214 
THE LADIES' FLORAL CABINET. 
town conditions prevail; but in close damp corners 
they will have no chance, for it is damp rather than 
cold that kills them in the winter, and causes many to 
regard them as tender plants. 
To grow these flowers well, select a bed in an open 
spot and plant them en masse. Exception may be 
taken to A. psittacina for this purpose because of its 
late flowering, but the others will flower simultaneously 
in June and July, and make a splendid display of color. 
But we have no better plants for forming clumps in a 
good border, and when grown in this way we have no 
problems to solve about harmonies of color or times of 
flowering. The roots consist of fleshy bundles, and 
these should be put at least ten to twelve inches deep, 
and should not be disturbed for several years. They 
are hungry and thirsty plants. The soil must be deep 
and good, and in a dry season they should have liberal 
supplies of water during May and June. These points 
having due attention, there is little more to be done ex¬ 
cept to take up and divide every four or five years, and, 
if needful, to raise stock from seed, which is a very 
easy matter. They all cross freely, and amongst the 
seedlings double flowers occasionally occur, but they 
are less beautiful than the single ones. Van Houtte’s 
fine lot was raised from A. Hookeriana by the pollen 
of A. hcemantha. 
Alstrbmeria caryophyllcea (ligtu ) must be excluded 
from the general garden list, because it is decidedly 
tender; but Anrea, Chiliensis, Peruviana, Hcemantha, 
Hookeriana, Psittacina, Pelegrina, and Versicolor are 
quite hardy, and afford a rich range of characters and 
colors. 
Although dividing every four or five years is spoken 
of above as a possible way of making stock, a much 
better way is to raise seedlings by sowing the seed in 
pans as soon as ripe, and planting out in frames for the 
first year’s growing. It is not necessary to cross-fertil¬ 
ize to obtain good seed, for thriving plants in sunny sit¬ 
uations will give plenty of seed worth having, but in 
shady places, however the plants may thrive, they are 
not likely to : produce good seed.” 
We are glad to see our English friends paying the at¬ 
tention to this plant that it richly deserves; and we are 
astonished that our florists do not take them in hand, as 
there are but few plants that give greater satisfaction 
than these, when properly grown. 
ARTIFICIAL FERTILIZATION. 
Its Bearings on the Varieties of To-day. 
(Read at the Ninth Annual Session of the “ American Association of Nurserymen, Florists, Seedsmen, end Kindred 
Interests," Chicago, June 18,1884). 
This is a subject of the greatest importance to those 
at all interested in any of the branches of horti¬ 
culture. Unfortunately, in a paper so limited as this, it 
is impossible for one to do more than to peep through 
the lattice. 
Cross-fertilization and its results are so pregnant with 
interest in nearly all the fruits, flowers, and vegetables 
that we cultivate, at this moment it would seem there 
is no limit to man’s acquirements. I maintain that the 
very fact that varieties of the same families having been 
brought into close proximity, after, perhaps years of 
separation, without actual mechanical manipulation by 
the application of pollen by hand, and where they are 
left to themselves, frequently give us new and desira¬ 
ble varieties. We need only to look at our Bartlett 
Pears, Concord Grapes, and Baldwin Apples, in fruits; 
Champion of England Peas; Early Rose Potatoes in 
vegetables, in comparison with the originals of each, as 
first brought under man’s notice. The’ varieties of 
flowers that we could compare with original types are 
innumerable. I refer to the majority of these as in¬ 
stances of cross-fertilizalion without artificial aid. 
What, then, can I say about the thousands of crosses that 
have been made mechanically, and truthfully recorded? 
In my experience as & humble student in the field of 
cross-fertilization, I have had results most encoura¬ 
ging, not always as I could wish, as accurate as a tailor 
could measure off a yard of cloth, but have always 
been sufficiently rewarded to encourage further labor 
in the same direction, provided always my experi¬ 
ments had been carried out intelligently. I particu¬ 
larly wish to point out the influence man has in the 
formation of what he may consider perfection. Not 
farther back than thirty years, there were laid down cer¬ 
tain requirements as to what should be considered per¬ 
fection in the flower. The list embraced all that were 
known as “ Florists’ Flowers,” at that time., The main 
points, then, to be gained were, shapes approximat¬ 
ing in nearly every case true circles, smooth petals 
and circular outlines, thick texture, solid color¬ 
ing, and in the case of parti-colored flowers, de_ 
cided markings. In the beginning of this- era, most, 
if not all, the florists’ flowers were deficient in 
nearly all these properties. The Verbenas at that time 
were small, thin flowers with narrow petals, giving 
them a very mean effect. So were all the Pelargoni¬ 
ums, Pansies, and Cinerarias. The Fuchsias were thin 
in texture, conforming to no exact shape. One excep¬ 
tion to this rule, where the determination of man is 
most apparent, is in the Chinese Primrose; in this it 
was considered desirable to have the petals much 
fringed and scolloped. I can well remember when the 
outline of the flower described a true circle, in which 
the indentations were almost imperceptible. Let us 
picture at this moment the Chinese Primrose of to-day, 
with its over-lapping, thick petals, so laciniated as to 
give the flower an entirely distinct character ; and this 
within a quarter of a century. 
If we have seen such a change with single flowers, 
what have we to say about the double flowers? Within 
the time mentioned we have seen double Fuchsias, Pe¬ 
largoniums of all types ; Cinerarias, Primulas, and Abu- 
tilons. All of these have been multiplied, and as much 
variation obtained as in the single forms. I am not claim¬ 
ing that’ all these variations are desirable, neither do I 
take sides with those that oppose double flowers on the 
one hand, or with those that believe in single flowers 
only, on the other ; all I wish to prove is, that man does, 
