4 04 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
February 27, 1892. 
The Fertilization of the Pansy. 
Having given this subject some little study, perhaps 
you will allow me space in your valuable paper for a 
few remarks. But before entering on the subject I 
would like to say a few words on what I think should 
be the aim of raisers when trying to produce new 
varieties. The first point should be to get robust 
health by selecting the most vigorous growers for the 
parent plants. We sometimes get very fine flowers 
with very delicate constitutions, which, although 
often useful in the hands of the skilled cultivator for 
competition, are very tantalizing to those who have 
not quite mastered the secret of growing Pansies to 
perfection, because they very' often either never at¬ 
tain health to grow a bloom worth looking at, or die 
off before they bloom—which is worse. 
Another thing we should aim at is to get something 
new in colour; we have nothing approaching to scar¬ 
let amongst our Pansies that I am aware of. It 
would be a very striking colour in a Pansy, and if 
once attained we might get many pleasing shades by 
crossing with flowers of colours likely to produce the 
desired effect. Every seedling Pansy should be kept 
for breeding purposes, whether it conforms to the 
florist's idea of what a Pansy should be or not, if it 
is anything like scarlet in colour, as it may be the 
means of hitting the mark some day. I see in 
Dobbie & Co.'s " Catalogue and Competitor's Guide" 
a reprint of an article from The Gardener's Chronicle, 
by Mr. Wm. Cuthbertson, on the fertilization of the 
Pansy, in which he quotes some remarks by Pro¬ 
fessor Herman Muller, on the reproductive organs of 
the wild Pansy. I have not paid much attention to 
the reproductive organs of the wild Pansy, having 
been much more devoted to the more advanced 
types, but it appears to me that Mr. Cuthbertson quite 
misapprehends the professor’s remarks on the self- 
fertilization of Viola arvensis. What I understand 
the professor to mean by stating that the stigma is 
curved inwards, is that instead of projecting out¬ 
wards, as it does in our modern Pansy, it is turned 
inwards toward the anthers, which enables them to 
shed their pollen directly on to the stigma without 
the aid of bees or any other insects. 
Fertilization by bees and other insects I have 
always understood to be what is termed chance 
fertilization, but in this age we do not want to leave 
that important operation to chance ; therefore it is 
necessary to take the pollen from the flower you wish 
to fertilize with and place it on the stigma of the one 
you wish to fertilize. It is a very simple operation 
only requiring a little practice to do it without injur¬ 
ing the stigma. When the pollen is—I will say for 
want of a better term—ripe, it falls into a semi¬ 
tubular formation in the lower petal, just under the 
pistil; but the pistil of our modern Pansy is so long 
that the stigma is projected so far out of reach of the 
falling pollen as almost to preclude the possibility of 
self-fertilization. I used a camel-hair brush for a 
number of years in fertilizing my Pansies; but I 
noticed that if the hairs of the brush touched the 
viscid matter in the cup-like formation of the stigma 
it adhered to the brush, and most if not all the 
pollen stuck to the brush also. 
For the last two seasons I have done the fertiliza¬ 
tion with the end of a pair of tweezers ; it is nearly 
as small as the point of a pencil. I just run the end 
of the tweezers against the newly-shed pollen, and 
the pollen adheres to it, so that if necessary I can 
carry it from one end of the garden to the other, if 
there is no wind, without the least danger of it falling 
off, and place it on the stigma of the flower I wish to 
fertilize with a greater amount of certainty than I 
could do it by any other method.— Veritas. 
National Carnation and Picotee Society 
(Southern Section). 
Simultaneously with “R. D.’s ” review of the third 
edition of Mr. Dodwell’s book upon the Carnation, 
with its supplementary chapter on the Yellow Ground, 
in your issue of the 13th inst., I received a circular 
from the secretary of the above society informing 
me of the purpose of the society to issue a “ Manual” 
which is to show how very simple are the conditions 
needed for the successful cultivation of tne Carnation, 
the mode of obtaining seed, etc., which said 
" Manual " is to be handed free to all subscribers of 
10s. annually, and at half-price to subscribers of 5s. 
