NEW CREATIONS IN PLANT LIFE 
A visitor to the lily-testing grounds at 
Sebastopol, Mr. Charles Howard Shinn, in a 
newspaper article printed at the time, spoke 
thus of the general effect: 
“This great mass of a hundred thousand 
lilies in full bloom, on a California hillside, in 
mid-June, surrounded by orchards, wheat fields 
and fringes of forest, is peculiarly enchanting. 
As one approaches, the golden, orange and 
red tints which predominate, mingled with 
various shades of green, produce the effect of 
some huge product of Oriental looms. Little 
by little, as one draws closer, the colors sepa- 
rate, and widely diverse types of flowers are 
seen to be growing side by side. One finds 
lily stems varying in height from six inches to 
nine feet, all bearing open flowers. Some 
plants have many stems, others but one, and 
a few present stems with distinct branches 
like the branches of a tree. Flowers, leaves, 
stems and roots show every conceivable varia- 
tion. The biologist would find material for a 
volume in this lily field. © 
“Some lilies have but one petal, rolled like 
a cigar and half-open like the broader end of 
acypripedium. Others have two petals spread- 
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