LUTHER BURBANK 



tinguished from the geraniums, but which is obvi- 

 ously closely related. 



An interesting story is told of the way in which 

 the Pelargonium was introduced into cultivation. 

 A physician, experiencing difficulty in obtaining 

 plants from foreign countries and knowing that 

 the seeds of many choice varieties often lie dor- 

 mant in the soil, commissioned a sailor to bring 

 him a barrel of soil from the Far East I believe 

 from Borneo. 



When the soil was received and spread out and 

 cultivated, numerous plants sprang from it, among 

 others the one that became the parent of the now 

 greatly prized race of Pelargoniums. 



Whatever the truth of this anecdote, it at least 

 illustrates a possible way of securing new plants 

 from foreign countries. And however the Pelar- 

 gonium was introduced, it has proved a plant 

 worthy of the fullest recognition. It has, indeed, 

 obtained such popularity that the old-fashioned 

 types of geraniums have in many places lost their 

 vogue. 



Hybridizing the geraniums is not at all difficult 

 when one understands the process. It is only nec- 

 essary to understand that the stigma of any given 

 flower does not mature until after the pollen of 

 the same flower has been scattered. Bearing this 

 in mind nothing more is necessary than to gather 



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