276 NEBRASKA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 



further and further from the parent, and your new creations launch out 

 into a wild abandon of beauty, and give you a prodigality of loveliness. 

 Now you are ready to do something worth while. 



When Professor Dahl discovered the flower down in Mexico which 

 now bears his name, the blossoms were single. It took a long time 

 to secure a double form. Now we have several large and distinct 

 families. The Show family has three groups. The New Century Dahlia 

 has three more. Then come the fancy, the collarette, the pompon, and 

 the cactus groups, with the numerous forms of single ones. These sep- 

 arate kinds are now so diverse from the parent stock, their own mother 

 would not know them. 



The same advance has been made with the carnation. A single 

 one of these glorious flowers sold for $30,000 and that was but the 

 commencement of its career. Like advance has been made with roses. 

 My friend, Professor W. A. Harshbarger of Washburn College, Topeka, 

 has ransacked the earth and now has 220 kinds in his garden. When 

 we come to the phlox no such care is now necessary. Originally it 

 came from America, where like a wild Indian maiden it flourished un- 

 tamed. It was then sent to Europe where under the care of expert 

 florists it came forth a princess with robes fit for a king's palace. As 

 such she comes to us, now far removed from the native type, ready for 

 amazing transformations. The phlox planted in masses is one of the 

 most impressive features of the landscape or flower garden. A group 

 of a thousand seedlings with that wonderful blend of color is a very 

 attractive spectacle. Planted in beds in separate colors it is very con- 

 spicuous. I am more and more impressed with the fact that there are 

 surprises of beauty yet to be evolved from these winsome flowers. 



Local and Climatic Influences. 



Phloxes should be sheltered from our fierce, hot winds, and if pos- 

 sible in a dry time they should be well watered. If you cannot do this 

 then irrigate with the hoe and cultivator. Never plant on a ridge but 

 in a deep depression or shallow furrow. If you plant Irises too deep 

 they will rot. Phloxes should be put n so the buds will be about two 

 inches below the surface. 



In the summer as the hot dry weather comes on, you can put more 

 earth around them, making them deeper rooted. This is especially 

 necessary in field culture where with good cultivation they will do 

 fairly well without irrigation. You will be surprised at the effect the 

 weather has on them. If hot and dry, your flowers will be of lighter 

 color, and very much smaller. You may have some, the single flowerets 

 of which are larger than a silver dollar in moist weather, but when hot 

 and dry they will he the size of a quarter, and perhaps not larger' 

 than a dime. 



Phloxes do much better in Minnesota than in Kansas. They love 

 cool moist air. The colors are much brighter in fair weather. Out 

 in Colorado I saw some Crepuscules which had blooms of dark lavender. 



