2o8 PLANT-BREEDING 



others had produced some ten or twelve during the summer, 

 and in the extreme instances this number amounted to 20 to 24 

 young bulbs on one plant. These were marked for selection, 

 and their seed pods gave proof that they had already been 

 crossed with others, in order to combine their abundant and 

 easy propagation with the fmest and most showy flowers. 



Similar results were arrived at with the Gladiolus, of 

 which, however, hardy garden varieties had already been 

 secured in Europe. But the stems were too weak, the flowers 

 too distant, the petals too narrow, and all those deficiencies 

 had to be eUminated by crossing with suitable parents. Some 

 new species were introduced from South Africa, and during 

 ten years, about a milHon hybrid seedHngs were raised. 

 Among these quite a number of new forms have been chosen, 

 being hardy plants for the open air with stiff culms and 

 densely crowded spikes of large bright flowers. 



Experiments of this kind have been quite numerous. 

 Some are of older date and had already been concluded before 

 the time of my visits. Others were of more recent date and 

 some only in their beginning. From the long list of species 

 treated in this way, a few may be chosen to give a stifl better 

 idea of the methods followed. One of his most notable 

 achievements is the amelioration of the wild CaHfornia tiger 

 lily, Lihum pardaHnum. This is a species which grows 

 abundantly in many of the redwood reserves of California, 

 bearing its large curled flowers of a fiery red on stems four 

 or five feet high. It is remarkable for being very rich in 

 sub-species and varieties, and almost every locaHty where it 

 grows is said to have its own type. Burbank collected as 

 many of them as he could, and crossed them with the culti- 

 vated species and hybrids of our gardens. Hundreds of 

 thousands of crossed seeds were produced and the bulbs 

 grown from them showed a diversity of blooms and colors 

 greatly exceeding that of the previous stock. Repeated 



