CHAPTER XII 



Hybridizing and Crossbreeding 



There is perhaps no flower that has been so completely 

 transformed by cultivation as the Carnation. As we 

 have it growing today, it bears but slight resemblance to 

 the small, five-petaled flower of two thousand years ago. 

 Not only has the bloom been improved by the addition of 

 petals, but from a Summer-flowering plant its blooming 

 period has been extended to cover the entire year. From 

 the small-flowered wilding, cultivated by the Greeks, 

 there has been evolved, by careful attention and breeding, 

 the modern 4 in. flower carried on a 3 ft. stem. 



While a considerable portion of this improvement, 

 especially of that achieved during the past quarter of a 

 century, may be attributed to improved cultural methods, 

 particularly as regards the size of the flower, to the hybrid- 

 izer belongs the credit for changing its habit of blooming 

 from the periodic to the perpetual, and for the wide range of 

 colors seen in the numerous varieties. 



The breeding of Carnations is productive of both 

 pleasure and profit, for there is no more fascinating work 

 than the breeding of plants, with its expectations, surprises 

 and disappointments. Many growers indulge in this 

 work in a limited way for diversion, taking keen delight 

 in the variations that can be seen in a batch of seedlings. 

 Occasionally a valuable variety is produced, but most of 

 the real acquisitions have been produced by the few who 



