NEW CREATIONS IN PLANT LIFE 



The climate of California is particularly fa- 

 vorable to his work because of the length of 

 seasons in which tests may be carried on, — a 

 perpetual season, in fact, for some lines of the 

 work. On one day you may see one plot of 

 ground filled with a mass of flaming poppies: 

 at another time it may be white with lilies, or 

 it may be crimson with the royal amaryllis or 

 blue with larkspurs, or purple with some little 

 wild flower — it is never twice alike. When 

 one test is ended, the plants are dug up and 

 burned and the ground made ready for the 

 next experiment. Whenever the soil begins 

 to show signs of running low in nutriment, 

 fertilizers are used to restore it. But all this is 

 taken into account, for the finished plant must 

 go to the world equipped for general, normal 

 condition of soil and climate. 



As has been noted in the chapter on the 

 general methods, breeding and selection are 

 the basic facts in all this work. When the 

 flowers of a given test are in full blossom the 

 work of poUenation begins. For this work, 

 when it presents only general problems, Mr. 

 Burbank relies almost entirely upon his finger- 

 tips. He does not recommend that an ama- 



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