10 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
The magic art of cross-fertilisation was then 
undreamt of, and the possibilities latent in 
Parkinson’s store awaited the coming of 
Herbert, first Dean of Manchester. Her- 
bert, who in one side of -his versatile genius 
was something of a pre-Darwinian Darwin, 
published in 1843 the results of his many 
years’ experiments at his Yorkshire rectory 
at Spofforth, and demonstrated that short 
crowned Narcissi are really hybrids between 
the trumpet Daffodils and the poet’s Narcis- 
sus, N. poeticus. The first to avail them- 
selves of this discovery were Mr. Leeds of 
Manchester, and Mr. Backhouse of Walsing- 
ham. By crossing and re-crossing they 
obtained the host of lovely forms now in 
common cultivation. These are being used 
by the breeders of to-day for the further 
evolution of size, form, and colour. The 
subsequent workers in the same field have 
all been Englishmen. Leeds sold his entire 
collection for a hundred guineas, but twenty 
times that amount would now be thought a 
small price. The glorious N._ bicolor 
Horsefieldii raised by John Horsefield, the © 
Lancashire weaver, was sold by auction for 
eighteen pence per bulb.” 
Compare with these prices that realised 
by Mr. Engleheart’s seedling ‘ Will Scarlet,” 
three bulbs of which fetched a hundred 
guineas, whilst such sorts as “ Weardale 
Perfection,” “King Arthur,” and ‘“ Hodsock 
Pride” cannot be bought under about £10 a 
bulb. ‘‘ Maggie May” costs fifteen guineas, 
“Duke of Bedford” twelve guineas, “ Big 
Ben” ten guineas, whilst no money could 
secure a bulb of “ Ellen Willmott.” 
All Daffodils are not expensive; on the 
contrary, many of the most beautiful of the 
older sorts may be bought for a few shillings 
per hundred. _ To the inexperienced there is 
little or no difference between “Duke of 
Bedford” at twelve guineas and “ Bicolor 
Grandis” at three halfpence; they are 
Daffodils and nothing more. But there are 
differences recognised by experts and indi- 
cated by the prices, and when the enthusi- 
astic beginner has mastered the rudimentary 
stages and “got his eye in’ he will be ina 
position to undertake the most fascinating, 
exciting, and, in some cases, the most _profit- 
able of all operations in all horticulture— 
namely, the creation of new flowers by 
crossing one sort with another. 
“Tt is desirable to call the attention of the 
humblest cultivators, of every labourer and 
operative who has a plot of garden or a ledge 
‘to his window, to the infinite variety of 
Narcissi that may thus be raised, and most 
easily in plots at his window, if not too 
much exposed to sun and wind, offering him 
a source of harmless and interesting amuse- 
ment, and perhaps a little profit and cele- 
brity.” Thus wrote the worthy Dean of 
Manchester fifty years ago, and Mr. Leeds, 
writing after considerable experience as a 
breeder. of Narcissi, said : ‘‘ There is no end 
to the varieties and elegant forms that may 
be obtained.” Mr. Engleheart has stated 
that every known or discoverable variety of 
Narcissus will breed with every other, and 
that several varieties may be obtained from 
one and the same seed-pod, demonstrating 
that the possibilities in varied form and 
colour in seedling Narcissi are infinite. 
How then are Daffodils bred? Let us see. 
SEPTEMBER 1, 1902. 
To understand how the flowers are ferti- 
lised it is necessary to be acquainted 
with their several parts. When {the 
flower expands the stamens or male 
organs bear clusters (anthers); of yellow 
dust-like pollen, and this, if placed upon the 
sticky apex of the stigma, operates in such a 
way as to cause the ovules to grow and 
form seeds. As soon as the pollen has done 
its work all the parts of the flower wither, 
except the ovary or fruit, which increases 
in size, finally turning yellow, when it will 
be found to contain small black seeds, which 
may be taken off and sown at once, or kept 
bud on one side and removing the anthers 
with a pair of tweezers. A piece of muslin 
may then’ be placed over the flower, or a 
handlight over the whole plant, to keep out 
insects, etc., until the stigma is in a recep- 
tive condition, which is easily ascertained by 
touching it gently, or the sticky substance 
can be seen when it is ready. 
There is nothing very difficult or mysteri- 
ous in this operation. The value of the 
will 
results depend upon the quality 
of the parents and the nature of 
the _ blend. “We can, to a _ large 
extent, mould the hybrid to our design, 
‘‘ Leedsii.— Maggie May.” 
White perianth. Pale citron frilled cups. A selection from Peter Barr’s Catalogue, 
in a packet in a dry place until required for 
sowing. 
If the pollen is taken from the same 
flower or one of the same variety, the seeds 
will produce plants like that which bore 
them ; but if the pollen be taken from one 
variety, and placed upon the stigma of 
another variety, the result as a rule is a 
family of seedlings combining the characters 
of both parents. 
To ensure a cross it is necessary to remove 
the anthers from the flower intended to bear 
seed before the pollen is exposed, and this 
can be done by carefully opening the flower 
according to the elements we employ in the 
mixture. . . By selecting the most shapely, 
substantial, and robust forms to breed from 
we can, with, considerable accuracy, secure a 
fine progeny.” (Engleheart). 
Seeds produce flowering bulbs in from 
four to six years, but if crosses are made 
every year, after the first long wait each 
spring will bring its set of unknowns. Ima- 
gine the wild delight of finding amongst these 
such glories as “ Will Scarlet” or “Big 
Ben !” 
The seeds may be sown as soon as ripe 
in pans or pots of ordinary soil, just. burying 
