May 14, 1898. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
587 
and occupies the centre of the flower. This also 
consists of parts which are often united, and corres¬ 
pond in number with the other parts of the flower, 
unless there is a suppression of parts. 
One point more before we leave the essential 
organs of the plant, and that is, it is most important 
that a gardener should have a knowledge of the 
sexuality of plants. When a flower has both 
stamens and pistil it is called hermaphrodite; when, 
on the other hand, stamens only exist it is called 
staminate ; if a pistil only it is pistilate. When 
both the organs are carried by one plant but in 
separate flowers, the plant is called monoecious; 
when they are borne on different plants the latter 
are called dioecious, that is to say, plants which 
carry only one sexual organ. 
Well, then, I maintain this to be very important in 
connection with fruit growing and seed saving to 
have a knowledge of these things; because, if a man 
wants either fruit or seed, the pollen from the 
stamens must be brought into contact with the 
pistil. If the flower contains only one sex it is 
necessary to see that the flower becomes properly 
fertilised; and if the plant should be dioecious 
greater care will have to be bestowed. 
Amongst professional men many a good crop is 
lost of Cucumbers, Melons, Vegetable Marrows, &c., 
through the picking off of the male blossom before 
the pollen is ripe. These flowers are quite as essen¬ 
tial as the female flower, with the fruit attached 
to it. 
Another great advantage we get here through a 
knowledge of botany is that the male blossoms do 
not punish a plant or in any way retard its free bear¬ 
ing ; because, as soon as the pollen is ripe, the func¬ 
tions of a male flower are performed, no matter how 
long it may remain on the plant afterwards. In the 
case of the female quite a different nature of things 
exists. If a female blossom is allowed to remain 
upon a blooming plant, when the seeds are com¬ 
mencing to swell, these are absorbing the very life 
of the plant, because if seed is allowed to ripen the 
plant has attained the end of reproducing itself for 
which it came into being. 
I shall say nothing upon fertilisation except it be 
that of the Fern, in which quite a different state of 
things happens from flowering plants. The spores, 
as you know, are usually borne upon the back of the 
frond. When the spores are sown under favourable 
conditions and germinate a little flattened body is 
developed, known as the prothallus ; and it is upon 
this little flat body that the organs equal to stamens 
and pistil are developed, and are called antheridia 
(male organs), and archegonia (female organs). 
After these little organs reach maturity the arche- 
gonium becomes fertilised, and the future plant com¬ 
mences to grow from this very spot. 
Here cross-fertilisation becomes a tedious business. 
How is it to be accomplished ? Well, I believe in 
the principal of sowing two or more distinct 
varieties or species of spores in the same pan, and 
by so doing there is a possibility of cross-fertilisation 
taking place, through the movement of small insects, 
or probably by the air. Here again, I claim that a 
knowledge of botany will help a gardener, 
Now, briefly, a few words-upon classification. The 
sub-kingdom of flowering plants is divided into two 
classes as we have already seen, dicotyledons and 
monocotyledons. These are again divided up into 
sub-classes. The dicotyledons contain four sub¬ 
classes, the monocotyledons contain two, and the 
acotyledons two. These sub-classes are again 
divided up into orders, orders into genera, genera 
into species. 
The four sub-classes of the dicotyledons are very 
easily distinguished from each other. Thalamiflorae 
have the stamens situated on the thalamus ; and as 
we saw just now the stamens are hypogynous. The 
second is the Calyciflorae, which have the stamens 
situated on the calyx and are called perigynous, 
which means around the ovary. The Corolliflorae 
have stamens usually united to the petals; the 
Monochlamydeae have flowers with the calyx only. 
In monocotyledons there are two sub-classes, 
namely, the Petaloideae, and Glumiferae. The 
Petaloideae include Orchids, Lilies, and Tulips; and 
all flowers with a coloured perianth belong to this 
class. Glumiferae include our cereals, grasses, etc. 
Acotolydons are divided into two. sub-classes, 
namely, Acrogenae, and Thallogenae. The first are 
plants with a distinct, stem such as Ferns and 
Mosses, whilst the latter have qo distinct stem and 
leaves. They include lichens, Mushrooms, and 
other fungi. 
