THE CANNA AND CALLA 47 



half feet in height, others only eight or ten inches. 

 In some cases the foliage and stalks were smooth 

 and in others actually hairy, covered with soft 

 excrescences of thornlike appearance. Some of 

 the hybrids were very easy to raise, but most of 

 them quite difficult. 



Among the freak forms that appeared in this 

 hybrid colony were plants bearing double and 

 even triple flowers, and others in which the 

 flowers and leaves were combined in the most 

 curious manner. Of course the so-called flower 

 of the calla is a modified leaf that has not alto- 

 gether lost the leaflike form and manner of 

 growth. So the reversion through which the 

 flowers become still more leaflike in these mixed 

 hybrids was perhaps not altogether surprising. 

 But the particular manifestations of the tend- 

 ency to reversion were most astonishing. 



OTHER NEW VARIETIES 



Among the hybrids that departed less mark- 

 edly from the calla traditions were some that 

 bore flowers of a splendid deep yellow, and that 

 had all desirable qualities of easy multiplication 

 and abundant blooming. 



Some of these have a purple spot low down in 

 the throat, others are a pure yellow, not dissimi- 

 lar in appearance to my early varieties. 



