THE LOVELIEST FLOWER
[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—In the issue of the Spectator dated June 9th, Sir W. Beach Thomas, in his notes on " Country Life," quotes " one of the greatest developers of flowers " in England on the subject of intense cultivation as a potent agent in inducing flowers to " sport. " With this I agree, as would any horti- culturist who has gone in for hybridizing, cross-pollination or in other ways. But when your contributor adds, "His firm extracted every conceivable colour out of the descendants of one small plant of Nemesia which was orange, as the S. African Nemesia always is," I must disagree emphatically with the latter part of the statement. - In the Caledon, Darling and Bredasdorp districts of S. Africa Nemesiae of every shade and colour are to be found in the veld in great profusion, and finer than in other districts ; but everywhere the shades range from cream, through dark red and orange, to brown, and again from palest mauve to deep purple.
I was particularly interested in the reference because, though only a child at the time, I remember the first Nemesia seeds being sent to Messrs. Sutton by a relative, a great amateur gardener, in whose garden I delighted.
The Duckitt family, from Darling, also sent seeds to England about the same time. My joy was great when, on my first visit to England in 1901, I saw in the Bournemouth Gardens a gorgeous bed of Nemesia Suttonii. I admit the flowers were finer than ours, but the shades were not more varied than I had known them to be in their wild state.
Quite the most romantic story I know of any flower is the one the late Mr. Arderne, of Claremont, used to tell of the origin of the white Watsonia, Watsonia Ardernei. It is almost incredible that every white Watsonia in the world is the descendant of a " sport," found in a most romantic way and propagated by Mr. Arderne.
The wild varieties are all pink, red, mauve and magenta. Mr. Arderne used to show with pride the many trophies in the way of rare plants he had been given in exchange for his first " White Watsonia " bulbs.—I am, Sir, &c.,
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