THE AMARYLLIS AND THE POPPY 
He must be blind to all sense of color who 
is not deeply impressed by the brilliancy of 
these magnificent blossoms when seen in great 
masses. Through years of the most patient 
and painstaking labor Mr. Burbank has devel- 
oped the amaryllis from a flower having a few 
inches of breadth until it is very nearly a foot 
in diameter and with every shade of crimson 
or pink or scarlet and many rare and unusual 
blendings, all the colors being greatly intensi- 
fied. The usual methods of breeding and 
selecting were followed. It was found that 
the huge flowers were far too heavy for the 
ordinary amaryllis stem, so the complete trans- 
formation of the plant itself was planned. 
The stem was changed to meet the demands 
of the heavy flower, a low stout plant result- 
ing, not more than eighteen inches high, with 
thick leaves and sturdy trunk. When a bed 
of these new amaryllis is in blossom it pre- 
sents a spectacle of rare beauty, the great 
gorgeous blossoms illuminating the whole 
surroundings as with crimson flames. 
Under ground even more wonderful changes 
have taken place. If you take two amaryllis 
bulbs, one of the old type, one of the new, 
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