LUTHER BURBANK 



ago, at a time when the Shirley was a compara- 

 tively new flower, I commenced a series of experi- 

 ments with this variety, securing seed from every 

 available source. 



I was somewhat astonished and disappointed 

 to find that, in spite of the diversified color scheme 

 of this flower, there was a very striking uniformity 

 among the plants produced from various lots of 

 seed. Everywhere there was a strong tendency 

 to revert to the original scarlet color, but other- 

 wise the colors were relatively fixed. Attention 

 was chiefly attracted to the form of the petals, 

 however, which seemed rather lacking in grace- 

 fulness, being too flat and without character. 



With the thought of modifying the petal and 

 thus beautifying the flower, I commenced the most 

 rigid selection, choosing the first year only four or 

 five plants out of many thousands, and from the 

 progeny of these reselecting from season to season. 



I chose the flowers that showed the lighter 

 shades of scarlet, crimson, and pink, and those 

 that were altogether white. 



Attention was given also to the selection of 

 large flowers, and in particular to those that had 

 the most delicate petals, but firmness of texture 

 and any suggestion of waviness was joyfully 

 welcomed. 



For many years I kept up this selection, rais- 



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