186 LUTHER BURBANK 



dance of fresh cut flowers has caused them to be 

 much less popular than they formerly were. 



Now, however, it appears that a process has 

 been perfected through which, by chemical treat- 

 ment, certain of the dried everlasting flowers are 

 given a degree of permanency and toughness of 

 fiber that makes them suitable for use in trim- 

 ming hats. Moreover, the grace and beauty of 

 the new Australian star flower are qualities not 

 possessed by any other everlasting. Hence the 

 milliner's desire to secure them in quantity. 



It was not convenient then to undertake to 

 meet so comprehensive a request. 



With the more familiar tribes of everlastings 

 I have been well acquainted since boyhood, but 

 it is only in recent years that I have given them 

 serious attention. They are of many colors- 

 red, pink, crimson, yellow, orange, and white 

 Some of them that are annuals in the eastern 

 States became perennials in California, even 

 growing and blooming throughout the winter. 

 The work commenced with a so-called double 

 Rhodanthe, which varies from white to red in 

 color. 



The seeds that furnished the original stock 

 were said to represent a double flower, but only 

 a small proportion of the plants that grew from 

 them bore flowers that were really double. That 



