JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
Match  25,  1897. 
24  G 
chance-grown  seedling.  The  Duchesie  d’ Angoule me,  a  most  popular 
Pear  in  France,  the  climate  beiDg  better  suited  for  its  development 
than  England,  was  found  in  a  farm  garden  near  Angers  ;  the 
Beurre  de  Ranee  also  being  derived  from  a  small  village  garden 
in  Flanders.  There  is  a  strange  adherence  to  the  prototype  in  some 
Pears,  the  Jargonelle  for  instance.  This  Pear  is  a  standard  of 
excellence  of  some.  Under  the  name  of  Epargne  it  is  said  by 
Andre  Leroy  to  have  been  a  popular  Pear  in  France  in  the  year 
l.r)80.  During  this  long  period  there  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
an  exact  reproduction.  Synonyms  there  are  in  plenty,  Leroy  gives 
twenty-two,  but  there  is  not  a  hint  that  they  represent  seedlings. 
One  of  the  oldest  known  Pears  in  England,  the  Autumn 
Bergamot,  said  to  have  been  introduced  by  the  Romans,  has  seed¬ 
lings  in  plenty,  and  a  long  list  of  synonyms,  but  apparently  no 
exact  reproduction.  The  seedlings  are  earlier  and  later,  larger  and 
smaller,  but  none  are  exactly  like  the  prototype.  Another  popular 
Pear,  the  Marie  Louise,  persists  in  keeping  the  place  it  has  gained  ; 
numerous  synonyms,  but  no  seedlings  which  exactly  reproduce  the 
original.  This  Pear,  from  its  excellent  quality,  must  have  been  a 
source  of  many  experiments.  Of  other  typical  Pears  which  have 
not  been  reproduced  the  following  will  be  familiar  examples  : — 
Williams’  Bon  Chretien,  Louise  Bonne  of  Jersey,  Glou  Moreeau, 
Doyenne  du  Comice,  Passe  Colmar,  and  Easter  Beurr£,  though 
they  have  been  in  existence  loDg  enough  to  have  produced  many 
seedlings.  I  have  raised  seedlings  from  these  varieties,  and  have 
not  gained  a  single  fruit  like  the  parent,  and  in  fact  all  have  been 
more  or  less  worthless. 
As  with  Pears  *o  with  Apples.  The  Ribston  Pippin  has  not  to 
my  knowledge  been  reproduced  ;  it  is  said  to  have  been  raised 
from  a  chance  seedling.  The  Wyken  Pippin,  a  very  old  and 
esteemed  variety,  has  not  reproduced,  or  the  King  of  the  Pippins, 
and  Golden  Pippin.  Old  Nonpareil,  of  which  the  seedlings  are 
nearer  the  prototype  than  most  of  the  old  varieties,  is  not  exactly 
reproduced. 
The  Peach  is  perhaps  the  fruit  which  approaches  more  nearly 
reproduction  than  most,  but  does  not  differ  much  from  the 
apparent  rule  of  diversity.  The  Grosse  Mignonne,  Bellegarde,  and 
Madeleine  have  numerous  seedlings  which  approach  the  originals 
in  quality,  but  differ  in  the  flowers  and  glands.  The  catalogue 
of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  enumerates  forty  synonyms  of 
the  Grosse  Mignonne.  These  do  not  appear  to  be  seedlings,  but 
the  names  seem  to  have  been  given  by  those  who  have  grown  the 
sorts,  but  lost  the  original  names. 
Nectarines  are  subject  to  the  same  law.  The  Elrugeand  Yiolette 
Hative  seem  to  have  kept  to  their  types.  The  Plum  has  also  an 
apparent  fixity  of  tenure.  The  Green  Gage,  which  was  introduced 
into  Europe  many  centuries  since,  seems  to  have  adhered  to  its 
prototype,  although  it  is  said  to  be  raised  from  seed,  with  the  result 
of  perfect  reproduction.  The  number  of  synonyms  points  rather  to 
the  fact  that  seedlings  vary,  as  do  the  seedlings  of  other  classes. 
The  Early  Prolific,  of  which  I  have  raised  many  seedlings,  does  not 
reproduce  itself,  and  the  fruits  differ  essentially  from  the  parent. 
