a 
March 1, 1905 
Fertilising, with subsequent raising of 
plants from seed, is perhaps the most. inte- 
resting of all the various stages in the cul- 
ture of Zonals, and provided judicious se- 
lections of varieties are used for this pur- 
pose very fair results are to be obtained. 
The beginner must not, however, expect 
to obtain many advances on existing 
varieties, as such splendid work has been 
done in this direction. that the field is now 
ssemewhat limited. There is always the 
chance of raising something superior to ex- 
isting sorts, and it is this chance that gives 
zest and fascination to this most interest- 
ing of all gardening operations. 
The plants intended to be crossed should 
be two years old, strong, healthy, and of 
good habit, with large trusses of bold, well- 
rounded pips. Midsummer is about the 
best time of the year to commence opera- 
tions. Having selected the plant which is 
to bear the seed, remove the stamens 
fiom the flowers before the pollen becomes 
ripe (to prevent self-fertilisation), and 
when the pistil is matured, that is, when 
it becomes sticky and reflexed, apply the 
pollen from the other selected plant to it, 
by means of a-camel hair brush. Several. 
blooms of the same plant may be so 
treated, the remainder being removed. 
Pinch out the growing points of the shoots 
and cover the plants with fine gauze to ex- 
clude insects. 
The seed so obtained should be sown, as 
scon as ripe, in pans of sandy compost. 
Transplant the seedlings early into small 
thumb pots, and when the roots aie seen to 
be going round the ball shift the plants 
on into 5-inch pots, in which they may 
be allowed to bloom. Use a compost as 
advised for the final potting of plants from. 
cuttings. The subsequent treatment of 
scedling plants is similar to that of the 
other batches. The majority will probably 
come into flower early in the following 
summer, or, if mora convenient, the seed. 
may be sown the following spring for late 
autumn flowering. 
Zonals grown as standards make very 
fine decorative subjects. Some of the seed- 
ling plants are well adapted for growing in 
this way, as their stems are naturally 
straight and stout and run up rather tall 
before branching. They also form suitable 
stocks on, which to graft other varieties to 
form standards. Plants from cuttings may 
alse be used and trained into standards. ‘In 
this case all lateral growth must be re-_ 
moyed as soon as formed until the desired 
height is reached. From 24 to 30 inches 
from the ground line will be about the 
right height. Atthis point pinch out the 
giowth and bloom bud. When the result- 
ing shoots are some 3 inches long again 
pinch out the growing points. Continue 
this stopping until a fine head is obtained. 
This must not, however, be done in/a hap- 
hazard way: some care is necessary, in 
order that all the branches may be pro- 
perly disposed, so as to admit of free cit 
culation of air among them. <As the stem 
has to bear considerable weight it. will re- 
quire a fairly stout bamboo stake for a sup- 
port. 
To promote quick growth, standards re- 
quire generous treatment, and to be shif- 
ted on into larger pots according to their 
growth. A fully grown plant with a head 
some 2 feet: through may need an 8-inch 
pot. When growing freely, assist with! fre- 
‘quent waterings of weak liquid manures, 
and when the plants come into flower, 
stop the growth points one joint beyond 
the blooms to throw the whole energy into 
the trusses. 
_ After flowering, turn the plants out of 
their pots, remove nearly all the old soil, 
shorten the old roots back, and repot. The 
fine old scarlet Hyacinth is of outstanding 
merit grown, as a standard. Its growth is 
peculiarly well adapted for forming fine 
symmetrical heads, and it is a very free 
bloomer. The trusses are of immense size, 
standing well up above the foliage. Miul- 
ler's Favourite, another old variety, is of 
almost equal merit-—W. H. Cook, “The 
Gardener.” 
LILIES AND ROSES. 
in the height of the summer, when the 
two rival queens of the garden, the Rose 
and the Lily, are disputing sovereignty, 
horder and bed, porch and trellis, are 
bright with countless flowers, beautiful in- 
deed, but, falling short of them in loveli- 
ness. Lilies and Roses associate charm- 
ingly with one another. The Crimson Ram- 
bler, whose somewhat crude coloring ren- 
ders it objectionable where other bright 
tints are present, is handsome when seen 
with only a complement of green, as where 
its blossoms drape an archway having a 
background of full-foliaged trees, while a 
trellis covered with this Rose in full flower, 
fronted by a wide row of Madonna. Lilies, 
furnishes 2 striking and pleasing contrast. 
