LUTHER BURBANK 



That is to say, the most prolific species will 

 produce fifty new bulbs in a year, instead of the 

 three or four of the original species. 



In point of prolific bearing, there is a corre- 

 sponding contrast. The original species had sel- 

 dom more than two or three stalks to a bulb, with 

 four or five flowers in a cluster. 



The new varieties often produce four or five 

 stalks to a bulb, where they have remained in the 

 ground for a few seasons, with as many as twelve 

 flowers to the stem. 



The enhanced fecundity of the new forms is 

 supplemented by their tendency to early bearing. 

 They will sometimes bloom the second year from 

 the seed, and on the average they bloom in three 

 or four years. The old forms sometimes require 

 six or eight years to come to maturity. As Prof. 

 De Vries has said, I have pretty nearly cut in half 

 the time from seed to blossom in the amaryilis. 



But of course the most conspicuous contrast of 

 all is in the flowers themselves. In the original 

 species, the largest flowers seldom attain a diam- 

 eter of more than five or six inches. The new 

 giant species, as already stated, often produce 

 flowers that are ten inches or even more in 

 diameter. 



There is considerable variation even in the 

 same race, dependent in part on the size of the 



[90] 



