8 ; _THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
- 
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Some Notes on the Cross Fertili- 
zation of Carnations. 
By Frep. C. Siri. 
Owing to the lack of experience of 
growers in this State, I have been unable 
to gather any information as to the varie- 
ties which, when crossed, are apt to give 
the maximum of results. Some data on 
this point must have been gathered by 
growers in the other States, who have for 
years pursued this fascinating phase of 
Carnation culture, but, although I wrote 
asking for information, I could get prac- 
tically none. ; fee 
I have, consequently, merely to describe 
the process of cross fertilization, and touch 
upon a few:points which may give rise to 
discussion and argument, and help to bring 
out some experiences of value. 
As in most flowers, the ovary forms the 
centre of the flower, and out of the ovary 
or seed-ped rise two or three pistils. These 
usually curl over toward the outer edge 
of the flower; upon the upper edge of the 
pistils is ranged a number of hairs. When 
these hairs are standing up in a fluffy con- 
dition they are in a proper state to take 
the pollen. r 
The stamens or male organs of the plant 
will be found attached to the petals, each 
carrying a small cup at its extremity. 
This, if in a healthy normal condition, 
contains the pollen or powdery dust. This 
pollen should be dry and loose to be 
readily transferable. A camel hair brush 
is usually advised for transferring the 
pollen from the anther to the hairs of the 
pistil, but I very much prefer a watch- 
maker's pliers. These have very long 
slender jaws 3 or 4 inches long and broad 
hhandles, and one can grip the filament-like 
stamen close up to the anther and rub the 
pollen off along the brush of the pistil. 
Jf impregnation takes place the petals 
will be found limp and drooping next day. 
If not, the process needs to be repeated. 
When the crossing is done a small label 
should be attached to the stem of the 
flower giving the names of the seed and 
pollen parents. From about 10 o'clock to 
2 o'clock in the day is the best time to do 
the crossing of this flower. — It is well to 
pull the petals apart a bit when the pod is 
forming to give it all the air and light 
‘necessary for healthy seed forming. In 
casting about as to what varieties to cross 
“you may eitier select the flowers that hap- 
pen to bé out or wait till those you wish to 
muse are out. : 
- The qualities desired in the seedlings 
‘must as a rule exist in the parents. There _ 
are several things to study when planning 
your ideal flower. You. want a perfect 
calyx, smooth petals of good’ substance, 
clear distinct colors, size, and scent, and 
compact habit of growth of plant. | The 
seed or female parent-should. here he 
chosen for its length and breadth of calyx, 
-and ib should not carry too. many_petals. 
‘The pollen parent may be a fuller flower 
with a good uusplit calyx, both if’ possible 
Should. posscss good color, perfume, sub- 
tance, size, and smooth petals. ~*~ - “> 
Ts will probably be-found,far more. pro- 
fitable to polle: so £” 7 wet that’ is ‘alinost- 
single from one that is fully double than 
to use two full flowers for the purpose. 
The original parent of the vast variety of 
Carnations of to-day was a small single 
flower, and Nature evolved a single flower 
as the type best able to withstand all ad- 
verse circumstances, so a single flower pol- 
linated from a full petalled bloom should 
give vigor and the right constitution, while 
‘the other qualities may come from the 
pollen parent. 
As showing the difference between field 
grown and naturally fertilised seed and 
hand crossed seed, I may say that 4 or 5 
years ago we paid £3 for 240 seed of some 
25 crosses of American varieties grown . 
under glass. Several thousands of “‘field- 
produced” seeds were given in free. From 
the 240 seeds 200 plants were raised, and 
out of these we named over a dozen fine 
flowers, while out of 2,000,000 plants of the 
other seed not one has yet been named. 
It will be interesting to find the relative 
values of the border and the Australian 
trees and the American perpetuals as 
parents in the improvement of our Aus- 
tralian perpetual type. The probabilities 
are that the use of border varieties to gain 
compactness will throw back the gain in 
other directions. As far as possible the 
gains already made by other experimenters 
should be utilised, so that the advancement 
may be more rapid. In some classes of 
plants, however, the gain in color, size, &c., 
_has been unwisely made at the expense of 
vigor, and this must not be forgotten. 