Of the summer-blooming, so-called “garden 
Roses,” there are many, notably the old 
Cabbage Rose, Maiden’s Blush, the pretty 
little De Meaux, the striped York and Lan- 
caster, the white Provence, and others 
which all form good bushes, as do the Aus- 
trian Briers, single and double, the Per- 
sian Yellow, and the Penzance Briers. In 
climbing Roses suitable for covering 
porches, verandahs, trellises, or even for 
clambering to the top of small trees, we 
have a wide selection.. Our Dog Roses of 
the hedgerows testify to the beauty ex- 
pressed by the ravibling Brier, and other 
wild species will succeed equally well with 
us, but it is chiefly to the varieties raised 
from these wildlines that we owe the soft 
colors with which the climbing Roses 
mantle pergola and porch. Rosa polyantha, 
besides its charming type known as R. poly- 
antha simplex, and its larger form grandi- 
flora, has given us the pink Euphrosyne, 
the nankeen Claire Jacquier, the flesh-pink 
Psyche, the white Thalia, the pale+yellow 
\glaia, the pink Leuchstern, and the deep- 
colored Crimson Rambler. From the Ayr- 
shires, or Rosa arvensis race, we have the 
white Bennet’s Seedling, and Dundee Ram- 
bler, white shaded pmk. The Evergreen or 
sempervirens section has provided the pink 
Flora, the white Felicite-Perpetue, and the 
pale pink Myrianthes Renoncule. The 
| THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
buff Garland Rose and the white Mmex. 
d'Avblay are hybrid. Musks. The glorious 
Carmine Pillar, glowing crimson, and Longs 
worth Rambler, light crimson, are hybrids, 
while of Hybrid Teas we have the vigor 
ous Reine Olga de Wurtemburg, bearings 
great semi-double, light crimson flowers, 
and making shoots 12 ft. and more im 
length during the season. Teas and Nois-. 
ettes also firnish us with many stronge 
growing climbers, such as Mme: Alfred Cause 
rere, cream-white, Mme. Berard, salmors, 
and Waltham Climber, light crimson, im 
the first section} and such varieties as thes 
white Aimee Vibert, the copper-yellows 
Reve d'Or, and the apricot W. A. Richard- 
son in the second, while in the warmex: 
localities the white and the yellow Banli- 
stan Roses may also be grown. 
In Lilies, although the peerless Ma 
donna Lily holds the first place, there are 
many others that are of easy culture in the 
border, such as the common Orange Lily 
(L. croceum), the many named varieties 
of the comparatively dwarf-growing T= 
hergianum or elegans, and the L. umbellae~ 
tum. section, ranging in color from lemom- 
yellow to crimson, the buff L. excelsum ox 
testaceum—a hybrid between L. candidurm 
and Li. chaleedonicum, L. Martagon, and& 
its white for, the scarlet Turk’s' cap (Es. 
chalcedonicum), the Tiger Lilies, of whieEa 
the best are L. tigrinum splendeng and 
L. t. Fortunei. L. Henryi, called the yellous 
speciosum, is also a vigorous Lily, but a®& 
present rather expensive. In some gardemsa 
many other Lilies are found to flourish, 
L. auratum, L. speciosum, L. longiflorum, 
and L. Browni becoming permanently’ es- 
tablished, and even the lovely flesh-pirmie 
L. Krameri doing well and flowering freelkg, 
but these are not to be relied on, as ares 
the earlier-named species. The pale yellow: 
Le Szovitzianum will generally, though nets 
always, succeed, and in deep soil the noble 
Giant Lily of the Himalayas (L. gigantetm)} 
forms a splendid picture. pas 
8. W. FE. 
“LILIUM GIGANTEUM. 
‘If the Rose has any real rival in the 
realm of flowers the Lily must be accorded? 
this proud distinction ; for no other flower 
can come near it in the affection and adi 
miration with which it is viewed by its adt- 
mirers. Opinions may differ as to whicke 
is the most beautiful Lily—-and there’ iss 
room for some difference in this—but: 
there can be none as to which is the most 
stately and imposing of all. There wil® 
be a common agreement that it is in Ex 
siganteum that we have the noblest of aff 
the race. Rearing its gallant stems to am 
height of sometimes as much as 16 feet, i& 
is truly a “giant” among its compeers, yeés 
it is absolutely wanting~in the ungainli- 
ness we so often associate with the term. 
There is no want of proportion in the 
plant—from the great heart shaped, slossy 
leaves, shining as if varnished, the stout 
stem, to the noble spike of flowers, which 
crowns its summit, each is in proportion. 
Like the others of the small section to 
which i€ belongs, the bulb of this Lily dies 
