September 23, 1893. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
61 
shorter growers, two feet is quite sufficient, or your 
«bed will be a long time before it presents a full 
appearance. Pegging down is done in the spring, 
and the routine to be followed is briefly this ;—Add 
a little manure to the soil, fork it over and clean 
from all weeds, then peg down the long shoots about 
six inches from the surface, and arrange them so as 
to cover the whole of the ground equally thick. 
Flowering growth will break from almost every eye 
throughout the length of these shoots. 
As pegged-down Roses seldom produce more than 
one crop, it is much best to remove the wood that 
has flowered, and cultivate the ground between the 
plants, thus throwing all of their strength into those 
shoots breaking from the base, and which should be 
encouraged to grow as strongly as possible, in order 
to produce good wood for pegging down the follow¬ 
ing spring, By treating these varieties thus, we 
get a tremendous crop of bloom ; fifty to upwards of 
a hundred from each plant. 
The dwarfer varieties only need ordinary treat¬ 
ment in the matter of mulching, pruning, etc , and if 
you have room it will be found much more effectual 
,to confine each bed to one variety. The Miniature 
■or Fairy Roses are most exquisite when planted in 
■beds ; but they need to be closer together than the 
•ordinary growers. 
Roses for Seaside Districts. 
TVe often see a few plants thriving well by the sea- 
;side, but if we take the trouble to look closer into 
-the matter we shall find that they are almost 
invariably protected on the south and south-west 
sides. Statistics prove that strong winds are more 
prevalent from this quarter than from any other, 
and as the wind possesses great force when coming 
off the water, it is absolutely necessary to afford 
some slight shelter to Roses. Not on account of 
any tenderness, because Roses are equally as hardy 
as the generality of plants cultivated by the sea, but 
for the reason that a very little wind will utterly ruin a 
crop of bloom, and also bruise and whip the young 
growth about very much. 
In the back gardens of many houses in Brighton, 
Eastbourne, and Hastings I have seen some really 
splendid Roses this summer. The plants were 
healthy, clean, and growing quite as robust as in the 
general run of country gardens. From this we see 
that Roses may be successfully cultivated by the 
sea, and if strong growers are chosen there should 
be little difficulty in having a fairly good return. 
Twelve good Teas would be Anna Ollivier, Mme. 
Lambard, Souvenir de S. A. Prince, Mme. de 
Tartas, Gloire de Dijon, Celene Forestier, Dr. Grill, 
Homere, Mme. Falcot, LTdeal, Mme. Hoste, and 
Marie van Houtte ; while the following are among 
the best hybrid perpetuals, and will make a distinct 
break in colour throughout. General Jacqueminot, 
Captain Christy, Abel Carriere, Dr. Baillon, Duke 
of Edinburgh, Earl of Dufferin, Prince C. de Rohan, 
Fisher Holmes, Mrs. John Laing, Mme. Gabrielle 
Luizet, Marchioness of Lome, and Ulrich Brunner. 
— Experience. 
- ^ - 
SELECTION IN ITS RELATION TO 
SEED GROWING. 
(Concluded from p. 39.) 
Plants from Northern grown seed produce more 
fruit but less seed ; so, too, is the seed less vigorous. 
Long Island seed will rarely test above sixty in ger¬ 
minating when fresh ; besides, nearly all Northern 
grown seed of this variety of Egg plant are small 
and shrunken, while that grown at the South is 
large and plump, and will invariably give a more 
satisfactory test of germination. As is the case 
with many other kinds of vegetables, the conditions 
that are favourable for the production of the fruit 
are unfavourable for the production of good samples 
of seed, and a yield satisfactory to the grower. 
