382 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
May 6, 1905. 
Degeneracy of Varieties Propagated from 
Buds. 
(Concluded from page 353.) 
Do Potato Stocks Deteriorate 1 
Professor Henslo-w: Whether they “ deteriorate ” in value 
is a question of trade; but that they vary according to the 
soil and climate of the localities where a. particular variety is 
grown is well established. Professor Bailey has given a good 
example in the case of the Newtown Pippin (“ The Survival of 
the Unlike,” page 99) : " It originated upon Long Island, N.Y., 
and has been widely disseminated by- grafting. In Virginia it 
has varied into a. form known as Albemarle Pippin, and a. New 
York Apple exporter tells me that it is a poorer shipper than 
the northern Newtown, and is not so long-keeping. In the 
extreme north-western States . . . it is markedly unlike 
the eastern fruit. . . . In New South Wales it is called 
the Five-ciowned Pippin,” etc. Conversely with the Chilian 
Strawberry: " Within two years this plant, growing in my 
garden, varied from its wild type so widely as to be indistin¬ 
guishable from the common garden Strawberry; ” . . . 
“ an instructive case of sexless evolution.” Professor Bailey 
then adds : “ Any plant which is widely distributed by man by 
means of cuttings or other vegetative parts may be expected 
to vary in the same manner.” 
The above seems to me to answer the question. In many 
cases by departing from the typical characters the 1 variety 
mi "lit be said to’ - ' deteriorate ” ; but there is also the chance of 
O ' 
its acquiring something new, which might balance its value. 
There does not appear to be any evidence of a variety “ dying 
out ” in any other sense.—George Henslow. 
Professor Scott Elliot: There are two cases in which there 
is distinct evidence of deterioration in vegef atively reproduced 
plants. First, the Sugar-cane, which has until the last few 
years been invariably propagated by non-sexual methods. Its 
culture dates back to a- period so distant that the priests in 
India had had time to produce an “ observed ” law—viz., that 
•• if any cultivator saw a cane in flower he would die within the 
year, his house would be reduced to beggary, and his entire 
fortune be destroyed.” The cultivation has been carried on 
in very distant parts of the earth, under totally distinct 
methods, and in widely varying conditions of soil, climate, 
and exposure. Yet deterioration has been complained of in 
every part where its cultivation is of importance. And the 
West Indian Agricultural Conference of 1905 seems to agree 
that it is to be remedied by using seedling canes. 
Another example is the Canadian weed, Elodea canadensis, 
which escaped from a botanical garden in Germany, and at 
once spread by vegetative reproduction only all over temperate 
Europe. For many years it was a curse to all canals, ponds, 
lakes, etc., and involved very expensive cleaning; but of recent 
years, though it is by no means extinct, it is certainly not so 
serious an evil. In small enclosed ponds, after having been a 
perfect pest for some years, it- suddenly begins to dwindle, and 
may almost totally disappear. A case of this sort came under 
my own observation in a small pond at the Glasgow Botanical 
Gardens, where it is now almost extinct, though it choked the 
whole of the rest- of the vegetation some five or six years ago-. 
This case is specially interesting as it is not- a cultivated plant, 
and is one of that hardy band of fresh-water plants which are 
more widely distributed than any other class of plants known 
to me. 
A very strong argument in favour of deterioration is the 
general statistical evidence. Out of some 700,000 flowering 
plants described, there is not- one single case known to me of 
a plant which does not endeavour to reproduce by seed, 
although arra-ngment-s for vegetative reproduction are exceed¬ 
ingly common. Many plants which we do not, as a rule, look 
upon as vegetative reproducers habitually form underground 
stolons, rhizomes, etc., and are much more rarely formed from 
seed. 
The answer to the second part of the question is probably a 
very simple one—old age. However much the method of 
vegetative reproduction varies, the new plant is merely a part 
°f tll f one. A Potato grown from a tuber is not a new 
individual, but a- part of the original individual. A close 
examination of bulbs, conns, rhizomes, suckers, stolons, etc., 
reveals essentially similar methods of branching, which are 
made different by the different parts in which the^food-store is 
laid up. The differences, such as they are, have been made 
much more- difficult to understand by the misdirected labours 
of conscientious botanists. 
1 hat old age is the primary cause I have personally no doubt 
at- all. We know on good evidence (see Bonnier “ Traite du 
Bo-tanique") of trees 2,000 years old, not to speak of one 
kind only, but belonging to several genera. It is not necessarv 
to cite the American Mammoth tree of 3,300 years, or the 
Canary Island Dragon tree of 10,000 years, and which was 
probably the -original of the Greek myth. 
The number of years during which any species can be shown 
to have been always propagated vegetatively cannot surely 
attain 2,000 years except- possibly the Sugar-cane and the Yine, 
and in both these cases- deterioration has set in. Old a"e is 
the reason generally given in both these cases. 
Of course, all cultivated plants are grown under quite un¬ 
natural conditions. The brilliant sunshine and long, drv 
season of Chile is quite different- from our insular climate. 
Cultivation under exceptionally favourable conditions must 
inevitably weaken the constitution of man, beast, or vegetable, 
unless all our evolutionary theories are hopelessly wrong. Most 
cultivated plants must suffer from the absence of a- struggle for 
existence and from one-sided selection. It might be possible 
to- delay the deterioration by severe- treatment, by change of 
soil and climate, and other methods. The survivors after such 
a- treatment should be more vigorous than any selected at 
random for propagation. 
A plant has an organised, correlated body, and reacts dis¬ 
tinctly to change of climate. This reaction involves a one¬ 
sided development, I fail to see how a flowering plant can 
escape the common enemy—old age. Where are the Potatos 
of thirty years ago?—G. F. Scott Elliot. 
Saxifraga Guildford Seedling. 
The species known as S. muscoides is a very variable one, 
and at least five well-marked varieties have been distinguished. 
One of these is named S. m. Rhei, which is sometimes classed 
as a distinct- species. That status can hardly be maintained, 
however, when one comes to examine the species in its aggre¬ 
gate of forms. The leading feature of this latter type is the 
length of the- flower-stem ; but besides developing into larger 
forms, the plant- also develops into- smaller ones, as we have 
one named S. m. pygmaea. The correct name of Guildford 
Seedling is S. m. Rhei Guildford Seedling. It belongs to- the 
mossy-leaved group, and although it increases fairly extensively 
in suitable soils and when recently planted, yet it is o-f neat 
and always dwarf habit- by comparison with many other types. 
In its own group, however, Guildford Seedliug is practically 
one of the giants. The flower-stems are only 3 in. to 6 in. in 
height, but- that is twice or three times the height of most 
varieties belonging to the species. The flowers are also of 
large size, and in Guildford Seedling are of rich crimson-red, 
be-ing indeed the darkest colour yet seen in this gr-o-up. The 
plants sometimes seen under this name are not always so in¬ 
tense as that exhibited by the Guildford Hardy Plant Com¬ 
pany at the R.H.S. meeting on the 25th ult., but possibly situa¬ 
tions would have some effect upon colour, and the age of the 
plants must also be taken into consideration, as the old flowers 
fade somewhat- both in S. m. Rhei and in Guildford Seedling, 
Scotch-grown Strawberries. —There was keen competition 
at Glasgow on April 28th, when the first of the Scotch-grown 
Strawberries was offered for sale-. The fruit, which was grown 
by Mr. John Frame, of Watchknowe, realised 18s. per -lb. 
