94 



The Weekly Florists' Review, 



Dkcembek 11, 11)02. 



The pigments wliieli enter into tlie 

 colors of (towers have been diviiled into 

 two series, the xanthic or yellow and the 

 cyanic or hhie. To the blue series we 

 must credit all the leds, and we must 

 consider the greens as mixtures of the 

 two series. 



These pigments are dissolved in the 

 cell sap and are often so abundant as to 

 be seen in the leaves and stems as well 

 as the riowers. Familiar examples of 

 this excess of pigment may be seen in 

 carnations, jirimroses, cinerarias, cycla- 

 mens, etc.; so marked is it in many 

 cases that it is easy to group a lot of 

 seedlings according to color long before 

 they come into blossom. These coloring 

 matters may be extracted and crystal- 

 lized. If solutions be made of these 

 crystals some interesting results may be 

 obtained by treating them with certain 

 organic acids and alkalies. The reactions 

 brouglit about seem to lie analogous to 

 the changes of color seen in the blos- 

 soms of living plants. Solutions of the 

 cyanic group are readily acted upon by 

 dilute acids and alkalies, such as tartaric 

 and oxalic acid on the one hand and 

 sodium compounds, even ammonia, on 

 the other. 



The xanthic group, however, is most 

 refractory and defies any change except 



Tlie green coloring matter of plants, 

 existing principally in the leaves of 

 plants and often in a less degree in the 

 flowers, is known as chlorophyl. This 

 coloring matter nmybe easily extracted 

 b}' digesting the leaves with dilute alco- 

 hol. The coloring matter of many flowers 

 may be extracted in the same way, and 

 most of them seem to be closely allied 

 to the green coloring matter of the 

 leaves. There are, however, to be found 

 ill certiiin flowers color pigments which 

 are soluble in water. So far as is known, 

 no one has l>een able to dissolve the yel- 

 low coloring in water and but few of the 

 blues. In testing these extracted colors 

 with the spectrum analysis the yellow 

 and blue coloring matters of the chiys- 

 anthenium seem to be identical mth 

 chlorophyl and are only to be dissolved 

 by alcohol or benzol, not by water. 



The metho<i of separating blue from 

 tlie yellow elements is based upon the 

 greater solubility of the blue in benzol, 

 and the corresponding greater solubility 

 of the yellow in alcohol; the yellow is 

 extracted by alcohol, but the green is 

 not. or at least very slowly. It is to be 

 understood that these coloring matters 

 are rarcl,\- found in a state of purity, 

 there being almost always representa- 

 tives of the two groups ]>resent in col- 



House of Beauties at J. A. Budlong's, Chicago. Planted May 26. Photographed Oct. 28. 



slow oxidation, by means of which the 

 pigment is destroyed. I now refer to the 

 action of the vegetable acids; with sul- 

 ])huric or hydrochloric acids xanthophyl 

 changes to green and blue. Changes of 

 blue to red and red to green are easily 

 brought about. Changes from red to 

 green and from red to blue are very 

 common in nature. In early spring young 

 leaves of maples and other trees are 

 often quite red. but later as the leaves 

 grow and mature the coloring becomes 

 green. Later in the season the change 

 is reversed, and w-e see the green chang- 

 ing to red. In many flowers a similar 

 change takes place. In mertensia and 

 other iKiraginaceous flowers the expand- 

 ing buds are red and change to blue as 

 tliey come into antithesis. Green is to 

 be considered as a mixture of blue and 

 yellow, and it is well known that chlo- 

 rph.vl, the green coloring matter of leaves, 

 is separable after crystallization into 

 yellow and blue elements. 



ored flowers, and it is the differing pro- 

 portions that give us the infinite number 

 of tints seen in nature. 



