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Show 366 FLOWERS. CrrAP. x: phtecd it in a distinct genus fTom Begonia, but wonl_d prob_ably _have considered it as tho type of a new natural order." This modrficatwn cannot in ono sonso bo considered as a monstrosity, for analogous structures nntumlly occur in other orders, as with Saxifragas and Aristol~chiacero. Tho interest of tho case is largely added to by Mr. C. W. Crockor_s observation that seedUngs from tbo normal flowers produced plants w_luch bore, in about the same proportion as tho parent-phtnt, hermaJ?~odito_ flowm:s having inferior porianths. The hermaphrodite flowers fertiliSed With thmr own pollen wore sterile. If florists had attended to, selected, and proprtgate_d by seed other m?difi. cations of structure besides those which arc beautiful, A. host of ourwus varieties would certainly have boon mised; and th~y would probably have transmitted their clntracters so truly that tho cultivator would have felt aggrieved, as in tho case of culinary v~getablos, if his w~ole bod_ bad not presented a uniform appearance. Flonsts have attended m some mstanccs to the loaves of their plant, and have thus produced the most elegant ancl symmetrical patterns of white, rod, and green, which, as in tho case of tho olargonium aro sometimes strictly inherited. 176 Any one who will habifually oxami~o highly-cultivated flowers in gardens and greenhouses will observe numerous deviations in structmo; but m?st of ~hose must . bo ankcd as mere monstrosities, and arc only so far mtorestmg as showmg ~ow plastic tho organisation becomes under _high cult!v~t~on. J?ro~,this point of view such works as Professor Moqum-Tandon s Teratologic aro highly instructive. Boses.-Those flowers offer an instance of a number of forms generally mnkcd a.s species, namely, R. centlfotic£, gctllica, alba, cla~ascena, spinosissima bmcteata, Indica, semperjlorens, moschata, &c., which have largely vari~d and been intorcrossod. The genus Rosa is a notoriously difficult one, and, though some of tbe above forms aro a~mitted by all botanis~s. to bo distinct species, others aro doubtful ; thus, with respect to the Bnt1sh forms, Babington makes seventeen, and Bentham only five species. 'rho hybrids from somo of the most distinct forms-for instance, from R. Indica fertilised by tho pollen of R. cent'ifolia-produco an abundance of seed· I state this on tho authority of Mr. Rivors,177 from whoso work I have' drawn most of the following statements. As almost all tho aboriginal forms brought from different countries have been crossed and recrossed, it is no wonder that Targioni-Tozzetti, in speaking of tho common roses of the Italian gardens, remarks that "the native country and precise form of the wild type of most of them aro involved in much uncertainty." 178 Nevertheless Mr. Rivers in referring to R. Ind·ica (p. 68) says that tho descendants of each group may generally be recognised by a close observer. Tho same author often speaks of roses as having been a little hybridised; but 176 Alph. do Candollc, 'Geogrnpb. Dot.,' p. 1083; 'Gard. Cluonicle,' 1861, p. 43R. The inhcrito.nce of tho white nnd golden zones in Pclnrgonium largely depends on the no.tmo of the soiL See D. llco.ton, in' Journal of Horticulture,' 1861, p. 64. 177 'Hose Amateur's Guido,' T. Rivers, 1837, p. 21. 178 'J ourno.lllort. Soc.,' vol. ix. 1855, p. 182: CHAP. X. FLOWERS. 367 it is evident that in very many cases tho differences duo to variation and to bybridisation can now only bo conjecturally distinguished. The species have varied both by seed and by buds ; such modified buds being often called by gardeners sports. In the following chapter I shall fully discuss this latter subject, and shall show that bud-variations can be propagated not only by grafting and budding, but often even by seed. Whenever a now rose appears with any peculiar character, however produced, if it yields seed, Mr. Rivers (p. 4) fully expects it to become the parent-typo of a new family. Tho tendency to vary is so strong in some kinds, as in the Village Maid (Rivers, p. 16), that when grown in different soils it varies so much in colour that it bas been thought to form several distinct kinds. Altogether tho number of kinds is very groat: thus M. Dcsportes, in his Catalogue for 1829, enumerates 2562 as cultivated in France ; but no doubt a large proportion of these are merely nominal. It would bo useless to specify the many points of difference between the various kinds, but some constitutional peculiarities may be mentioned. Several French roses (Rivers, p. 12) will not succeed in England; and an excellent hort.iculturistl79 remarks, that "Even in the same garden you will find that a rose that will do nothing under a south wall will do well under a north one. That is the case with Paul Joseph here. It grows strongly and blooms beautifully close to a north wall. For throe years seven plants have dono nothing under a south wall." Many roses can be forced, "many are totally unfit for forcing, among which is General Jacqueminot." 18° From the effects of crossing and variation Mr. Hivors enthusiastically anticipates (p. 87) that the day will come when all our roses even moss-roses, will have evergreen foliage, brilliant and fragrant flowers: and the habit of blooming from Jtme till November. "A distant view this seems, but perseverance in gardening will yet achieve wonders," as assuredly it bas already achieved wonders. It may be worth while briefly to give the well-known history of one class of roses. In 1793 some wild Scotch roses ( R. ~;pinosissima) were transplanted into a garden; 181 and one of those bore flowers slightly tinged with red, from which a plant was raised with semi-monstrous flowers, also tinged with red; seedlings from this flower were semi-double, and by continued selection, in about nine or ten years, eight sub-varieties were mised. In the course of less than twenty years these double Scotch roses bad so much increased in number and kind, that twenty-six well-marked varieties, classed in eight sections, wore described by 1\fr. Sabine. In Hl41 182 it is said that three hundred varieties could be procured in tho nursery-gardens near Glasgow; and those are described as blush, crimson, ~Ul'plo, :od, marbled, two-coloured, white, and yellow, and as differing much m the s1zo and shape of the flower. Ii9 Tho Rev. W. F. Ratlclyffo, in 'Journal of Ilorticulture,' March 11, 1865, p. 207. ISO 'Go.rtlcner's Chronicle,' 1861, p. 46. 181 Mr. Sabino, in 'Trausa.ct. IIort. Soc.,' vol. iv. p. 285. 1 S 2 'An Encyclop. of Plants,' by J. C. Loudon, 1841, p. 41.3. |