Cherries  are  also  subject  to  the  same  law.  The  number  of 
synonyms  accorded  to  the  May  Duke,  Bigarreau,  and  the  Reine 
Hortense  seem  to  show  that  exact  reproduction  has  failed.  The 
subject  is  interesting,  and  is  capable  of  much  extension.  In  our 
uncertain  climate  the  aid  of  glass  is  almost  absolutely  necessary, 
and  the  experiment,  if  a  man  wiih  to  see  the  results,  should  be 
begun  at  an  early  age. — T.  Francis  Rivers.  ( Read  at  the  Horti¬ 
cultural  Club.)  • 
HARDY  FLOWER  NOTES. 
Rude  and  boisterous  as  are  many  of  the  days  of  Amazonian 
March,  as  the  Poet  Laureate  aptly  calls  the  month,  they  bring  us 
new  revelations  of  the  loveliness  of  early  flowers.  They  come  with 
timorous  feet,  shyly  peeping  out  upon  us  from  many  a  corner.  So 
lovely  are  they,  so  sweet  and  delicate,  that  one  can  only  wonder  at 
the  marvellous  process  by  which  these  graces  of  form  and  charms 
of  colour  are  evolved  from  the  dark  earth.  From  that  dusky 
mother  these  nymph-like  flowers,  pure  as  the  driven  snow  or  bright 
as  the  hues  of  the  rainbow,  have  sprung. 
See  that  Daffodil,  with  its  golden  trumpet  with  serrated  mouth  ; 
that  pa'e  one,  which  looks  as  if  it  had  borrowed  from  the  moon  its 
passionless  light.  Look  at  that  Iris  of  blue  velvet  bedecked  with 
gold  ;  that  Glory  of  the  Snow,  which  from  the  hills  near  Smyrna  once 
gave  amid  the  snow  the  colouring  of  the  North  American  Nemo- 
phila  insignis.  See  these  Crocuses,  with  their  cups  spread  open  to 
the  sun,  and  think  of  their  beauty.  Are  they  not  marvels  indeed  ? 
So  might  we  say  again  and  again  as  we  see  that  mound  of  Saxi- 
fraga  apiculata  spangled  with  its  primrose  flowers  ;  that  little  one 
of  Sixifraga  Boydi  with  deeper  coloured  blooms  ;  the  Scillas,  the  1 
early  Heaths,  the  Primroses,  the  Snowflakes,  and  other  flowers,  ' 
which,  from  the  rockwork’s  slopes  or  the  border’s  level  surface 
challenge  our  notice  and  compel  our  admiration.  We  may  too 
with  safety  say  that  with  March  has  come  the  Daffodil. 
In  February,  it  is  true,  a  few  adventurous  ones  dared  to  thrust 
their  trumpets  through  their  spathes  and  open  their  flowers  to  win 
our  unreluctant  praise.  No  less  true  is  it  that  here  April  is  the 
month  in  which  these  queens  of  spring  receive  our  highest  homage  ; 
yet  in  March,  the  traditional  month  of  the  flowers,  there  are 
Daffodils  enough  in  bloom  to  give  them  the  pride  of  place  with 
their  perfect  flower*.  Even  now,  early  in  the  month,  several  are 
in  beauty,  and  no  one  can  sit  down  to  write  of  hardy  flowers  of 
the  season  without  referring  to  two  or  three. 
As  usual,  the  dainty  little  Narcissus  minimus  came  first.  A 
little  later  than  in  some  other  years  has  it  been  ;  but  before  the 
middle  of  February  had  come  it  brightened  its  allotted  portion  of 
a  sunny  rockery.  A  few  of  the  blooms  would  have  opened  before 
the  5  th  of  the  month,  but  these  were  found  by  the  slugs  to  be 
delicious  food  ere  the  marauders  were  discovered  in  their  haunt. 
The  next  to  give  us  pleasure  were  a  couple  of  flowers  of  the  Sara¬ 
gossa  Daffodil,  which,  though  not  large,  were  very  pleasing  with 
their  clear  self-yellow  blooms.  There  was  next  a  race  between 
some  plants  of  pallidus  prmcox,  minor,  and  one  scoticus,  which  is 
perched  on  the  top  of  a  sunny  rockery,  and  had  been  driven  early 
to  rest  last  year.  It  is  hard  to  say  which  of  the  three  was  first  ; 
but  all  were  welcome  when  they  opened  when  March  came  in. 