Now. considering the convertibility of 

 these pigments of the cyanic group and 

 the presence of the yellow pigment in the 

 mixture, are there any good reasons for 

 expecting scarlet and blue to appear in 

 chrysanthemum flowers? Let us 

 look for a moment on the color 

 of this bloom as it is to-day and 

 as it was at the time of its 

 introduction. The oldest colored plate 

 of the bloom that I have seen represents 

 it as a purplish pink, a strongly cyanic 

 color. On the other hand, yellow has 

 always been well and abundantly present 

 in tiie cultivated varieties since their 

 earliest introduction into this country, 

 at least, and since the .Japanese introduc- 

 tions yellow of great purity has been 

 almost predominating. 



Tlie very name of the flower refers to 

 the yellow coloring. If we are to con- 



sider yellow as original and typical of 

 C. indicum, it would seem from 

 what we know of the immutability of 

 that pigment an almost hopeless task to 

 convert it into blue or any otiier color. 

 But, if I mistake not. the other parent 

 of our modern flower is strongly cyanic. 

 !Many of our hybrid blooms are strongly 

 impregnated with the cyanic: pigment, 

 and we have quite a long list of varie- 

 ties described as amaranth, purplish 

 crimson, magenta, lilac, mauve, etc., cer- 

 tainly showing a marked increase in the 

 amount of the blue pigment, in these 

 later years. 



The forces that govern the character 

 of the secretions in the cells of the plant 

 are most delicately adjusted, and an in- 

 crement or a diminution that battles the 

 most sensitive scale of the chemist may 

 change entirely the color of a flower or 

 transform a leaf. And so it is to quali- 

 tative rather than quantitative analysis 

 that we must look for the solution of 

 many of the problems of plant life. 



Qualitative tests .seem to show that 

 the reactions which bring alxjut the red 

 and yellow and red colors are acid, and 

 those that give us blue and green are of 

 an alkaline character. Just how far this 

 knowledge will help us in the protluction 

 of the missing colors in chrysanthemums 

 remains to be seen. 



It certainly will not do to rely on hy- 

 podermic injections or on absorption of 

 gaseous fumes for the attainment of the 

 end in question; but the knowledge may 

 be of some use to us in the work of de- 

 velopment. It is entirel}' probable that 

 the process of developing the new colors 

 will be along the lines of selection and 

 breeding, and when we remember what 

 wonderful results have been brought 

 about by long continued and intelligently 

 a])|)lied ell'ort there seems to be a fight- 

 ing chance. 



It would seem that, given one color to 

 start with, it ought to be a compara- 

 ti\ely easy matter to produce the op- 

 posing color, that is. if we have red to 

 start with, we ought to obtain green 

 without difficulty; if we have purple we 

 ought to get yellow, theoretically. Prac- 

 tically it is not so easy, it seems. In- 

 dications are that it is from the cyanic 

 flower nearest in value to the color de- 

 sired that we must proceed. This group, 

 or at least that part of it which lies be- 

 tween the violet and the red, seems to be 

 easily disturbed and changed or broken 

 up. For instance, in working for a blue 

 one would naturall.v start with a violet 

 red, which we already have and which is 

 a particularly instable color. In work- 

 ing for scarlet one would preferably be- 

 gin with an orange red shade modified 

 with blue, if possible. 



Another problem connected with the 

 preceding is that of obtaining a homo- 

 genous coloring on both sides of the 

 petal. At the present I think our nearest 

 approaches to red and scarlet are to be 

 found in the bi-colors. Here, of course, 

 the unity of the color is marred by the 

 dull papery under-petal. 



With distinctly and regularly reflexed 

 flatpetaled flowers of course this is not 

 so noticeable ; but with less compact In- 

 florescence or of incurved blooms the dull 

 coloring and poor texture spoils many a 

 bloom otherwise admirable. Tliis differ- 

 ence in color and texture is not uncom- 

 mon in the petals of flowers generally. 

 A gi-eat many of our flowers that are up- 

 right or lateral exhibit this same di- 

 versity — the lower or outer surfaces are 

 gieenish. dull-colored, or coarse, while 

 in the pendulous flowers this difference is 



