THE GARDENING WORLD, 
233 
December 12, 1896. 
intractable. The yellow form, if lifted and potted 
up would produce lemon flowers, owing to the 
temporary check, but as soon as they recovered 
from that check it would go back to the old 
yellow type. Quilled Asters, again, had never yet 
yielded a cross or a sport. 
Isolation, continued Mr. Fife must bulk largely in 
the vocabulary of every seedsman. Thus Antir¬ 
rhinum Ytllow Queen had only been fixed after years 
of selection and isolation. 
The question of intercrossing presented some 
curious aspects. Thus the garden Turnip showed no 
inclination whatever to cross with any of the 
Cabbages, Kales, etc., although he had found when 
different varieties of Turnips were planted closely 
together the seedlings varied a good deal. Mr. Fife 
exhibited some samples of seedlings of Turnips 
possessing rather mixed characteristics. 
The more highly developed the plants were, the 
less tendency they had to produce seed, and the 
liwer germinating power that seed has. Fancy 
Pansies, for instance, of poor varieties produced 
plenty of seed, but the better forms were much shyer 
in seeding. The same thing might be said of Cocks¬ 
combs, and highly bred Cabbages were usually poor 
seeders. In fact, the cost of production was in 
inverse ratio to the quantity of seed produced. 
Mr. Fife concluded a very able and interesting 
lecture by remarking that plants lend themselves 
BERTONERILA MADAME DU TOICT. 
With the exception of Medinilla magnifica and a few 
other Melastomads, the Sonerilas and Bertolonias 
are amongst the most familiar genera of the order in 
gardens. The beautiful spots and markings, as well 
as the various green and olive tints of the leaves 
make them popular favourites in gardens, where 
they are reckoned amongst the most choice of stove 
fine foliage plants. The subject under notice is a 
hybrid between a Bertolonia and a Sonerila, so that 
by virtue of its bigeneric origin, the name Bertonerila 
has been derived from a combination of those of the 
two parents. B. Madame du Toict is one of a 
number of beautiful seedlings raised from this cross. 
In habit, size of the leaves, and general aspect, it is 
intermediate in character between the two genera 
which it represents. The leaves are oblong-ovate, 
olive-green, and thickly dotted with silvery-white 
markings all over the surface, but more or less run 
together in large blotches on either side of the mid¬ 
rib. These markings have been described as pearls 
ncased in emerald. The under surface of the leaves 
is of a lively rose-purple, and that together with their 
size shows the influence of Bertolonia, in which rose, 
pink and purple markings predominate, or in which 
the ground colour of the leaves may be wholly of 
that hue. 
Of the two well known genera Sonerila is the most 
Bertonerila Madame du Toict. 
SEED GROWING. 
The Rev. W. Wilks occupied the chair at the 
meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society on 
November ioth. The meeting was pretty fully 
attended, for the subject of seed growing, which was 
taken in hand by Mr. Robert Fife, and Mr. Long, 
was evidently a popular one. Papers were read by 
both these gentlemen. 
Mr. Fife. 
In his opening remarks Mr. Fife dealt with seed 
growing generally, and touched upon its importance 
to the people at large. There were, he said, two 
great industries—one by which the people are 
clo hed, and one by which they were fed. With the 
latter industry seed growing was closely connected, 
for ninety per cent, of our food material is the direct 
produce of seeds. It was a remarkable fact that 
seed growing as an occupation became more and 
more important as nations rise in the scale of refine¬ 
ment and civilisatic n, although it has been practised 
in all ages. It follows that the best flowers and 
vegetables can only be produced from the best seeds, 
and it is expected by the people at large that we 
should not only maintain the improvement in our 
modern races of flowers and vegetables, but surpass 
them. Hence the best methods must of necessity be 
adopted, He was aware that the sow and reap 
system was practised by some growers in order to 
easily cultivated and kept in a healthy condition. 
Bertolonia is generally more difficult; and the plants 
require to be kept under bell-glasses or in frames in 
the stove or propagating pit, according to the experi¬ 
ence of most cultivators, although a few can manage 
them without such protection. The subject under 
notice partakes largely of the hardy character of 
Sonerila, so that cultivators should succeed with it 
under ordinary stove conditions. The next improve¬ 
ment should be to get more of the lively and bright 
colour of the Bertolonias into the Bertonerilas. 
Bertonerila Madame du Toict was raised by Messrs. 
Linden, L’Horticulture Internationale, Parc Leopold, 
Brussels, who have enabled us here to give an illus¬ 
tration of it. 
-«*•- 
BAMBUSA FORTUNEI VARIEGATA. 
This is, we think, not half so much grown as it 
should be; for in very many establishments it is an 
unknown plant. A well-grown plant in a 4-in. pot 
makes one of the very best decorative plants we 
know of for either vase, table, or fireplace ; for the 
latter purpose we consider it unequalled. A really 
good plant in a 4-in. pot will measure from 10 in. to 
11 in. across. It is quite hardy, but when grown 
under glass it forms a much better looking subject, 
its colouration being cleaner and brighter.— W. B. G. 
place their seeds upon the market at a cheap rate, 
but he would remind his audience that low-priced 
seeds were not the cheapest. 
Selection played a most important part, in fixing 
any type or race. Theie were various ideas, con¬ 
tinued Mr. Fife, as to what selected seed really 
meant. Personally he maintained that such seeds 
should be the produce of plants picked out as seed 
bearers, from the produce of selected seeds. In the 
case of Beetroot, for instance, every shapely root 
was cut or notched with a knife to distinguish it from 
the coarser forms which were always discarded. 
Carrots were served in the same way, and 
Cabbages, Kales, Asters, etc., were all marked to 
denote the plants showing the highest quality. The 
practice of such a system meant time, labour, and 
incessant care. 
He would only touch on artificial fertilisation- 
This became necessary in the case of flowers that 
bloomed too early to be pollinated naturally. With 
regard to the question of reversion—it had seriously 
to be reckoned with, and as an American once said, 
"eternal vigilance is the price of safety.” Many 
things, however, will not come true from seed. Thus 
fancy Pansies can never be relied on, and where 
attempts have been made by cultivators, the beds of 
seedlings looked as if they had been carefully mixed. 
Calendulas, too, behaved strangely, and were most 
readily enough to improvement by the florist for our 
good but not for their own. 
Mr. Long. 
This gentleman confined himself to the subject of agri¬ 
cultural seeds, as the question was such a vast one and 
he could do morejusticetoit by simply taking a section 
such as this. In speaking of the kind of soil required 
he said that it was necessary to have a variety of soils 
ranging from that of a light to that of a heavy 
character. This, together with several kinds of 
manures were required in order to command success 
in dealing with each crop. The land must also be 
well cultivated, and cleanliness from weeds was of 
the first importance. 
The careful selection of roots and plants irom 
which stock seeds were to be produced must receive 
the closest attention, and he fully endorsed Mr. 
Fife’s statements concerning the value of consistent 
and careful selection. 
Isolation, although a most necessary precaution, 
was rather difficult to practise, as while it was easy 
enough to keep the bees and other insects away from 
small patches of any plant in flower by netting them 
over, it was obviously impossible to adopt this plan 
where acres were affected. It was needful to isolate 
varieties of sweet Turnip, or they would be sure to get 
mixed. The Queen and Purple Top were especially 
difficult to deal with in this respect. Brassica 