A more familiar illustration of this principle may 
be seen in the history of the development of the 
Cabbage. Changes in form, through climatic 
influences, are shown to have been greater in this 
than with any other vegetable. In a wild state the 
parent of our cultivated forms of Cabbage has but 
few leaves, which are loosely arranged, but all that 
are necessary to protect the germ of the coming 
season's growth, which is to produce seed for the 
perpetuation of the species. When taken to a colder 
climate more protection becomes necessary. This 
is furnished by additional leaves, which are of a finer 
iexture and more compactly arranged. The results 
of this care are the solid heads of our present 
varieties of Cabbages. From two or three distinct 
types introduced from Holland early in this century 
a large number of varieties, more or less distinct, 
have been produced wholly by careful, and in many 
instances syste.natic, selection. To more clearly 
illustrate this principle, let us note some of the points 
in the development of forms, where the Cabbage is 
grown to the greatest perfection. Long Island is 
probably the most congenial home of the Cabbage to 
be found in this or any other country. Nowhere 
else is it so generally grown or of a better quality. 
And here is where the greatest number of truly 
distinct varieties have originated. There is pro¬ 
bably a greater variety of soil to be found in close 
proximity here than in any other part of our country. 
On the one side is a heavy but friable loam, capable 
of producing enormous crops. On the other side it 
is of a light, sandy character,'.vith but little recupera¬ 
tive strength. Intermediate is, in sections, a turfy 
and sandy loam, and beneath all is a gravelly sub¬ 
soil, a condition best suited for Cabbages. 
In most countries there are certain districts and 
some particular farms which are famous for the pro¬ 
duction of some special crop and where the same is 
extensively cultivated. In such localities there are 
usually to be found some men who are leaders in 
their principal industry; they are regarded as 
authorities and their advice is taken on ail matters 
that pertain to their calling. This is the case on 
Long Island in regard to Cabbage, where certain 
farmers possessing a remarkable degree of intelli¬ 
gence, and who are close observers and thinkers as 
well as workers, have made the growing of Cabbage 
a speciality. These men have made selection as a 
choice, in regard to form and habit, a study. They 
have chosen for a purpose, either as regards earliness 
or lateness, or for the development of a desired form. 
Persistent labour and watchful care in this direction 
have been the means of producing the best strains or 
varieties of Cabbage in cultivation. 
While variations of climate produce wonderful 
changes in vegetable form, it is a well-established 
fact that any vegetable grown in a given soil will 
assume a very different form when grown in either a 
heavier or lighter one. This has been shown in a 
remarkable degree with the Cabbage. A given 
variety grown for a long number of years on a heavy 
soil, with a liberal supply of plant food, proper care 
in growing the plants and in transplanting them, and 
constant cultivation until the crop is matured, will 
develop a type remarkable for size and vigour, with 
excellent keeping qualities, and be what is known as 
a late Flat Dutch or Drumhead Cabbage. On the 
other hand, take the same stock seed, grow it on a 
light, sandy soil, under the same climatic influences, 
with the same care in cultivation, always selecting 
with a view to earliness and solidity, and the result 
will be in the same number of years a variety of the 
same general form, but of smaller size and*' very 
much earlier. Again, a soil intermediate in charac¬ 
ter, from the same stock, during the same period, 
with the same care in selection, will give a variety 
intermediate in character as well as in period of 
growth. Under such conditions have been pro¬ 
duced .the several varieties introduced from Long 
Island. 
It is an established principle in agriculture that a 
sandy soil is favourable for an early growth, and a 
heavy soil for a continuous growth. Early and late, 
large and small varieties are not to be expected from 
the same soil and under the same conditions of 
growth, both natural and artificial. It must of 
necessity take a longer time to grow a head of 
Cabbage weighing twenty pounds than one half the 
size. I have thus far spoken of the development of 
the Cabbage by selection under natural conditions, 
but there are other methods employed by the 
specialists. These are of an artificial character and 
have been material helps in selection. When these 
specialists harvest their stock seed they examine 
each plant carefully before cutting it, and if the seed 
is of large size it is rejected, because they hold that 
such seeds will make leaves instead of heads. Be¬ 
sides that these men will not use seed until it is at 
least three years old ; for the same reason they will 
not use large seeds. This statement corroborates 
my assertion “ that the conditions favourable for the 
production of the fruit are unfavourable for the pro¬ 
duction of a good sample of seed.” I may, however, 
add that a handsome sample is not always a good 
sample, always excepting instances, as in the cereals, 
where the seed is the part consumed. 
af Science* 
Heredity in Piants.—In the course of his 
admirable paper on ” Pedigree or Grade Races in 
Horticulture,” at the Seedsmen’s Session, Chicago 
Exposition, M. Henri L. de Vilmorin, devoted a 
considerable time to heredity, what it is, its action, 
and how the latter can best be turned to account. 
