ee, or soon, . after they. start into active 
growth. They, may again be divided, but 
mot too late in, the season, as they should 
have time to get re-established before the 
period of rest in the autumn. A great 
paint in dividing up ferns is not to use the 
knife too freely. I like to shake away the 
geil and pull the plants apart after the 
Bhizome has been cut through. A knife 
wnay be used to cut away any dead roots, 
ut if the balls are cut through, all the 
Jest. points. of the A YPUBE roots will be lost. 
A, Hemsuey. 
» CARNATIONS. . 
‘HOW TO'GET CUITINGS AND GROW THEM. 
The question is always before us, which 
axe the best to ‘take, the top or the base 
«uttings? You will generally find’ these 
wlasses of cuttings on the plants, but once 
in a while there Will bé’a ‘vat lety that will 
only give base cuttings, and, then, again, 
a variety that you will have to kee all the 
‘buds broken off in order to get very many 
xuitings. The base cuttings, or top cuttings, 
as they are sometimes termed, -will make 
gust as good a plant as any cutting that can 
. tbe taken, provided they are not allowed to 
milvance too far in growth. They should 
be at least 4 in. long. The cuttings that 
some on the stems, tat above the point 
where you cut the stem when removing 
: tthe bloom, are as good. as the base cuttings. 
‘Then, again, fibre is a cutting that comes 
on the stem about 6 in. below the bud. 
*This I consider of no value, for it will give 
short stems and weak growth; and by take 
ang this class of cuttings, year after year, 
até will ruin the variety, no matter how 
strong the stock was at the start. The 
same remark holds good with other classes 
‘of cuttings. If you persist in taking cut- 
tings of weak growth or too short in 
zrowth, this mali likewise, ruin the variety. 
Ti is better to leave them on a few weeks, 
so they will grow into strong cuttings. 
When taking cuttings pull them sidewise, 
«xarefully, so that they will part from the 
step at the axil. At teh same time do not 
Stasp the cutting hard, as nothing will start 
= to rot so readily a8 a bruise, ‘This man- 
mer of pulling cuttings is for those that 
«ome on the stem. The top cuttings should 
Be cut between the joints, leaving enough, 
joints for them to break again. Do not 
ki ‘HOWELL Be 
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re CWT: 
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embracing 
260 Finest European Varieties, 
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Autumn Flowering. 
THE AUSTRALLAN- GARDENER. 
tle: the cuttings to lie ar anit very jong 
at a time. , Use a box or a. basket, lined: 
with a piece of | burlap. | This should,-be 
made wet. Have a can of water with you, 
and as soon.as you have a few cuttings ° 
pulled, wet them, repeating this every. once | 
ina while. “After a nice lot of cuttings has | 
| haS been said by Naegeli that “the conse— 
quences of fertilization reach their opti- 
been picked, either prepare them for the 
sand ab onco or put them in a cool cellar — 
in a temperature of 48 to 50 degrees, and 
free from draught. Go over the cuttings 
and the base, or end to be inserted in the 
sand, should be cut off, so as to have a 
clean cut. A. knife with a poor edge will 
make a ragged eut, and the cutting will 
take longer to root, and, in some cases, 
will not root at. all. Remove’ all’ the 
foliage from this end of the cutiting, so as 
to leave about three-fourths of an inch to 
insert in the sand, and if the cuttings are 
very large, or the grass is long, clip them 
slightly. 
Make sure to have good clean Sore and 
pack it firmly, and i in about one.hour be- 
fore ready to stick in, the. cuttings, wet the 
sand thoroughly.. Place the ‘cuttings in 
the rows far enough. apart so that the sand 
cam ba seen, or 2 in. one way, and just: so 
that you can put your fingers between the 
cuttings the other way. “Be sure to put 
them in firmly; and after a whole row has 
been inserted press the sand against them 
so they will stand up when being watered. 
