LUTHER BURBANK 



fine flowers were produced by me. Two years ago, 

 one appeared of very large size, and perfect in all 

 respects with a true blue color. 



The crossing of the gladiolus presents no 

 difficulties. It is merely necessary to cover the 

 three-parted stigmas with pollen of the desired 

 parent so thickly that bees and humming-birds 

 cannot interfere with the experiment. 



In working on a large scale, it is convenient to 

 place rows of different forms that one wishes to 

 hybridize side by side, so that pollen may be read- 

 ily transferred from one row to another, in walk- 

 ing along the rows, each forenoon when the stig- 

 mas are receptive. Also this arrangement allows 

 the hybridizing to be carried out by the humming- 

 birds which are always aids in the fertilization of 

 these tubular flowers. Here as in most other ex- 

 periments, I have found that the results of the 

 reciprocal cross are the same; it makes no differ- 

 ence which parent is the pollenate and which the 

 pistillate member. So the seed from the contigu- 

 ous rows of gladioli thus hybridized may be saved 

 in a single lot. 



My experiments with a new strain of hybrid 

 gladioli have now progressed so far as to assure 

 the development of some greatly improved 

 varieties. 



New crosses and rigid selection are giving 



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