'/•///•; si'oi:)' "/■■ riih- i:/:i) sryrutw /■:/: 



■15 



l»()t;iii\ trcjitiiii:' tile >ul»jrrt witli that I'ui' tliis cnuiitrv tn ciiiiilnv a iuiml)('r 

 riillii('» of detail uliicli i> inM iiiicoiii- *){ >l<ill('(l l>(>tiini.-t> io make a iiii- 

 iiinn ill iiindcni l"'.iirn|icaii lliira>. Only mitc >tiiily of tlic varialiniiv of |ilaiits, 

 l>\ cloM' altciilidii to tlic |ilu'iioiii('iia of ami set tlicir ohscrvat ions t'ortli in u 

 \ariation can Uf t'\|)i'(t in iiiKlcrstaml scrirs of dicaii vohinics wliicli would 

 llic cxolnlioii of jilaiil -|ifiic-. and at >! ininlatc a far wider and moi'e intelli- 



i:elil interest ill I lie .-lllijeel. 



.\ltlioi|u|i ill ,,||,. sense the hi'eeder 



the >anie time lo de\elo|i I ho,-e new 



liort ieiili iiral ronii> \\lii<li iiia\ aild so 



iiiiieh to the Wealth and heaiit\ i>i' creates lutthiiii;-. vet he does virtiiallv 



fanns and «:arilen>. 



create in the sense that the new eo 



We sonietiiiie> lic.ir of the ■"creai ion" hinations he produces are in efl'eet and 



of new kimU of |ilant> hy the hreeder. 

 The plant hreeder can utilize oidy what 

 nature pro\ ide>. In the (ir>t in-laiice 

 he iiiii>t M'nrcli for iiialerial> to -erve 



to all practical pui'poses actual novel- 

 tie.-. 'riii> may he illii>t rated 1)\- the 

 history ol' the wine-red suidlower. If 

 we take ravs of the ehestnut-red \aii- 



lii> piirpoM'.-. for plants |)ossessin<i; ely and soak Iheiii in acidulate<l alcohol, 

 the (hai'acter.- he de>ire> to impart we L:ct a solution which is not ehestnut- 

 |o hi> new li(U't icult iiral roriii>. In Vf^] hut wiiie-red. The va] color is in 

 the case of the fed -Ullllower. 

 the variation was so con>pic ;- 

 ou> and reinarkahle as to ar- 

 I'est the atti'niion at once: vet 

 even so. the chances of the 

 plant heino- saved were rather 

 sli»;ht. it is perha])s n i exai:- 

 jieration to >My that a thousand 

 red sunliower- miL:'ht Moom in 

 as many American tow n>. w itli- 

 oiit anyone thinkii\ii' it worth 

 while to save tiie seed and 

 carry on hreedinji" experiments. 

 When we come to valuahle new 

 varieties of less coii-picuo.is 

 plant>. such as wheal or oats. 

 the present chances for isola- 

 tion and ])reservation are in- 

 finitesimal. Xot even the pro- 

 fessional hotatiist is. as a rule, 

 trained to ohserve minute d'f- 

 ferenees : lie often actually 

 prides himself on iirnorin'i 

 e\crythin.:;" lielow the grade of 

 a sjK'cies. Yet these small dif- 

 ferences may carry the poten- 

 tiality of an increase in yield 

 >unicient to feed thousands of 

 people, or of some new form of 

 heanty to gladden the eyes of 

 garden lovers in two conti- 

 nents. Thus it w(uild doul't- 

 less he a paying ])ropositii>n 



Helianthus annuus variety primulinun, the pule yellow 

 type used in tlie first cross to obtain the winered (variety 

 rinostm) form. The primrose variety was introduced to 

 horticulture by Messrs. Sutton and Sons, of England, in 

 1889, it having occurred as a sport among the ordinary 

 orange plants a few seasons previously. The plant here 

 figured is an improved form, with two rows of rays, recall- 

 ing the star dahlias. Sunflowers witli additional rows of 

 rays have been known for a long time, however, as is shown 

 l)y Vandyke (1599-1641) in liis portrait of himself, now in 

 the collection of the Duke of Westminster 