Therefore, before we can determine the name of 
a plant, we have to know its class, sub-class, order, 
genus, and species. In calling a plant by its name 
we mention the genus and species. This subject of 
nomenclature is of great importance to the gardener, 
and one which would take some space to treat it as 
it should be. I hope I have made it plain that 
botany is a help to gardening. Another thing I will 
also say without fear of contradiction, that there is 
no man nor class of men by whom botany can be 
acquired so easily and thoroughly as by the gardener ; 
because not only has he the theoretical part of 
the science, but also the practical part to deal with 
in the cultivation and management of plants. All 
the different aspects of plant life come before him, so 
by a little observation the practical gardener can 
become a professional botanist. Wherefore, let us 
do our best to attain a thorough knowledge of the 
profession (gardening), and nothing will help us 
onward to this goal better than a knowledge of 
botany. 
This occupation of ours is almost I may say 
hereditary; it has come down to us all through the 
ages from our first parents. It was the art — ah ! and 
the science—which first engaged the attention of 
man, and it will engage bis attention to the end. We 
find also further down in history that the cultivation 
of gardens followed very closely upon civilisation ; 
wherever a nation sprang up gardening was a pro¬ 
minent art. The Romans in all their conquests 
throughout the world never forgot to forward the 
cultivation of vegetables and other plants. Sir 
William Temple says, “ Gardening has been the 
common favourite of public and private men, a 
pleasure of the greatest, and a care of the meanest; 
and, indeed, an employment and a possession for 
which no man is too high and none too low." 
Do not for a moment think, although the pro¬ 
fession of gardening has come down through so 
many centuries, that the whole field of plant im¬ 
provement has been traversed, nor that there is little 
more to be achieved. Nay, far from it; there is a 
vast field ahead of us, where much remains to be 
done in the cultivation and improvement of plants. 
Therefore, let us do our part in this great work, for 
there are rich blessings yet to be attained which 
providence has ordained for industry. — R. Hodder. 
■ »I «- 
MORLAND NURSERY, SOUTH 
NORWOOD. 
When Mr. F. C. Bause first set up his establish¬ 
ment at Portland Road, South Norwood, in the year 
1884, he had already acquired great renown as a 
cultivator and hybridiser of Caladiums, Crotons, 
Dracaenas, and other fine foliage plants. These were 
taken up with renewed vigour in the Morland Nur¬ 
sery, with the result that numbers of fine things own 
this place as their home—the spot where they first 
found the light. Since the comparatively early 
death of Mr, F. C. Bause, at the age of fifty-six, in 
October, 1895, the business has been carried on by 
the eldest son, Mr. C. F. Bause, aided by his 
brother-in-law, Mr. Luther, and the usefulness and 
fame of the nursery has in no way decreased. 
There are in all some seventeen glasshouses, all of 
them roomy, well appointed, and well stocked with 
superb collections of the various plants that are 
taken up. 
Of Crotons it has never fallen to our lot to see a 
finer batch, for the richly-coloured foliage was such 
that is very seldom seen so early in the year, even on 
good plants. The collection is an exceedingly rich 
one, for it includes nearly a hundred varieties, 
amongst which we find a wonderful variety of 
colour, size, and shape of leaf. The rough distinc¬ 
tion between broad-leaved and narrow-leaved forms 
has been broken down, for a number of intermediate 
ones have been raised. The older sorts, such 
as C. evansianus, C. Weismanni, and C. Queen 
Victoria, are not made a specialty of ; they are left 
to the market growers, and the whole of the energy 
is applied to the care of the choicer and newer 
varieties. Of these Golden Ring is certainly one of 
the finest Crotons that was ever sent out. As a 
decorative plant there are no Crotons to beat it, its 
long, arching, green and gold leaves of medium 
width, with their gracefully undulated margins, being 
as suitable-for dinner-table decoration as they are 
imposing in the warm conservatory or stove. Baron 
Alphonse de Rothschild is the name given to a new 
broad-leaved variety whose leaves exhibit a rich 
shade of orange-red, flushed with green. This 
variety received the Gold Medal at Paris two years 
ago, and is specially to be recommended on account 
of the fact that the leaves assume their characteristic 
colouring at a very early stage, which cannot be 
said of many other Crotons, and of none to the same 
degree as of this one. Madame Baillon is a new 
French variety that is thought well of. The leaves 
are broad, the colours being green and gold, with 
rose petioles. 