Remembering wliat Mr. Horner, whose standing 
and judgment no intelligent florist will presume to 
question, wrote of Mr. Dodwell’s book on the issue 
of the first edition, viz., " No one need, and I think 
no one will, unless from extreme innocence of the 
existence of Mr. Dodwell’s book, attempt to traverse 
again the floral ground it covers. The history of 
the Carnation and Picotee could literally only be 
repeated, and its culture could not be more plainly 
and practically' set forth, while the important 
principles of improvement by seed are explained by 
one who has had a rare experience and a large 
success." I was forcibly impressed with the oft- 
repeated line, "how” a certain class of persons 
" step in where angels fear to tread." 
But I am also asked to subscribe, and I am told 
that "up to the present time the society has been 
crippled for want of funds." This is to me quite 
a new plea, I do not remember any such complaint 
being made during the leadership of Mr. Dcdwell. 
Nor is any such plea put forth by the Carnation 
and Picotee Union, or by the Midland Carnation 
and Picotic Society', whose headquarters are at 
Birmingham. This society has indeed just issued a 
list of prizes of £100 in value, an amount in excess 
of anything previously offered for the Carnation. 
But the distribution of the prizes alike in the 
"Union "and in the Midland Carnation Society is 
based upon a very' different principle to that of the 
southern section of the National. The competitors 
at the two former society's exhibitions are classified 
indeed, but it is by the easily understood and 
equitable rule of the number of blooms required, 
these being limited to the power of growers of rela¬ 
tively small stocks, and not by the absurd and 
anomalous rule as in the southern section, of an 
" open ” and “ amateurs’ " class, a rule which seems 
to be maintained to put prizes into the secretary’s 
pocket. Can any anomaly be more glaring than 
that Mr. Robert Sydenham should be confined to 
the " open ” class, whilst the secretary, a trained and 
professional gardener, is allowed to show as an 
"amateur"? So long as this unjust rule is 
continued the society is likely, I think, or at any 
rate deserves to remain " crippled for want of 
funds.” No Carnation Society save the southern 
section tolerates such a grossly partial arrangement 
—A Midland Florist. 
The Midland Counties Carnation and Picotee 
Society. 
The schedule of prizes for the 1892 exhibition, in 
August next, must be recognized as a most generous 
and comprehensive one, and cannot fail to attract 
the leading growers of the kingdom. Classes from 
1 to 10, are for blooms in stands, with seven liberal 
prizes in each class for our grand show Carnations and 
Picotees, as well as classes for the lovely Selfs and 
yellow grounds respectively'. Classes 10 to 26 are 
the single bloom classes. An exhibitor can show 
only one flower in a class, the true test of merit of 
the best kinds in each class will be brought out. 
Classses 27 and 28 are for exhibits of Border Carna¬ 
tions in 6 and 12 varieties from plants grown out of 
doors, and this is a step in the right direction. Class 
29 is for a bouquet of Carnations and Picotees, and 
class 30 for a spray of these blooms, and class 21 for 
plants in pots, but a smaller size pot for decoration 
work would have been preferable. Class 32 is for 
baskets of Carnation and Picotee blooms by lady 
competitors, with handsome Jewellery prizes ; and 
class 30 is for six bunches of distinct self Border 
Carnations, for which liberal prizes are given by Mr, 
W. Robinson. Messrs. Thompson give liberal prizes 
for blooms of their superb new varieties, Blushing 
Bride, C. H. Herbert, andA.W. Jones ; Mr. Charles 
Turner gives some special prizes for some of his fine 
new varieties'; and Messrs. Clibran also offer special 
prizes for some (of their new Carnations. Special 
Certificates will be given to Seedlings of acknow¬ 
ledged merit, and handsome Silver and Bronze Medals 
to deserving honorary exhibits connected with 
horticulture. The beautiful Botanic Gardens at 
Edgbaston will be the locale of the show, and the 
total value of the prizes and Medals offered amount 
to close on £100. It will thus be seen that the 
schedule is of a very representative character, and 
unparalleled in its generous encouragement to 
grov'ers of Carnations. 
♦ 
The Flow'er Trade of Scilly.— Large quanti¬ 
ties of Narcissus, Wallflowers, Anemones, and Mar : 
guerites are shipped by steamer from Scilly to 
markets in London, Liverpool, and the midland 
towns, and up to the present tipie fairly good prices 
have been realised. ' - . : * 
SOME DAFFODILS FOR 
EARLY WORK. 