After ten or twelve rows have been plant- 
ed, water them, skipping none. Give 
enough water so that it will run over the 
sand. This will close the sand around the 
cuttings and keep away the air. Syringe on 
bright. days two or three times, and if the 
weather should turn warm during the first 
two weeks, syringe five or six times, and on. 
cloudy days, once, unless there is a heavy 
wind, when they will need syringing twice. 
The best way to do syringing is to get a 
spray for the those that will throw the 
water over the cuttings in a mist. 
Cuas. Knopp. 
HYBRIDISING. 
Inasmuch as the sexuality of plants was 
unknown, or at least yeuy imperfectly un- 
derstood, prior to the last two centuries, 
while a knowledge of the sex distinction of 
animals dates from the dawn of human 
history, it is not surprising that while the 
hybridising of animals was well understood 
by the ancients they did not know thas; 
crossing was possible with plants. Experi- 
mental proof of the sexuality of plants was 
ublished for the first time by Camerarius, 
ecember 28, 1691, and only after this dis 
covery was the function. of pollen and its 
necessity for seed formation understood. 
About twenty years later Thomas Fair- 
child, an, English gardener, made the first 
recognised plant hybrid by crossing the 
carnation with the sweet william. Tlie 
plants grown from the hybridised seeds, 
known as Fairchild’s sweet william, were 
cultivated at least a hundred years under 
the same name, and possibly are still in 
cultivation. The first careful studies of 
Tess. 
February 1, 1905 _ 
hybrid plants were made’ by Koelreuter- 
in 1760, and not till nearly the middle of - 
this century was his work surpassed. » 
- That unusual vigor’ of the offspring: re- 
sults from crossing slightly diverse plants: 
has been thoroughly proved by the strik- 
It 
ing researches of Darwin and others. 
mum when a certain mean difference in 
the origin of the sexual cells is attained,” 
and by Fritz Mueller that “every plant re- 
quires, for the production of the strongest 
possible and most prolific progeny, a certain 
amount of difference between male .and 
female elements which unite. Fertility is 
diminished:as well when this degree is too 
low (in relatives too closely related) as when 
it is.too high (in those too little related). 
Darwin says: “The offspring from the 
union of distinct individuals, especially if 
their progenitors have heen subjected to 
very different conditions, have an immense 
advantage in height, weight, constitutional 
vigor, and fertility over the self- fertilised 
ofispring from one of the same parents.” 
Attention has been called by Willis to 
three factors in the gain. resulting from _ 
cross-fertilization,. viz: (a) fertility of 
mother plant; (b) vigor of offspring; and 
(c) fertility of offspring. The relative 
value of these factors varies with different 
plants. In the carnation, for instance, 
factor (a) of cross-fertilised plants was 9 
per cent. greater than in self-fertilised 
plants, (b) was 16 per cent. greater, and (c) 
was 54 per cent. greater. Even. when the 
fertility of the mother plant is greatly re- 
duced by hybridising withi a distinct spe- 
cies and the hybrids themselves’ are sterile 
or very infertile they nevertheless often 
show extraordinary vigor, that is (b) 1s 
often greater in hybrids than in pure-bred 
planta) but factory (a) and (c) are usually 
In plant breeding the importance of 
this increased vigor is very great. 
When a hybr id possessing ‘desir able cha- 
racters is produced from: plants propagated 
by seed it is almost invariably necessary 
to render these characters hereditary by 
careful selection and in-and-in-breeding. 
Darwin says: 
“Florists may learn that they 
have the power of fixing. each fleeting 
variety of color if they will fertilise the 
flowers of the desired kind with their own 
pollen for half a dozen generations and 
grow the seedlings under the same con- 
ditions. But a cross with any other in- 
dividual of the same variety must be care- 
fully prevented, as each has its’ own pecu- 
liar constitution. After a dozen genera- 
tions of self-fertilization it is probable that 
the new variety wduld remain constant 
even. if grown under somewhat different 
conditions.” 
When a desirable hybrid is produced, it 
should be fertilised with its own pollen, the 
seeds thus produced planted, and the 
seedlings selected which most perfectly 
show the characters which it is desired to 
fix, after which these selected seedlings 
should be inbred and a third selection 
