18 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
January 10. 1903. 
sentiment attached to their culture live amongst us. 
In tno other country in the world, perhaps, is the real 
love for flowers so widely disseminated among the 
populace. The people crowd into towns, where, un¬ 
happily, the gardens are all too frequently crowded out; 
nevertheless, no oity is better supplied with flowers, fruits, 
and vegetables all the year round. Even the pavement 
of Fleet Street, and the Strand) are made to blossom with the 
Rose, the Violet, the Narcissus, Chrysanthemum, and other 
flowers at mid-Kvinter. Our ports are all crowded with the 
choicest productions of di-stant countries. In the private 
establishment the gardener strives to furnish the home with 
its requirements, however modest. The aggregate result is 
that all these floral productions and creature comforts tend 
more and more to the refinement, betterment, and needs of 
modem civilisation. 
The increase and wider dissemination of a love for flowers, 
and the increase of population, makes it imperative that the 
whole nation should move forward!, and not. only supply the 
wants, but find new fields for the extension of the industry. 
The world is not yet fully explored, as past and recent intro¬ 
ductions have shown. Fresh fields have yet to be explored in 
distant and as yet difficultly accessible parts of the globe. Even 
should such a contingency arise that all parts of the. world 
have been fully explored, and no more new plants can be ex¬ 
pected, it still remains for the British gardener and his co¬ 
workers in every field of horticulture to startle the world with 
their creations. 
Whether for utility or beauty, many of the most .ancient of 
cultivated plants remain amongst the most serviceable to man¬ 
kind, so that from a human point of view they have neither 
become played out nor impaired by centuries of cultivation. 
The existence, in a really wild or aboriginal state, of such 
things as wheat, barley, oats, maize, tomato s, etc., is alto¬ 
gether unknotvn, or extremely doubtful. We may almost 
take it for granted) that they have so long existed under the 
fostering hand of man that they are no longer capable of shift¬ 
ing for themselves and competing with the more weedy vege¬ 
tation of the earth. Bananas, Pineapples, and the Sugar Cane 
have lost the power of reproduction by seeds 'in many cases. 
The most advanced Roses*, Chrysanthemum®, Begonias, Car¬ 
nations, Primulas, Auriculas, China Asters, Apples, Pears, 
Peaches, Peas, Cabbages, and other members of the Brassica 
tribe, and other cherished productions exist nowhere in a state 
of Nature, and would soon cease to be if left, to their own re¬ 
sources. 
Sweet Peas have acquired) an immense popularity within 
the last few years, more particularly in the United States of 
America, where they are grown by the acre. This has been 
brought about by the selection of individual varieties of merit 
and growing them separately. So long as we continued to 
grow Sweet Peas in mixture, the individual beauty of highly- 
refined forms and colours was partly, or more'often entirely, 
overlooked. I admit the beauty of S'sveet. Peas in mixture, 
but for the preservation of numerous varieties it is necessary 
to grow each sort separately, otherwise the stronger soon over¬ 
come and exterminate the weaker, which in cases may be the 
more beautiful. As cut flowers, distinct effects are obtained) by 
bunching- or arranging the colours separately. This led to a 
keener perception of the real beauty of refined types in self 
colours, or it may be in two distinct colours. Within recent 
years the size of the flower has been greatly increased, and 
this line of improvement continues unabated. 
In spite of all statements to the contrary, I am still inclined 
to doubt that much work in real or effective cross-breedino- i s 
accomplished. The operation is extremely difficult, owing to 
the fact that Sweet Peas are self-fertilising, and the pollen is 
shed long before the flower is really open. The latter has to 
be cut open while still quite young, in order to remove the 
stamens; and this is a tedious operation, with.very uncertain 
results. When artificial cross-fertilisation is attempted, each 
flower must be carefully guarded against the inroads of bees • 
otherwise pollen may be brought from inferior varieties, 'thus 
stultifying the labour of the operator. 
