27 DECEMBER 1935, Page 16

Allwoodii

The late William Robinson grew very irate on the subject' of Allwoodii pinks." He wrote. that the name was false, that there was no such plant, that he had never seen a hybrid—as the Allwoodii was claimed to be—between Dianthus caryo- phyllus, the carnation, and D. pliimariiis, the garden pink, and in his sturdy, rather clumsy style, which too often defeated its own ends, he went on to say. that he had written about it to the Royal Horticultural Society, and to the raiser; that no one had taken the slightest notice of him and that, finally,' he had been driven to state the truth. 'Whatever the truth may be, it is worth noting that the Allwoodii race not only survives but grows in glory too, and those who are interested in both the' truth and this charming family of pinks are directed to some remarks on the genesis of Allwoodii by the raiser himself. He is Mr. Montague C. AllWood, whose excellent book, Carnations and All Dianthus, is' published by his own firm. In this work he states quite clearly, without fuss, and incidentally Witheut any reference to Robinson's protests, that Allwoodii are the result' Of nine years' patient crossing of the old-fashioned. fringed White pink, Dianthus plumarius and the perpetual flowering carnation. 11Gmakes it plain too that the scientific Committee of the Royal Horti cultural Society gave the race not only, its name but its blessing too. Clearly, I think, he deservedsomething a little better at the hands of Robinson. The Allwoodii strain has been followed' by other varieties, of which the Highland and Herbert hybrids are particularly fine. All, in' my experience, are short-lived; but all may be raised with absurd case froin Seed.