178 LUTHER BURBANK 



In general, it may be said that the carnation, 

 having been worked on by plant experimenters 

 for two thousand years or more, presents a diffi- 

 cult problem for anyone who strives to develop 

 new races of unusual value. It is like working 

 against the traditions of the ages to attempt to 

 modify the characteristics of such a plant in any 



new direction. 



The Petunia 



The experiment in which I hybridized the 

 petunia with the tobacco plant, producing the 

 anomaly that was described facetiously as 

 "the petunia with the tobacco habit," will be 

 recalled as having been described in an earlier 

 chapter. 



Doubtless this experiment constituted my 

 most interesting earlier work with the petunia, 

 although I have cultivated it largely and have 

 sometimes tried to cross it with other species, 

 notably with the allied plant known as Salpi- 

 giossis. This plant is regarded by botanists as 

 very close to the petunia, but I have been unable 

 to effect a cross with it. 



It will be recalled, however, that the petunia 

 and the tobacco were combined with difficulty, 

 and it is very possible that a more extended series 

 of experiments might result in hybridizing more 

 satisfactorily with Salpiglossis. 



