156 
THE LADIES’ MAGAZINE OF GARDENING. 
HYBRID FLOWERS. 
What are hybrid flowers, and how can they be raised ? I have a 
great deal of leisure on my hands, and I am very fond of my garden ; 
therefore, I should be delighted to be able to raise new varieties.—H. S. 
Leamington, 
April 1 6th, 1841. 
STAMENS AND PISTILS. 
It is well known that no seeds are fertile unless the pollen from 
the anthers falls upon the stigma; and hybrid flowers are those raised 
from seeds fertilized with pollen taken from another plant. As some 
of my readers may not know which are the anthers and the stigmas, I 
may refer them to jig. 46, in which the figure to the left shows a plant 
with its stamens and pistil complete; next two of different kinds, 
without either stamens or pistil; and lastly, the stamens and pistil only, 
without the other parts of the 
flower. The stamens consist of 
thread-like stalks, with a thicker 
part at the extremity, which is 
the anther. When it is wished 
to produce a hybrid, the anthers 
of the plant which is to produce 
the seed must be cut off before they burst to discharge their pollen. The 
anthers of the other plant must then be watched; and as soon as they 
burst, the pollen or powder which comes from them must be collected 
with the point of a dry camel-hair pencil, or in any other way, and put 
in a paper till wanted for use. The stigmas (that is, the tips of the pistil 
in the centre, which afterwards becomes the seed-vessel) must be 
watched; and as soon as they appear a little moist, the pollen should be 
applied with the camel-hair pencil. A very little will do. The stigmas 
become moist a few days after the flower has expanded; and the pollen 
should be applied to them in the morning, as the moisture dries with the 
heat of the sun, and when the stigma is dry it cannot suck up the pollen. 
The pollen will keep a long time; in some cases two or three years. The 
plant that is to bear the seed should be planted in good soil, and frequently 
watered; and a bit of thread should be tied round the stalk below 
the flower, to know which seed has been hybridised. The seed should be 
sown in pots as soon as it is ripe; and if at all tender, the pots should be 
kept under cover during winter. 
