-scarlet has the 
long leaves and branching growth of boliviensis, the deep crimson has 
the hairy and thick leathery leaves of Davisii, and so through each 
group there is a sort of ear-mark not to be obliterated. The same 
applies to Pelargoniums, to Carnations, to Chrysanthemums, to Roses, 
and, indeed, to all cross-bred seedlings. 
Among the few plants I have been interested in and experimented 
with are the Zonal Pelargoniums, perpetual flowering Carnations, and 
Chrysanthemums. Of the former I have raised seedlings by cross 
fertilisation for nearly thirty years, and during that period I have had 
the pleasure of seeing them brought from comparative obscurity to the 
position they now occupy. The many colours to be found in them at 
this time nave been obtained one by one from a very few, as may be 
remembered by those who knew how. limited, not only the colours, but 
the varieties were at the lime above mentioned. 
I have found that to be successful in raising seedlings it is neeessary 
to have patience, perseverance, and good judgment—to lay down your 
standard of perfection and what is wished to be obtained, and then 
work for it. One of the first things is to secure a good set of plants 
possessing collectively the properties most desirable, then to mate them 
accordingly, being careful to prevent their being fertilised by 
insects or otherwise, so as to be sure of your own work being 
accomplished. The best time of the year to cross Pelargoniums I have 
found to be early in November, as at that season there are but few 
insects to interfere, the atmosphere is not as bouyant, consequently the 
pollen grains do not float in the air as they do during the summer 
months, so that there is a greater certainty of making the cross positive. 
1 s * nce making November the seed month the results are more 
satisfactory, for instead of having to raise thousands to get a dozen 
improvements, as where the breeding was done in summer, only a few 
hundred need now be raised. 
For some years I have not used any varieties as parents except mv 
own seedlings ; as I found by the constant bringing in of varieties raised 
by others, I frequently have broken up the characteristics I was anxious 
to perpetuate. This is entirely at variance with what has been written 
pn the subject of cross fertilisation where the introduction of new blood 
is always recommended as being absolutely necessary ; but we have 
only to consider how the best stocks of vegetables and flower seeds are 
preserved, and how tne best breeds of horses, cattle, and dogs are main¬ 
tained It is certainly not by introducing foreign blood ; on the con- 
aarj, i is )y keeping stocks of seeds, and families of animals, away 
from the influence of strangers. J 
Fhe cr ? s smg of varieties to obtain particular colours is another 
™ aUel '' vhlc r h , ll!ls bee , n °f great interest to me, as I have found as a 
iulc where I have used a scarlet variety as one parent and a white one 
as the other, the result has not been as satisfactory as where I have 
used parents the colour of which have not been so widely separated, as 
there are always variations in seedlings, many of which differ greatly 
rom either parent, [f a seedling shows any new character it is de- 
cidediy the best thing to keep it intact for at least two generations, 
and to breed it in-and-in so as to establish its peculiarities. This not 
only applies to Pelargoniums, but .to cross-bred plants generally. 
In raising seedling Carnations for winter flowering it will be neces¬ 
sary to use for parents such varieties as have the tendency to flower 
early, combined with a strong free habit of growth, as I find a large 
majority of the seedlings do not flower as early and prolifically as their 
parents, many of which will give but one crop of flowers in early sum¬ 
mer. these I find are also much easier to cross in the winter months 
than at any other season. As with Pelargoniums so with these : I would 
advise laying a foundation of your own, and using those for parents 
having the most desirable properties. 1 
How far nature yields to man’s influence is well pourtrayed in the 
Carnation. T\ hen this, by different raisers, was taken in hand to im¬ 
prove it, there were but few free-flowering varieties; there were 
scarcely any with long stems, and most of them had split calyx. In 
the early clays of Carnations there was no choice, now we can afford 
to be critical, and this in the short space of twenty years. I hope 
to live to see the Carnation as it will be twenty years from now. 
Artificial fertilisation of Chrysanthemums has not been carried out 
0 great extent until recently. It is an operation requiring 
•greater care in manipulation than either the Pelargonium or Carna¬ 
tion. select the variety you wish to be the seed parent (plants in 
fi 01 ^' 111011 pots P referred with one or two flowers on each), then, as 
the flowers open, with a pair of sharp scissors, cut off the petals so 
as to expose the styles at their base ; cover over with a piece of fine 
netting to prevent premature fertilisation. Select for your pollen, or 
male parent, one which has the desired properties you wish to combine ' 
with the seed parent, then as the pollen ripens apply it to the style 
with a fine camel's-hair brush or a fine feather. Chrysanthemum 
seed ripens m from three weeks to a month. 
The mechanical part of cross-breeding I need scarcely mention, 
except to say that it is important and absolutely neeessary to remove 
the stamens from all flowers before there is a possibility of their 
becoming self-fertilised, and to protect them from being crossed other 
than by the variety selected by the operator. The new varieties may 
be better than the older ones, if only from their having more vigour 
and stronger constitutions. 
(To be continued). 
THE LIVERPOOL HORTICULTURAL ASSOCIATION. 
It is questionable if greater number of horticulturists could be 
gathered together from the neighbourhood of any provincial town than 
assembled in Liverpool on Saturday evening the 10th inst The first 
annual gathering that the Society has had was a splendid success, and 
it is to be hoped that a social meeting of this description will be held 
yearly. Many less influential societies have their annual dinner, and 
Liverpool would do well to follow their example. It is only on such 
occasions that the members have an opportunity of meeting together 
mutually to strengthen that good feeling that should exist between the 
various branches of horticulture, and thus unmistakeably consolidate the 
institution. The Liverpool Horticultural Association was the outcome 
of a very small meeting held nearly nine years ago by Messrs. J. Bram- 
ham, W. Tunnington, W. Blomily, W. Mease, and TV. Bardney. It 
must be gratifying to them* as well as to all concerned, that the Associa- 
tion has made such great progress as to be financially and otherwise in. 
such a strong position. 
But turning to the proceedings of the evening, it must be stated 120 
persons attended. Fletcher Rogers, Esq., TVoodend, Grassendale, the 
Hon. Treasurer of the Society, took the chair, supported by Mr. White 
and Mr. Richardson, the Chairman and Ex-Chairman of the Association. 
After the Queen and Royal Family had been befittingly honoured the 
Chairman proposed the toast of the evening, “ The Liverpool Horticul¬ 
tural Association, to which Mr. \V hito very ably and suitably replied. 
A ext came “The Press,” to which Mr. W. Bardney responded. The 
toast of the “ Horticultural Trade ” was responded to by Mr. R. W. Kerr 
and Mr. T. Davies, the former unquestionably making the speech of the 
evening, ably urging the claims of the Association and appealing to the 
Chairman, Mr. Fletcher Rogers, who he said could, and he knew would, 
bring the Association before those ladies and gentlemen of the neigh¬ 
bourhood who had as yet not subscribed to the funds, to contribute one 
guinea or more and add it to their garden expenditure. The toast 
“ The Hon. Treasurer,” followed, to which Mr. Fletcher Rogers 
responded, and he bore testimony to the excellent manner in which the 
Society was managed, and he assured all present that the finances were 
conducted on as satisfactory a basis as those of any commercial business 
in the city. Mr. Richardson proposed the health of those who had so 
largely contributed to the dinner by giving plants, fruits, &c., to which 
