LUTHER BURBANK 



This is sometimes regarded as a merit, but as the 

 plant is very tender, there is danger that its blos- 

 soms will be blighted by the early frosts. So the 

 most important work that has been done with the 

 plant in recent years is the production of early 

 blooming varieties. The effort has been so far suc- 

 cessful that there are now varieties that bloom in 

 midsummer. The fact that this modification has 

 been brought about within a comparatively few 

 plant generations illustrates the pliability of the 

 cosmos. 



It is, in point of fact, one of the most variable 

 and pliable of plants comparable in this regard 

 to the dahlia. 



Such being the case, it is not surprising that it 

 has been found possible to develop new shades of 

 color, as well as much larger and finer flowers than 

 those of the original species. Forms with wider 

 petals, and others with twisted petals and other 

 variations of the corolla, have also been developed. 

 Even a double cosmos has been mentioned as 

 forthcoming. But the plant is comparatively new 

 in the flower garden, and it offers therefore rather 

 exceptional opportunities for the experimenter. 



The amateur who is looking for a plant that 

 has not been carried to anything like its limits of 

 variation may advantageously pay attention to this 

 graceful, attractive, and rapid-growing composite. 



[180] 