Under the latter heading he said that plants being 
immovably fixed in the ground and consequently 
prevented from avoiding what was detrimental to 
their well-being, by way of compensation were 
endowed with the faculty of adapting themselves to 
a certain extent to varying or different conditions of 
soil and climate. Although heredity is the stronger 
characteristic in plants, variation does occur occa¬ 
sionally, and those variations can not only be seized 
upon by man, but magnified and made permanent by 
selection. 
Howto turn Heredity to the best Account.— 
The simplest process is to wait variation and then 
select the desirable forms. The work can be 
hastened by selecting seeds from plants already 
showing a tendency to vary. Some authorities 
advise the experimenter not to look for change in 
the first stage, but at the next to expect a consider¬ 
able amount of change from the type. But if this 
method is adhered to for some generations the 
danger is that the fixation of new forms would be 
rendered difficult by breeding continuity out of the 
new race. As soon as a good or a distinct variety 
makes its appearance, it should be at once selected 
with the view of fixing the variation. 
Reversion, and How to Counteract it.— 
Sometimes the fixation of a variety is easy, but in 
other cases it is difficult and uncertain. One of the 
easiest cases coming under his notice was that which 
occurred some years ago in the trial grounds at 
Verrieres. A single seedling with pure white double 
flowers made its appearance amongst a bed of plants 
having double purple flowers. The seed of this was 
saved separately, and the seedlings raised have ever 
since been true to character. 
Guarding against reversion,—Cases like the 
above are very exceptional, and new varieties that 
turn up amongst seedlings are very liable to revert to 
the original type. The object of the raiser should be 
to counterbalance this tendency by every means at 
his command. The best plan is to gather and sow 
the seeds of each variety separately. As the seedlings 
come into bloom, the rogues should be weeded out 
or marked while in bloom, to distinguish them. No 
half-and-half colours should be permitted, as the 
aim should be to effect a complete transmission of 
the desirable qualities sought to the race we desire to 
establish, and fix or render constant. Those varie¬ 
ties which exhibit the greatest constancy from year 
to year may be considered established. Some kinds, 
on the other hand, require careful selection and 
roguing for many years before they can be fi.xed with 
any degree of permanency. Fixity of character is 
of the greatest importance to garden and field plants, 
and this must be inbred in the same way as earliness 
and hardiness are in other plants. The safest and 
shortest way to this end is to breed only from single 
progenitors. 
Cnoss-bneeding.—In fixing a race, cross-breeding 
should never be attempted, as it gives rise to a great 
deal of variation, and makes the task of fixing a 
strain more difficult of accomplishment. On the 
other hand, cross-breeding affords the raiser the only 
means of uniting the good qualities of two parents, 
and of eliminating the bad ones. In a bed of seed¬ 
lings, whose parents were crossed, the bad qualities 
of both will often appear combined in certain of the 
seedlings, while others occasionally turn up inherit¬ 
ing the good properties only. This is the raiser’s 
opportunity, and he should not fail to profit by 
selecting the most perfect. This the author re¬ 
peatedly observed while making trials with cross¬ 
bred Wheats. 
A more serious difficulty,—Cross-bred Peas 
are often very difficult to fix, for the simple reason 
that the mixed characters often refuse to blend. 
They become unmixed upon the same plant, and even 
the same pod will often contain both green and white, 
or round and wrinkled seeds. Unity of character is 
therefore the main factor in the work of grade races 
or pedigree breeding. Too great a disparity in the 
character of the parents should .always be avoided, 
if anything permanent is desired, amongst plants 
that must be raised from seed annually. 