Although it may be better to cover the 
flower when once crossed, I do not think 
that not covering will much affect the - 
eneral resulting average. It seems to 
me that if an ovale is once impregnated it 
is done practically once and for ever, and 
no further pollen influence can affect it. 
| aEEEERSEREEEEEREEEeE ee eee 
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‘THE GLADIOLUS... 
' [From “The Garden,”] : 
Consisting’ of nearly 140 species, the 
genus Gladiolus is a large one, but of these 
a considerable number are of small garden 
‘worth—at “any rate; compared with ‘the 
magnificent hybrids associated with ‘the 
“names of“ Suchet, Lemoine,” ‘and Max 
Leichtlin on the Continent and’ Keélway 
‘generally occurs 
' the greenhouse. 
- white,:are good. : 
insignis ave also brilliant reds and very 
‘in order of flowering are— 
and Burrell in our own country. It is of 
these latter I propose to give my cultural 
experience, but, before proceeding to de- 
tails, I think it is advisable to touch on a 
section of early-flowering Gladioli which 
are largely cultivated on the Continent, 
and deserve mucn more attention by us. 
than they seem to get. 3 
I refer to the varieties and hybrids of 
G. blandus, G. ramosus, and G. cardinalis 
fitly associated together, as they may Be 
planted in wwe autumn, flower in May and 
June, and can be lifted in August, when, 
after sorting, they may be replanted later 
in November. The blandus (nanus) varie- 
ties are the dwarfest, averaging from 1 
foot to 2 feet, and flower in May in the 
open ground ; ramosus and cardinalis varie- 
ties average 2 feet to 3 feet and over, and 
flower in June and July. Nearly all the 
named varieties listed in the Dutch and 
French catalogues are worth growing, and 
some are of great beauty, lasting well 
when cut, for, though the pips on some 
spikes are not very numerous and of some- 
what fugitive duration, they open in quick 
succession. 
_ A deep, rich, well-drained soil and sunny 
site suit them; the chief protection they 
seem to require is from excessive wet in 
the autumn and winter, and from winds 
and pelting rains when the spikes appear. 
Without this protection, unfortunately, 
‘the ustial sequence of climatic events in 
this country goes against them, and mild 
autumn and winter rains induce pre- 
mature topgrowth, which, though capable 
of enduring a good deal of dry cold at 
that season, resents exceedingly the suc- 
cession of freezing and thawing which 
with us. They are 
charming in pots if plunged outside in coal 
ashes and kept fairly dry till the end ot 
February, when they may be allowed to 
come on gradually in a sunny corner ot 
Place from three to six 
corms in a d-inch or 6-inch pot, with good 
fibrous loam and coarse grit.and very free 
drainage. 
till growth indoors is active, and then a 
pinch of a good fertiliser in the pot is a 
great help. After flowering plant them 
oub in a warm corner-to complete growth 
and ripen. The following is a selection 
of charming varieties : — 
Blandus  Section.—Blushing —_ Bride, 
white and- crimson; Carnot, scarlet; 
Eulalia, rose ; L’Unique, orange; Peach 
Blossom, pink; Salmon Queen; and 
Sydonic, rose. Pe se ed, ae, 
_ Ramosus Varieties are not so numerous, 
but Amsterdam. and ,Queen Victoria, red 
-and. white. flaked; Van Speyk, salmon- 
and formosissimus, scarlet and 
pink ; 
G. cardinalis and. G. 
showy,: flowering with the above. . Next 
Lemoine’s Hybrids, originating from: a 
‘cross between G..purpureo-auratus and G. 
-gandavensis. ~ 
‘duction of Lémoinei arid Marie Lemoine, 
two’ varieties which, thougli thought much. 
“of then’ arénowhére ‘now. ~~ ‘The* small 
This resulted in’ the intro- 
The water-can needs restraint. 
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