l62 AMERICAN CARNATION CULTUfefi. 



more stable anchorage to the type of this primal organ of plant- 

 life than that possessed by the pseiido-vwrphons petals. 



The structure of the petals of a flower is frail and degenerate, 

 their function is not known, they are not an essential feature of a 

 flower's purpose. It is not strange that such tissues in a flower 

 should be the first and fastest to yield to the blandishments of high 

 culture. Herein resides the cause of ruptured calyxes in carna- 

 tions. The only radical cure for it is to breed poly-petalous 

 corollas back toward their five petaled ancestors, or breed the 

 capacity of the calyxes forward for a fifty petaled corolla. The 

 first will not be done, the last is being done. 



Nature stopped creative acts in the organic world long ago. 

 All her efforts are now directed to modifying organs to meet new 

 requirements. Nature never creates new organs, but modifies old 

 ones. The process of change has been for forty years, slowly 

 modifying a tubular calyx into a bell-shaped calyx in carnations, to 

 meet requirements, without bursting, a plethoric corolla, which 

 long antedated the requirement. This result is nearly accomplish- 

 ed, half the introductions of 1900 and 1901 showing the bell-shaped 

 type of calyxes already attained. A decade back, it could not be 

 said that a single variety of carnations was exempt from ruinous 

 ruptures. Now it can be said many kinds are not troubled with 

 objectionable lesions, and a few are absolutely free from the fault. 



Prof. Authur called the rust disease, "Bacterium Dianthi," 

 or Bacteriosis. Bacteriosis implies a disease of carnations caused 

 by bacteria. Prof. Woods insists that the "Rust disease" is not 

 caused by bacteria, but by the punctures of aphides and other sap 

 sucking insects. Therefore, the term "Bacteriosis" is not expres- 

 sive of facts and should be substituted by the term "Stigmo- 

 nose," meaning a disease caused by punctures or piercings. 



From my point of view the argument is with Woods, rather 

 than Authur, neither of whom fully embraces the whole bound- 

 aries of the rust trouble. Be the germ of Uromyces caryophillus 

 a bacterium or a fungus, whether it enters the structure of the car- 



