April 9, 1904. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
313 
The Improvement of Garden Plants. 
My intention is to speak of improvements entirely from 
man’s point of view. If Nature made all plants perfect from 
her own point of view, man often exerts himself to remodify 
them for his own particular benefit. In tike first place, the 
man who undertakes the improvement of any plant or plants 
does so for his own advantage, and in the second place for 
all who will or can avail themselves of the said improvements. 
This is the philosophy of the subject; but we must admit that 
such a man is a benefactor to his race in proportion to the 
value of the improvements he has been able to- effect. After 
all, however, you will observe that man plays a part only of 
secondary importance to Nature in the making of these im¬ 
provements, because the most he can do is to guide or direct 
her in a direction contrary to her general tendency. Very 
often man does but avail himself of improvements or varia¬ 
tions (very frequently the latter) which arise naturally without 
his aid or intervention. Probably these facts will become 
apparent as I proceed, if they are not already obvious to you. 
Improvements are very varied in their nature, as are the 
plants to which they relate. It may be germane to the 
subject to distinguish between an improvement and a mere 
variation. Let us take the case of a> China Aster. A blue 
variety of a Paeony-tb/wered Aster might be regarded as an 
improvement upon something already in existence. If from 
seeds of this variety it were possible to raise red, rose, pink, 
and White varieties equal to the 1 original in size, form, and 
general quality, but differing only in colour, we would be justi¬ 
fied in regarding them merely as variations. On the other hand, 
if one were able to get a richer or finer blue, red, rose, or pink, 
or a purer white from the originals, then such varieties would 
be rightly named improvement's. Mere variations are often 
not worthy of perpetuation, and we generally discard them 
after getting decided improvements upon them. Several 
methods, according to convenience or possibility, are pursued 
in order to obtain improvements—namely, hybridisation, cross¬ 
breeding, -selection, and fixing of sports. 
The Chrysanthemum. 
By the Chrysanthemum I mean C. morifolium, better known 
as C. sinense. We may take it for granted, I think, that all 
the large-flowered forms in cultivation are developments upon 
a single species. What were the first- steps taken to- improve, 
the species it would now be difficult to say, a-s the Chinese 
had been growing several varieties long before any of them 
reached our.shores. It is all but certain, however, tha-t- the 
Chinese were either led to cultivate the -single wild form for 
whatever beauty it may have possessed, or that the accidental 
occurrence of a double form in the wild -state gave them the 
incentive to grokv it in their gardens. Under, cultivation, the 
changed conditions would induce the plant to vary, and the 
more -go if occasionally raised from -seed. The- natural cross¬ 
ing o-f allied varieties by insect agency was usually what hap¬ 
pened in the case of ancient cultures, before the value of arti¬ 
ficial fertilisation was recognised and adopted. In either case, 
th:s crossing gives rise to instability of character, either in the 
colour of the flowers, the size and vigour of the plant, or in 
all. Man then selects t-ho-se varieties which please him mo-st, 
and so the improvement continues. Whether -single or double 
varieties give most satisfaction is purely a matter of taste. 
For the benefit of the younger members, I may here explain 
what takes place when a Chrysanthemum becomes double. 
In the case of a large number of double flowers, they have 
become so by the development of stamens into petals, as in 
the case of a Rose or a Pelargonium. In other words, the 
number of petals has been increased at the -expense of the 
stamens. With the Chrysanthemum it is quite otherwise-. 
The bloom, so-called, of a Chrysanthemum consists of a large 
number of flowers crowded together in a head. The number 
of florets generally is largely increased in a b-ig bloom, but the 
number of petal® in a floret very rarely is, and even then is 
quite unimportant. W hat take® place is that each floret 
becomes greatly elongated and split down one side, so that we 
get a head of stra-p-shaped florets, as in Etoile de Lyon or 
Vi viand Morel. Sometimes the tube of the floret becomes 
greatly lengthened, when we get a head of tubular or quilled 
florets, as in Lilian Bird. We look upon these developments 
as improvements, -and feel proud of them. To the plant itself 
they are detrimental, inasmuch as they hinder fertilisation, 
the production- and maturing of seed-, for ‘which Nature in¬ 
tended them solely. 
Chrysanthemums are improved by me-ans, of cro-ss-fertilisa- 
tion, by seed-sowing, the selection of the best, the fixing of 
sports, and, I need hardly tell you. by good cultivation. Owing 
to the grea-t number and length -of the- florets- forming the 
blo-om of a modern Chrysanthemum, cross-fertilisation is diffi¬ 
cult to- accomplish in this country. Great quantities of seed 
.are grown in It-aly, the south of France, Algiers, America, and 
other countries possessing -a warm and dry climate. Under 
such conditions the- blooms do not get so large, -and are more 
open in the centre. Pollen is more abundantly produced, 
fertilisation more easily accomplished, and the seed has a 
better chance of reaching maturity. 
Though so many of these conditions are against us, yet the 
British gardener is able to surmount- the- difficulty. To obt ain 
pollen it is necessary to grow some -semi-double varieties, or 
starve some double ones to insure-small or possibly semi-double 
flowers. The latter method would be more likely to give the 
best results when the -seedlings come into blo-om. The pollen 
obtained may be shaken in amongst the florets o-f the variety 
intended for -seed-bearing; or, what is more economical, the 
florets may be shortened by means of scissors till the- stigmas 
of the female flowers can easily be seen and got at. The pollen 
may then be applied by means of a cam-e-l hair brush. The 
process may be repeated t-O' make sure- that a good proportion 
of the young fruits have taken. Some time -after this appears 
certain, the florets may further be shortened till t-h-e heads re¬ 
semble little balls or round heads. This operation -is m-e-relv 
a precaution to prevent the head® of seed from damping, which 
they are very liable t-o do, either in the centre, or more often 
at the -base -of the head. It is further necessary, during the 
months of October a-nd November, to- k-ee-p the atmosphere of 
the house in which the- plant® under treatment- are housed per¬ 
fectly dry, even if necessary, a-s it generally is-, to apply fire 
heat in our moist climate. The dry treatment -and an airy 
atmosphere must be maintained till the- -seeds are- harveste-d. 
(To be continued.') 
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enquiries may cover any branch of gardening. Questions should be 
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Address letters: The Editor, ‘‘The Gardening World.” 37 and 
38, Shoe Lane, London, E.C. 
Raffia for Layering Strawberries. 
Thank you very much for explaining in last, week’s Gardening 
W orld how the raffia was used for Strawberry layering, but I 
must say I do not think much of that way of doing it. My 
opinion is that it is waste of time and labour having to use a 
peg to press the raffia into the soil. I think it might- be used 
to hold the runner clown, and not have the raffia at all. I do 
not think I should recommend raffia for layering unless in want 
of a job. (Carnation.) 
In case you have mistaken our meaning, we may say that 
only one peg would be used for pushing the raffia into the soil. 
It would be of the nature of a dibber, and not having a hook 
upon it at all. The object of using raffia by anyone is as a sub¬ 
stitute for pegs, which might be difficult to get in some places. 
There must be some who are of opinion that it is effective and 
economic to use, otherwise there would be very few that would 
use it. W T e do not suppose it would be worth while using this 
method where pegs are to be readily obtained. Some people 
also object to bringing in a large number of stones to place one 
on each runner. 
