244 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
March 25, 1905. 
given as one of the parents of a number of hybrids. Sis 
sjrecies are enumerated as being the supposed other parents. 
For many years past a fierce war of discussion has prac¬ 
tically existed between those who believe in the existence of 
natural hybrids and those who- do not. The author of this 
article gives his opinion in a few words. He says that those 
who believe in natural hybrids have observed the characteris¬ 
tics to be found in hybrids of artificial origin. By analogy 
tliev draw conclusions concerning the mixture of characters 
which they find in wild plants, and assume that the wild finds 
are hybrids inasmuch as they possess characters of two dif¬ 
ferent parents. These conclusions require confirmation, lie 
admits, but says that they are vely probable when viewed m 
connection with other proofs, such as the relative sterility of 
hybrids. 
' As far as we are concerned, the latter view is only one item 
of proof for or against, seeing that we find practically the same 
occurrence amongst garden Apples and Pears, which are not 
usually regarded as hybrids, but merely the offspring of two- 
well-defined species. Another fact in connection with these 
supposed natural hybrids is that bushes may and do occur in 
localities widely apart from other recorded places where such 
Roses are found. The presumption is that hybrids continue 
to be produced, and that the existing bushes are practically 
comparatively recent and isolated from others of their kind by 
many miles, sometimes hundreds. 
The second means of origin of new Roses consisted in the 
raisin;? of varieties without artificial crossing ; even in this 
case they might, however, have been crossed by insects, espe¬ 
cially when grown in proximity. In a. wild state a large bush 
covered witli blossoms is less likely to be- crossed than smaller 
plants growing in proximity, because bees, for instance, would 
get a load of what they were collecting from one bush. There 
are, however, various reasons by which Roses in gardens have- 
been influenced and induced to vary. The author says that 
this was due to cultivation assisted by manure, or, in other 
words, by a superabundance of food whereby many were in¬ 
duced to transform the stamens into petals, thereby producing 
double flowers. Such varieties grown in proximity in gardens 
were liable to be intercrossed, and this again would help to- 
upset their stability and produce- even more- and mo-re marked 
variations. Another learned rosarian—namely, Dr. Christ— 
was of opinion that R. gallica- x gallica proviucialis gave rise 
to the hundred-leaved or Cabbage Rose (R. centifolia). 
Under a. third heading lie quotes a number of Roses which 
are considered to- be of hybrid origin by M. Crepin. A number 
of these are by no means familiar in gardens, so that we need 
not. discuss them here, but amongst them we may mention 
Hardy’s Rose (R. simplicifo-lia x involucrata), Fortune’s Bank- 
sian Rose, supposed to be R. laevigata x Banksianae, the Poly- 
antha Rose, Lord Penzance’s Briers, the- Noisette Rose, the 
Bo-ursault, the Bourbon, and even the Damask Rose. The 
last-named is described as a hybrid between the- Provins and R. 
canina. 
The fourth heading deals with atavic varieties, or those 
which give rise to- new varieties by the partial reversion of 
hybrid forms. The term atavic comes from atavus, signifying 
agrandfather or ancestor. The author states that some Roses 
of hybrid origin are sterile with their own pollen, though they 
are usually fertile with pollen from other species or one or 
other of their parents. This, then, is a productive source, of 
new varieties. Under this heading he speaks of hybrids 
having a resemblance to more than two parents, and quotes 
some writers who strenuously oppose this theory both by good 
argument and what we should regard a.s ridicule. In some 
respects the argument is good, but in other respects the pleas 
put forward are doubtful unless we can thoroughly believe and 
adopt Mendel’s law which requires some further proof before 
it will be generally adopted, seeing how complicated many 
crarden varieties of recent origin are. At one time all hybrids 
were regarded as mules, but Darwin did much to combat this 
view, and even this writer shows that such a general expression 
of opinion cannot be adopted. . ... 
The fifth heading is devoted to a discussion of those- hybrids 
which have proved fertile witli pollen from another plant. The 
sixth heading is devoted to second crosses from those above 
mentioned, or from their offspring. The seventh heading 
refers to teratological varieties, which are practically mon¬ 
strosities showing a reversion of the floral organs to the an¬ 
cestral or ordinary form of leaves from which they were sup¬ 
posed to have developed. 
The writer advises nurserymen and amateurs who are 
engaged in the raising of new varieties not to depend upon 
chance any longer and seed saving, but to have some clear 
object in view before commencing experiments, and to avoid 
following out the more antiquated methods of raising varieties 
which merely result in giving too many so- close-ly related in 
colour and other respects that they cannot be distinguished 
from one another. He states that the original great influx of 
new varieties was contemporaneous with the French Revolu¬ 
tion, and he made out that this was due to the introduction 
of the Bengal Rose, which furnished decidedly fresh blood, and 
so gave rise to many veiy distinct varieties. He advises them 
also not to be discouraged with the results of their first 
crosses, but to persevere, and that something worth preserving 
and perpetuating may be obtained in the third, fourth, or fifth 
generation of crosses. 
Lilium auratum at Newton Stewart. 
(See Supplement.) 
We have on several occasions given records of splendid 
plants of the Golden-rayed Lily of Japan as grown out of door, 
iii this country. For instance, in The Gardening World, 
Vol. XV., page 69, we recorded a, clump of plants which had 
developed from a single bulb, purchased at a sale in Glasgow 
six years previously. At this time the clump bore 428 blooms 
upon twenty stems, some of which were over 7 ft. in height. 
One of these stems carried sixty-one large and well-developed 
flowers. Another stem carried sixty blo-o-ms, but was acci¬ 
dentally damaged ; nevertheless this brought the record up to 
488 blooms. This occurred in the garden of Mr. James 
McGibbon, Darrochdhu, Sandbank Road, Dunoon. 
On September 28th, 1901, page 61 of The Gardening 
World, we figured a group of L. auratum which flowered at 
1, Aubrey Villas, Penzance. One bulb was planted, and during 
the first season a, growth gave twenty-five flowers on a stem. 
During the second and third years two stems were thrown up 
about 8J ft, in height, and carrying an aggregate of seventy- 
five flowers. During the fourth year three stems of nearly 
equal strength were produced, carrying an aggregate of 112 
flowers. The stems on this occasion were about- 10 ft. 2 in. 
high, and the foliage was remarkably fine for this Lily. 
Since then we have had more than one group of this same 
Lily grown in the open air in different parts of the country, 
though they could not be considered a record even for this 
species. What we wish to- point out, however, is the remark¬ 
able success often attending the planting out- of this Lily in 
gardens, and the success of the amateurs who planted them. 
We presume that in most cases the bulbs were planted in the 
ordinary garden soil without- the advantage of peat or any 
other means of ameliorating the soil, and then leaving the 
bulbs to their own resources. It is merely another instance on 
a par with the success of amateurs with the White Lily (L. 
eahdidum) in cottage and villa gardens by comparison with 
that- of professional gardeners in places of greater pretensions. 
In the case of this latter Lily ,we fancy the bulbs were too fre¬ 
quently disturbed or transplanted. 
Our supplement on this occasion shows a- splendid group of 
the Golden-rayed Lily once more attended with success by 
planting it- under ordinary conditions in the- open garden. 
About- five years ago Mr. William Mercer, an amateur in 
Newton Stewart-, Wigtownshire, planted five very ordinary 
bulbs in his garden, and the photograph, which was taken last 
year, will show the- results obtained from the original five bulbs. 
We have no record of extraordinary size, either in the flower- 
