132 LUTHER BURBANK 



is the one known as the Coreopsis lanceolata. 

 The experiments were undertaken to make the 

 plants more compact in growth as well as to 

 increase the size of the flowers and their abun- 

 dance. There was no great difficulty in doubling 

 the size of the flower, and in the course of four 

 years, working with seed purchased in the com- 

 mon market, varieties were produced that were 

 considered well worthy of introduction. These 

 were distributed by several leading florists. 



The developed varieties had exceptional value 

 because of the large size of the flowers and of the 

 small center, also because of the strong stems, 

 making it a good flower for cutting. A fault of 

 most of the annual varieties is that they have 

 small, weak stems. 



As to all of these matters, the amateur can 

 work by crossing and selection. The wide range 

 of color variation aff*ords a ready guide in cross- 

 ing experiments, and the ease and certainty with 

 which the plants can be grown from seed adds 

 greatly to their utility from the standpoint of the 



amateur. 



Shooting Star and Salvia 



A really fine plant that ofl*ers opportunity for 

 improvement, yet which has been little worked 

 with, is the Shooting Star, sometimes called 

 American cowslip, a member of the primrose 