One large house contained an especially fine lot of 
plants amongst others of such handsome varieties as 
Prince of Wales, Princess of Wales, Aigburth Gem, 
Reedi, Flambeau, Flamingo, Magnificent, and Albert 
Truffaut. Here they were in all sizes from the 
lately-struck cutting to the noble plant in an 8-in. 
pot—something to suit all buyers, both big and 
little. 
To keep up such a big stock of plants entails a 
great deal of labour, and we were informed that 
cuttings are taken whenever they can be obtained, 
although spring cuttings are favoured as they strike 
quicker and make better plants, 
Dracaenas are grown in even larger numbers than 
the Crotons, and they are in equally as good con¬ 
dition. There we saw D. pendula, one of the first 
plants sent out by Mr. Bause, and one that for a 
number of years has proved itself well worthy of all 
the commendations lavished upon it from time to 
time. For general purposes, however, it must now 
take a second place to Lord Wolseley, also a dark 
variety, but with rather narrower and less pendulous 
leaves, and more pyramidal habit. This variety 
makes a capital table plant, and being a remarkably 
good doer should find a place in all collections of 
stove plants. Mr. Bause has a magnificent stock of 
this Dracaena, and some particularly fine specimens 
in 7-in. pots were eloquent witnesses of capable 
management and careful cultivation. 
Princess Charles of Denmark is a new variety of 
considerable merit that originated from a batch of 
seedlings. It is a noteworthy addition to the D. termi- 
nalis type. The narrow leaves, however, have a 
gracefully-arching tendency, and the whole plant is 
very elegant in appearance. The colour is dark 
olive green with a carmine-red margin of variable 
width. D. Alexander Laing is another handsome 
narrow-leaved variety of high decorative quality. 
There again we have a carmine margin to the olive- 
green leaves. It makes very useful stuff in 48-sized 
pots. 
Other well-known forms, such as D. goldieana, D. 
Lindenii, and D. Exquisite, are grown in some 
quantity, whilst the very distinct D. godseffiana, and 
the prettily variegated D. sanderiana are likewise 
well looked after. D. Laingii is one of the hand¬ 
somest of the very narrow leaved section. It has 
slightly broader leaves than the graceful D. 
Doucetii, and the colours are much the same, 
green and white, although in D. Laingii there is the 
addition of a pink plush to the middle of the leaf. 
Of green-leaved varieties the only one that is grownis 
D. Danalli. We noticed a grand batch of this in 
an old house that was on the place when Mr. Bause 
went, but which before that date had been used as a 
vinery. 
Palms are grown in great numbers, but they are 
chiefly of such forms as find a ready market. The 
two Kentias, K. belmoreana, and K. fosteriana find 
a place near the top of the list, for they are 
favourites everywhere. The same may be said of 
the elegant but more delicate Cocos weddeliana. 
These are to be seen in all sizes from the seedling, 
with only two or three small leaves, up to Doble plants 
in 7 in. and 8 in. pots, several houses being entirely 
filled with them. Geonoma gracilis is also grown to 
an unusual extent, and we were practically pleased 
with the fine batches of various-sized plants that 
were to be seen. We have never before seen so 
many plants of this pretty Palm collected in one 
place. Phoenix rupicola is another favourite, in¬ 
deed it probably commands a more ready sale than any 
other of its congeners, which is not surprising when 
we consider its beauty and tractability. 
Amongst miscellaneous foliage plants which are 
deserving of increased attention from the gardener 
we may mention Leea amabilis splendens, with its 
singularly handsome olive-green leaves with white 
midribs and veins. This plant is rather tender, and 