The splendid race of Begonias has been brought to its present 
state of perfection since the introduction of Begonia boliviensis 
in 1864, just thirty-eight years ago-. Six species .are more or 
less concerned in the parentage—namely, B. boliviensis, B. 
Pearcei, B. Veitchii, B. rosseflora, B. Davisii, and B. Clarkei. 
Most of these were freely hybridised with one another in the 
early days of their introduction, but latterly the chief improve¬ 
ments have been effected by the cross-breeding of highly im¬ 
proved types or varieties. For some years the forms most 
nearly allied to B. boliviensis, both single and double, main¬ 
tained the lead in popularity, or in numbers (to state it in 
another way). The fact of B. boliviensis being first in the 
field would account for this. It was characterised by long, 
narrow petals and narrow leaves; but for several years past 
it. has more or less entirely given way to B. Veitchii, with its 
broad! leaves and circular flotvers. The forms of this species, 
both, (single and double, now predominate in every collection of 
importance, as far as red, scarlet, crimson, and white flowers 
are concerned. Yellow, bronzy, and orange flowers owe their 
parentage largely to B. Pearcei, which is a yellow-flowered 
species. The silvery venation and bronzy markings of the 
leaves of the original are largely retained 1 in the progeny. The 
bronze and orange colours of the flowers were obtained by 
crossing (or, shall we say, hybridising) the yellows with scarlet 
or other dark varieties. B. Davisii -has given -rise to some 
beautiful miniature varieties like itself. The first three above 
mentioned are the most important, but particularly B. Veitchii 
and B. Pearcei. The rest, are unimportant. 
The modern race of tuberous Begonias has therefore been 
developed by hybridisation, cross-breeding, and selection. The 
whole race has been so. vastly improved that no- advantage 
would be gained by reverting to the originals for a fresh 
stimulus to further advancement. The species have now 
acquired a great amount of interest -amomgsr Begonia, lovers, 
but I fear that, all or most of them have been allowed to become 
extinct in cultivation. 
Our- best, must skilful, and successful raisers continue their 
labours by selecting the very best varieties to- s-ecure the 
desired results along any given line of improvement. Fine 
as the leading sorts are, many of the most successful raisers 
are of -opinion that tuberous Begonias are still very far from 
possible perfection. This class of flowers has never been ham¬ 
pered by any fixed rules or standard of perfection by the 
florist, and, we hope, never will be. Some raisers procure their 
seed not on-ly from the best varieties of any given type, but 
from the same in the highest state of cultivation. We think 
this is a needless expenditure of labour, time, and enemy, 
because the harvest of seed from -such magnificent bloom/ is 
very scanty indeed. We would recommend the procuring of 
p-ollen and seed from the best, varieties after they have become 
played out for the season in small pots .and in a" state of semi- 
starvation. Both seed and pollen would be more freely pro¬ 
duced under such conditions, just as in the- case of Chrysanthe¬ 
mums. If asked what the aim should be in further improve¬ 
ment, we should reply, " Finer form, substance, colour, neat¬ 
ness, and, above all, dwarf compact habit, with bold flowers on 
strong, upright stems that require no staking.” We fancy we 
hear someone say, “ All those things we have got; what more 
do we want? ” As to that, let us wait -the reply of the future. 
Meantime, let us all be diligent and vigilant. 
It is no idle tale, then, that all these are the creations of 
man, and that, the- finger-marks of his handiwork in the past 
may serve as .reminders that he may go forward, fortified in 
lus endeavour to bring the- dessert in. New creations still 
remain to be made by selection, cross-breeding, hybridisation 
and other means which fresh discoveries or -inventions may 
nmg to light in the near future. In these respects we believe 
the 'world is yet young, and earnest workers in the cause are 
still on the increase-. In our own particular capacity we take 
up a position as assistant- to our fellow-workers with intent to 
do our duty. 
