LUTHER BURBANK 



Notwithstanding the rather unsightly appear- 

 ance of the European ox-eyes, I determined to 

 hybridize them with the American ox-eye, in the 

 hope of producing a plant that would combine 

 the larger flowers of the European wdth the grace, 

 abundant flowers, and early blooming qualities 

 of the American daisy. The cross was first 

 made with the English daisy C. maximum, by 

 taking pollen from this flower to fertilize the 

 best specimens of the American daisy that I had 

 hitherto been able to produce. 



When the seeds thus produced were sow^n next 

 season and the plants came to blooming time, it 

 was at once evident that there was marked 

 improvement. Some of the flowers appeared 

 earlier even than those of the American daisy; 

 they were ver\' numerous, and were larger in size 

 than the flowers of either parent. But all the 

 flowers had a yellowish tinge, unnoticed by the 

 average observer, but visible to a sharp eye on 

 close inspection. And this tendency to dinginess 

 in color was not at all to mj'^ liking. 



Further improvement was attempted by cross- 

 ing the hybrid plant wdth the German daisy just 

 referred to. A slight improvement was noticed, 

 but the changes were not very marked. 



By selecting the best specimens of the hybrid, 

 which now had a triple parentage, I had secured, 



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