6 
THE HARDINESS OF CHOISYA 
TERNATA. 
[From Tue GARDENER. | 
This pretty shrub is a great addition to 
the garden; its distinct ana uncommon 
foliage has an excellent effect among the 
more familiar subjects, while its blossom, 
scented after the manner of White Thorn, 
is very charming. Unfortunately, many 
pecple are under the delusion that ic is 
ovly hardy in the extreme south of Eng- 
lard; and more than once in the neighbor- 
hood of London I have seen this shrub 
grown in pots and removed to the con- 
~servatory for the winter. Now to me it 
has always been one of the most interest- 
ing phases of gardening to test the hardi- 
hood of some of these doubtful subjects, 
and last winter, having struck during the 
summer a cutting of this Choisya, I de- 
liberately stood it in the pob in the most 
exposed position I could find and neyer 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
May 1, 1903. 
ROSES FROM SEEDS. 
HOW TO GROSS FERTILISE. 
[By Tora. | 
I am trying to put into words 
the little bit of practical knowledge 
I have acquired concerning the hybridiza- 
tion. of Roses, so as to make it serviceable 
for anyone who knows a little less about 
the subject in question. 
The point really is to get ripe seeds. 
Fiveryone who is interested in this note has 
a few Roses in flower in June. It is easy 
to protect a few blooms in some way, e.g. 
remove the lid from a cigar box (100), and 
put a sheet of glass in the place of the 
bottom, afterwards fixing the box at a suit- 
able height above the bloom by nailing rt 
to astake. The bloom will then get the 
light and heat, but no rain: 
The blooms so protected are for 
seed 
CHOISYA TERNATA. 
”ABLANG Ca: 
moved it, whatever the weather, during 
the whole of the winter and the severe 
spring that we all remember followed it. 
Never once did the shrub show signs of 
. distress. - And we must bear in mind that 
it is a far greater ordeal to have a plant 
outside in a pot than it is to have it firmly 
established in the grounu. — I think this 
experiment may be of interest to those 
who hitherto have abstained from plant- 
ing this shrub lest it should prove unable 
to face a winter—it is a type of plant far too 
decorative to be dispensed with if it can 
be made to succeed.—F. M. Wells.” 
PEC SESESS SESE 
parents. The pollen parents can be cut 
and kept in water in a room till required. 
The pollen is ready soon after the bloom 
is fully open at the centre if the flower 
is kept dry and in a sunny place. A warm, 
sunny day is best for operating. 
When one of the protected blooms is at 
its best, and before it opens its eye, the 
petals are gently pulled apart and the 
centre is fully exposed. It will be found 
that the stamens are not ripe, and the 
pollen is held securely in the anthers. 
New gently dust the stigmas with the pol- 
len from the cut Rose which you desire to 
use for crossing. The latter is best car- 
vied in the hand of a second person. With 
_a small pair of tweezers pick out one or 
Lord Curzon of Kedleston, Viceroy of © 
India, used to prune and nail up, and 
otherwise cultivate, the Roses that grew in 
his father’s garden, adjoining Kedleston 
Parsonage, Derbyshire. He now occupies 
the magnificent viceregal residences: one 
at Calcutta that cost £150,000 to build, 
two of the ripe stamens and rub them 
against the exposed stigmas. There is a 
clear, sticky exudation on the stigmas to 
which the pollen adheres, and one can see 
ata glance when sufficient pollen has been 
dusted on to cover the stamens. Use as 
Many stamens as are necessary to do this. 
You are now at liberty to pick away 
from the seed parent its own unripe sta 
mens. Remove a few petals to enable yo 
to see what you are doing. Do all this | 
leisurely, thoroughly, but very gently. | 
Then adjust the glass protector to keep out | 
rain. Some hours afterwards repeat the | 
pollination. Next day do it a third and , 
last time, to make sure, using the same | 
pellen parent, but not necessarily the same | 
bloom, at each operation. ; 
It is well to puta fine muslin bag over | 
the bloom and tie it round the flower stalk | 
immediately after the pollination, so as | 
tv keep insects with pollen from other | 
Roses out of the way. This muslin bag can | 
be left on for a week. It will be well | 
to do two or three blooms in case of | 
failures, ticketing each with the name of — 
tae pollen, parent. 
In a fortnight or so you will see whether | 
your efforts are likely to pe successful. | 
Let us suppose it is the middle of July, | 
and you find you have a pod swelling nicely | 
under its glass protector. Tie the shoot | 
to a small stake to prevent the wind doing | 
mischief. On a sunny day you may re- | 
meve the protector, to get all the sun and | 
light possible. But take care to keep the | 
pod covered on very wet days. Except | 
for this, let the plant grow and flower as | 
it likes, removing the flowers when half | 
epen, to keep up the vigor of the plant. 
So things will go on till late in October, | 
when the pod will be full sized and begin- | 
ning to ripen. Now it is well to pot the 
plant if itisa Tea Rose. Put it ina good 
sized pot, taking up some earth with the 
roots. Reduce the long roots to get it 
into the pot ,and use rather light soil with 
geod drainage and no manure.. As soon 
as potted cut away half the plant gently 
with a pair of scissors. Stand it in a 
sheltered, shady spot for a few days, or, | 
better still, put it in a shady frame. 
Spray it with tepid water each day for a 
week, and then remoye it to a greenhouse. 
Gradually bring it{ into ‘the sunniest |i 
tion, and let it stay there till the seeq | 
dreps off. This will be about the end of i‘ 
February perhaps. Only water when the © 
pet rings clear. Be careful not to move | 
or shake the plant much, and have the 
seed stalk tied to a small stake. | 
Hybrid Perpetuals often mature their | 
seeds quite well in the open, and are not | 
greatly affected by ordinary winter frosts. | 
But let the pod remain on the plant till 
the New Year or longer. Against a south 
wall they ought to seed perfectly well. | 
Even against a wall I have found Gloirede | 
Dijon, Reve d'Or, and W. A. Richardson 
refuse to ripen, though they had good seed 
pods. I have successfully ripened seeds | 
of several well known Teas, e.g., Marie | 
Van Houtte, by potting them up at the — 
= 
ee 
beginning of November as I have 
described. By ripe seeds I mean seeds 
that, have yielded healthy seedlings after-_ 
wards. : 4 
Those who grow Roses under glass can i 
pellinate in April, and ripen the seeds by 
the end of October.—The Gardener. iM 
