LUTHER BURBANK 



from its fellows, this peculiarity may be accentu- 

 ated or exaggerated by selective breeding. And 

 sometimes the development is gratifyingly rapid. 



NEW COLOES IN THE POPPY 



As another illustration of this, take the case of 

 Mr. Burbank's crimson California poppy, named 

 by the botanist Eschscholtzia. 



This flower in its wild state is of a brilliant 

 orange color, but one day Mr. Burbank discovered 

 a specimen that showed a thin line of crimson run- 

 ning up the center of one petal. The seeds of this 

 poppy were carefully preserved, and among the 

 plants that grew from them one was discovered 

 that had a flower with a slightly wider line of 

 crimson. 



The next generation showed farther progress 

 in the same direction, and presently a poppy had 

 been produced the petals of which were crimson 

 throughout. 



There was no necessity for hybridization or 

 for? any directive manipulation. All that was 

 necessary was to preserve and sow the seed of the 

 plant that showed the tendency to vary, and thus 

 to give the new color an opportunity to assert 

 itself. 



In this case the crimson color appeared, as just 

 related, as a narrow but conspicuous line. There 

 are other cases in which a new color appears only 

 as a modified tone, readily overlooked by the 

 casual observer. Such a case was that of the 



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