CLIMATIC CONDITIONS. l2 



three feet high and two feet across; and a plant will blow from 200 

 to 500 blooms in a season. 



Messrs. Hatfield and Tailby made special efforts to acclima- 

 tize foreign carnations in the native zone of the sernperflorens type 

 and failed. Mr. Hill visited Europe in the interest of this genus 

 of plants and purchased two hundred dollars worth of the most 

 promising kinds to naturalize them in the semperflorens zone and 

 in a short time had nothing to show for his time and expense. 

 Mr. Dorner obtained the finest strain of seed possible from 

 Bufurt, Germany, the storm center of splendid Selfs, Picotees 

 and Bizars to acclamatize in America, but without success in con- 

 tinuing their habits, Mr. Hancock imported one hundred and 

 thirty varieties from Germany and afforded them the best possible 

 conditions but without good results. 



Any of the foregoing types of carnations that possessed the 

 particular inherent nature of distributing their enormous crops of 

 bloom through their mature lives and could be inspired to do so 

 by artificial heat, in a few generations could have been acclimated 

 to the zone of the semperflorens type. Less than forty genera- 

 tions of cross -fertilization and parental selection might have 

 evolved a Lawson out of a raw sulking emigrant possessing these 

 essential qualities which are pathognomonic of the species. No 

 semperflorens carnation ever reached high merit or commercial 

 importance that was not born within the boundary lines on the 

 map. Nature "invokes the curse of Rome" against invaders. 

 The genealogy of Mrs. Joliff is legendary and has never been es- 

 tablished. Peter Henderson was bred by Charlton in New York 

 and disseminated by Nanz and Nauner of Louisville, Ky. 



Not only carnations but all plants that are transfered to new 

 climatic sections with different mean units of annual heat must be 

 naturalized or acclimated. Corn raised in Virginia will not ripen 

 in Canada's short season. Canada corn tak^n to Virginia is six 

 weeks' corn the first season, then lapses to its normal number of 

 heat units. No carnation, though it be of the same Alegatiere 

 origin, primarily inured to conditions in a different latitude ever 

 gave immediate satisfaction when moved on to the 50 degree iso- 



