906 
the gardening world 
November 12, 1904. 
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 
Plant Breeding. 
To the Editor of The Gardening World. 
Sir,—Many able article® have from time to time appeared 
in “The Views and Reviews” column of The Gardening 
World, all of which werei interesting and educative; but to 
my mind none more soi than the article on the above subject. 
“Plant. Breeding” to th© professional gardener must ever be 
an entrancing subject. 
The chief drawback to plant breeding in private practice 
is the difficulty in saving the plants when in flower from the 
hands of the flower gatherer just at that period when, crossing 
is possible. 
The next difficulty I find is the obtaining fertile seeds'from 
hybrid-annuals. Though Max Leichtlin held that hybridity 
does not always cause sterility, yet my experience! so far is 
that crosses between varieties of the same genus are very often 
sterile. 
I have crossed Nieotiana, purpurea, with N. sylvestris and 
obtained a few pods of fertile seeds, but the plants from this 
seed produce no fertile seed, even when artificially pollinated. 
My next failure to. obtain fertile seeds was with Abutilonsi. 
I crossed the red and white varieties, and had a. nice batch 
of seedlings from the seed thus obtained; yet these plants 
have not produced any fertile seed as yet, though they flower 
profusely. 
Breeding “ in ” is I know a cause of sterility in the animal 
World. Might it not be so in the floral world 1 
Nevertheless; though I have had failures in the past, I 
mean to try again, though I may not “ produce new varie- 
tiea with the same precision that machinery can be produced 
by a. mechanic.” My object in crossing is not so much a desire 
to raise new varieties as to work out for myself the problem. 
Is hybridity a cause of Sterility? and your very able review of 
Mr. Burbank’s paper on “Plant Breeding”.will still enthuse 
nie in the desire to 1 obtain fertile seeds from hybrid crosses, or 
learn something a.s to the cause of failure. C. S. Ritchie. 
Bournemouth. 
Catalpa speciosa as a Timber Tree. 
To the Editor of The Gardening World. 
Sir,—A great deal of attention has of late been, paid to. the 
cultivation of Catalpa speciosa by those in the United States 
interested in the future supply of timber suitable for railway 
sleepers and manufacturing purposes. To bring the tree to 
the notice of the public, the International Society of Arbori¬ 
culture installed in the Forestry Building at the St. Louis 
Exhibition an exhibit showing the wood and the various uses to 
which it may be put. As the tree is of rapid growth and adapts 
itself well to almost any climate, the exhibit has received the 
attention of foresters, from all countries. 
It is the most durable wood known for raiLway sleepers. 
Specimens of these are shown which have been in use thirty- 
two. years and are yet perfectly sound. The antiseptic sub- 
stances contained in the wood enable it to resist decay, and 
render chemical treatment of the wood unnecessary. The 
early railway pioneers in the central States used it whenever 
procurable, and a.s the natural forests are exhausted plantar 
Horns are being formed by many of the railway companies in 
different parts of the States. It would be interesting to know 
if any experiments have been made with the Catalpa. as a 
timber tree in Great Britain. The Marquis of Aylesbury 
during his recent visit to. the United States took steps to 
secure a. consignment of young trees for trial on his estates. 
Great care is. required to get seed or plants of the true 
species, a.s the seed of C. bignouioides is produced much more 
plentifully and is often sold as. that of C. speciosa. The former 
is a low, much;branched, spreading tree, and lias no value 
economically; whilst the latter throws up. a clean, upright 
trunk from 70 ft. to 100 ft, high. The wood is excellent for 
cabinet work, being easily worked and taking a fine polish. 
Mr. J. P. Brown, the secretary of the above-mentioned society, 
predicts a great future for the tree, not only because of its 
general utility, but because of the; rapidity of its growth, its 
freedom from insect pests, and the fact that the tree when cut 
down throws up. new stems from adventitious buds formed on 
the old stumps, this doing away with the necessity of replant- 
mo- " Thos. W. Brown. 
The British Gardeners’ Association in the North. 
To the Editor of The Gardening World. 
Sir,—A meeting to consider the formation of a district 
branch of the British Gardeners'’ Association was held on 
November 2nd, at the Station Cafe, Sunderland, about forty 
being present. The meeting was addressed by Mr. V . Hall, 
general superintendent of the Sunderland parks, .etc.—whose 
activity on behalf of this effort to improve the condition of the 
gardener is very commendablei—as an. official representative 
of the association. After a short discussion it was unani¬ 
mously resolved to form a. Sunderland branch of the associa¬ 
tion, and as a result of the meeting, the names of thirty-two 
additional local gardeners and nurserymen wishing- to. become 
members of the association have been forwarded to. the secre¬ 
tary. Similar meetings; will shortly be held in the North at' 
Bradford, Newcastle, and West Hartlepool, and in the. South at 
Bournemouth, Croydon., and Caterham. 
W. Watson, Secretary. 
Two Yellow Crabs. 
Grabs, like Apples, may flower every year, but they only 
bear fruit, occasionally, or only in small quantity. There may 
be exceptions also, as in the case of Apples. This year wit¬ 
nesses a wonderful profusion of tiny yellow fruits on Pyrus 
floiribunda. As a rule, the calyx on. the top of the fruits falls 
away, leaving the fruit as cileaumnd. naked as a Cherry. Various 
tree® in Kew Gardens may he seen at the present time in fruit¬ 
ful condition, and asi a. matter of fact the trees were, even more 
profusely laden with blossom in spring. The fruits do. not 
much exceed the size of large marrowfat Peas. A closely allied 
but distinct species is even more heavily fruited—namely, 
Pyrus; Ring 1 ©, also._a. native of Japan. The fruits are. bright 
3 T ellow, but as large as small Cherries. They are different in 
shape, being ovoid or egg-shaped, and surmounted by the sepals 
which close the eye. These tiny Crab Apples are produced in 
clusters, so that, thei resemblance to Cherries is; considerable, 
especially after the leaves ha.ve fallen, thus, exposing them fully 
to view. The leaves are; ovate, serrate, and smooth on the 
upper surface; while tire lower one is. covered with a gray 
tomentum, or felted woolly covering. In these' respects they 
resemble some of the wild forms of Crab in this country, which 
vary greatly in: the size of the leaves and fruit, some; of them 
in all probability being merely seedlings of garden varieties 
of Apples, the; seeds; of which have been dropped by birds or 
people. _ 
Fruit-picking at Blairgowrie. — A most interesting report on 
the fruit-picking scheme at the model fruit farm of Westfield, 
Blairgowrie, was presented by Messrs. Keay and Hodge, a firm 
employing many girls, at the meeting of the Executive Committee 
of the Scottish Council for Women’s Trades. Over a hundred 
girls were sent from Glasgow and Edinburgh this summer, 
through the agency of the Scottish Council for V omen’s Trades. 
The special accommodation provided for the girls at- the model 
farm had been inspected by Dr. Leslie Mackenzie, of the Local 
Government Board, who expressed hinrself highly satisfied with all 
the arrangements. The health of tl:e girls was excellent, and the 
improvement in their physical condition very marked indeed ; and 
so much did they enjoy the country change that many had en¬ 
rolled for next year before leaving. Notwithstanding the broken 
weather, during one week the earnings averaged 13s. 10d., the 
maximum wage earned being £1 2s. lid., and the minimum 
10s. 6d, Miss Irwin intimated that there is a prospect of a similar 
scheme being started in England. 