It might be considered that any Daffodil which is 
showy and useful for outdoor work might with equal 
advantage be employed for early' forcing. Such is not 
the case, for many of them which are highly orna¬ 
mental in the open ground cease to be so when forced 
to flower before their natural season. The flowers are 
considerably smaller when urged into bloom bvmuch 
artificial heat, and this applies more particularly to 
those varieties which have thin and flimsy segments 
even at the best. Varieties with large flowers of good 
substance should be selected for early- forcing 
purposes, and the others, if desired for the sake of 
variety in the houses, should be allowed to come on 
gradually, under more natural conditions, and the 
results cannot fail to give more satisfaction. 
A well-proportioned flower of good substance is 
Narcissus obvallaris, which has proved highly 
suitable for very early work as is evidenced by the 
large quantities of it put upon the market at a very 
early period by the growers. The flowers are only 
of moderate size at the best, and when forced are 
smaller, but they stand well in the cut state by 
reason of their firmness, and the well-proportioned 
condition of all parts. There are two varieties 
which are likely to compete with the last named 
when they get plentiful and well disseminated 
amongst growers ; these are Ard Righ and Golden 
Spur, both having flowers of large size. The former 
has broad bright sulphur-coloured segements and 
a deep golden-yellow corona. Golden Spur has 
narrower and darker coloured segments with a 
wider mouthed golden-yellow Corona, and is often 
the larger flower of the two when both are grown 
side by side under the same conditions. 
A somewhat different type of flower is Henry 
Irving, which has the three outer segments very 
broad, ovate and overlapping one another ; they are 
sulphur-yellow as are the three inner and narrower 
ones. The large crown is of a golden-yellow, especi¬ 
ally round the edges where the hue is darker. This 
type approaches the bicolor type, which includes 
such fine things as N. bicolor Horsfieldi, Emperor 
and Empress. The latter are splendid varieties for 
pot work, but they must not be too hard forced other¬ 
wise they get drawn in the stems and foliage, with 
small and worthless flowers. The segments of N. b. 
Horsfieldi are very broad and imbricate, while their 
beauty is greatly supplemented by the massive white 
corona. This is even improved upon as far as size is 
concerned in the case of Empress. The segments of 
Emperor on the contrary are of a deep primrose-yel¬ 
low, while the corona is of a rich deep yellow. All 
the three have massive-looking flowers, but to be seen 
in their best condition they must be allowed to come 
on more naturally than the first-named group, and 
wdth little assistance from artificial heat till well into 
the spring. 
Some of the smaller kinds which submit to forcing 
are Princess Ida, a small Daffodil with white seg¬ 
ments and a pale lemon corona, and Stella, a variety 
of N. incomparabilis, with white flowers and long, 
narrow, spreading segments. Both are pretty and 
the last-named is highly ornamental when planted in 
beds or masses in the open ground, but both are seen 
to disadvantage when hard forced for early work on 
account of the smaller size and more flimsy nature of 
the flowers when so treated. Variety is also sought 
sometimes by forcing N. odorus and its variety N. o. 
rugulosus, which are sweet in their way, but do 
better later on. More use might be made of N. mo- 
nophyllus than is at present the case, for as it natu¬ 
rally flowers in autumn and winter, say from Novem¬ 
ber till February or March, no forcing is required. 
-- 
ODONTOGLOSSUM CRIS- 
PUM NOBILIUS. 
The varieties of O. crispum are now very numerous, 
and it might be said that it is difficult to find new 
ones worthy of distinctive varietal names. The variety 
under notice is sufficient, however, to dispel that 
notion. The bold character of the blotches and their 
rich colour are quite noteworthy. The sepals are 
oblong-elliptic, very broad, and white, but almost cov¬ 
ered with a large, irregularly shaped, chocolate brown 
blotch. The petals are also very broad, ovate, 
deeply toothed on the edges,' and pure white with 
one large and two small chocolate brown blotches 
about the centre. The lip is pure white with a large 
blotch in front of the yellow disc. A First-class 
Certificate was awarded it when exhibited on the 
9th inst., by Baron Schroder (gardener Mr. Ballafiv 
tiRg) ,Tbe Pell, Egham. ■ v - . 
