THE AMARYLLIS AND THE POPPY 



He must be blind to all sense of color who 

 is not deeply impressed by the brilliancy of 

 these magnificent blossoms when seen in great 

 masses. Through years of the most patient 

 and painstaking labor Mr. Burbank has devel- 

 oped the amaryllis from a flower having a few 

 inches of breadth until it is very nearly a foot 

 in diameter and with every shade of crimson 

 or pink or scarlet and many rare and unusual 

 blendings, all the colors being greatly intensi- 

 fied. The usual methods of breeding and 

 selecting were followed. It was found that 

 the huge flowers were far too heavy for the 

 ordinary amaryllis stem, so the complete trans- 

 formation of the plant itself was planned. 

 The stem was changed to meet the demands 

 of the heavy flower, a low stout plant result- 

 ing, not more than eighteen inches high, with 

 thick leaves and sturdy trunk. When a bed 

 of these new amaryllis is in blossom it pre- 

 sents a spectacle of rare beauty, the great 

 gorgeous blossoms illuminating the whole 

 surroundings as with crimson flames. 



Under ground even more wonderful changes 

 have taken place. If you take two amaryllis 

 bulbs, one of the old type, one of the new, 



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