Experimental Pedigree-Cultures 553 



The same holds good for alhida, which ap- 

 peared in 15 specimens, or in 0.1;^, of the whole 

 culture. By careful cultivation these plants 

 proved not to be sickly, but to belong to a new, 

 though weak type. It was evident that I had 

 already seen them in former years, but having 

 failed to recognize them had allowed them to be 

 destroyed at an early age, not knowing how to 

 protect them against adverse circumstances. 

 Even this time I did not succeed in getting them 

 strong enough to keep through the winter. 



Besides these, two new types were observed, 

 completing the range of all that have since been 

 recorded to regularly occur in this family. 

 They were scintillans and gigas. The first 

 was obtained in the way just described. The 

 other hardly escaped being destroyed, not hav- 

 ing showed itself early enough, and being left in 

 the bed after the end of the selection. But as 

 it was necessary to keep some rosettes through 

 the winter in order to have biennial flowering 

 plants to furnish seeds, I selected in August 

 about 30 of the most vigorous plants, planted 

 them on another bed and gave them sufficient 

 room for their stems and branches in the follow- 

 ing summer. Most of them sent up robust 

 shoots, but no difference was noted till the first 

 flowers opened. One plant had a much larger 

 crown of bright blossoms than any of the others. 



