FROM WILD TO GARDEN FLOWERS 



By Dr. R. W. Shufeldt 



(PHOTOGRAPHS FROM NATURE BY THE AUTHOR) 



HERE was a time in man's history 

 when the world was very young- 

 when such things as cultivated flowers 

 were unknown. We can not con- 

 ceiv^- of the Cave Man having any 

 knowledge of such a science as the 

 artificial production of new species of 

 flowers, or, indeed, taking any inter- 

 est in flowers at all. Doubtless, at a much 

 later period than that, myriads of different kinds 

 of wild flowers were to be found in many parts of the 

 world, but no one had yet conceived the idea of produc- 

 ing new varieties of them. There is a very large liter- 

 ature on this subject practically libraries devoted to it ; 

 so, were one to dip far into its most ancient parts, it is 

 quite possible that one might meet with a treatise here 



COMMON WILD OR PASTURE ROSE 



Fig. 1. Of all our wild flowers, no species is better or more 

 widely known than this lovely rose of the fields and skirts of the 

 woods; it blooms all summer long. 



and there, which would go to prove that at least five 

 centuries ago, or perhaps more, there were those who 

 understood more or less about the production of extra- 

 vagant forms of flowers and leaves through natural selec- 



tion, through changes in soils and environment, or 

 through cross fertilization. 



In the case of the hyacinth, for example, the famous 

 horticulturist Paul states that that plant was brought 

 from the Levant to England in 1596. He further says 

 that the petals of the original flower were of a flimsy 

 sort pointed, narrow, and more or less wrinkled. In 

 these days hyacinth petals are of a solid sort, being 

 smooth, rounded, and more or less broad. A year after 

 this Gerarde claimed that there were four different kinds 

 of hyacinths known in England, while Parkinson states 

 that in 1G29 there were eight. In a work published in 

 Amsterdam in 1768 the statement is made that at that 

 time there were upwards of 2000 varieties known in Hol- 

 land ; but more likely one-third that number would be 

 nearer the mark. Even so, the fact remains that about 

 three centuries ago, several hundred varieties of hya- 

 cinths had been produced from the original stock a 

 fact of decided significance from many points of view. 



It must be borne well in mind that in the case of each 

 and all of our cultivated flowers, however extravagant 



UNUSUAL CULTIVATED ROSE 



Fig. 2. Here we have a variety of garden rose bred from the 

 wild one, that has not, as yet, quite lost all of its original char- 

 acters ; it has comparatively few petals, while the rich array of 

 stamens and anthers is completely exposed. 