Now,  as  I  write  in  the  second  week  in  March,  the  quaint  Cycla- 
mineus  major  has  turned  back  its  perianth  segments,  and  looks 
quaintly  pretty  in  its  pocket  at  the  foot  of  a  rockery  where,  although 
in  full  sun,  it  gets  its  share  of  the  water  applied  to  the  alpines 
above  in  dry  weather.  It  looks  like  some  freak  of  Nature,  and  had 
we  lived  in  legendary  times  we  might  have  imagined  that  some' 
magician  had  sought  to  make  a  Narcissus  into  a  yellow  Cyclamen, 
but  had  been  only  partially  successful  in  the  attempt.  One  feels 
some  pleasure  in  retaining  this  unique  little  flower  for  a  few  years 
after  several  failures  to  establish  it,  and  it  would  be  a  victory 
indeed  to  be  successful  in  establishing  N.  triandrus,  which  ha* 
hitherto  baffled  us  here. 
The  bright  looking  Hyacinthus  azureus,  mentioned  recently  by 
the  writer  under  the  erroneous  name  of  Muscariazureum,  by  which 
it  is  sometimes  known,  is  yet  in  flower,  and  has  done  better  than 
in  any  former  year.  Its  reputation  as  a  hardy  bulb  is  a  little 
“  shady,”  if  one  may  use  such  a  term,  and  amphilobis  and 
robustus  have  been  recommended  as  being  hardier.  The  writer 
has  no  experience  of  either  of  these,  but  has  found  the  typical 
H.  azureus  hardy  under  the  same  conditions  as  Narcissus  cycla- 
mineus,  with  two  exceptions.  These  are  that  it  is  much  the  better 
of  a  small  piece  of  glass  so  elevated  above  the  plants  as  to  throw 
the  rain  off  them,  and  a  zinc  ring  to  keep  off  slugs,  which  take 
pleasure  in  destroying  the  flower  stems.  The  rain  lodges  in  the 
cup  formed  by  the  leaves  at  the  base,  and  if  this  remain  too  long 
or  become  frozen  the  flower  stalk  rots  off.  It  is  some  trouble,  no 
doubt,  to  take  these  precautions,  but  the  capacity  for  taking  pains 
is  a  characteristic  which  must  be  developed  if  we  are  to  aucceed 
with  many  plants  in  this  climate. 
But  to  return  to  the  flower  itself.  The  *ky  blue  Hyacinth  is 
like  a  Grape  Hyacinth  in  general  appearance.  The  small  flowers 
are  densely  packed  together  in  a  conical  raceme.  The  name  sky 
blue  fairly  well  indicates  the  general  colouring  of  the  flowers.  The 
flower  scape  grows  here  to  about  4  inches  in  height,  rather  less  than 
the  lorate,  glaucous,  and  nearly  erect  leaves.  The  species  i*  a 
native  of  Asia  Minor,  and  the  authority  by  whom  it  was  described 
is  Mr.  J.  G.  Baker.  A  rather  light  and  peaty  soil  appears  to  suit 
this  pretty  and  distinct-looking  little  flower,  which  has  a  charming 
effect  associated  with  Snowdrops  and  some  of  the  yellow  Crocuses 
or  early  yellow  Primroses. 
A  pleasant  surprise  in  the  way  of  cut  flowers  came  by  a 
recent  morning’s  post.  The  first  box  came  from  Mr.  W.  E. 
Gumbleton  of  Belgrove,  Queenstown,  than  whom  there  is  no  one 
more  eager  to  put  new  flowers  to  the  test  of  growth,  and  to  whom 
I  have  frequently  been  indebted  in  many  similar  ways.  The  box 
contained  two  shades  of  flowers  produced  by  Fritillaria  pluriflora. 
I  am  under  the  impression  that  this  is  a  Californian  species,  but  as 
it  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  usual  works  of  reference  one  is  unable 
either  to  confirm  or  correct  this  without  rather  prolonged  search. 
It  is  a  very  distinct  Snake’s-head  Lily  with  pink  or  red  purple 
flowers.  Of  the  two  sent  one  is  considerably  lighter  than  the 
other.  Mr.  Gumbleton  kindly  tells  me  that  these  are  from  bulbs 
planted  at  the  foot  of  a  wall  in  1895,  but  which  did  not  flower  last 
year.  F.  pluriflora  is  a  very  distinct  looking  and  pretty  little  flower, 
not  at  all  like  the  best  known  Fritillarias,  with  its  bright  coloured, 
campanulate  twin  flowers. 
In  the  same  box  also  came  a  bunch  of  the  new  yellow  »weet 
Violet,  but  as  the  obliging  and  discerning  sender  has  appended  a 
query  to  the  word  “  yellow,”  it  is  evident  that  he  has  more  than 
