LUTHER BURBANK 



its color, or its size — the plant experimenter should 

 never forget that there still lies open to him the 

 possibility of introducing new elements of varia- 

 bility, and new opportunities for improvement 

 through hybridization. 



This, of course, assumes that the flower has 

 not been so specialized that all its stamens have 

 been transformed into petals, so that it becomes 

 absolutely fertile. Such a transformation has, 

 indeed, been effected with a good many of the cul- 

 tivated flowers, including some of the roses. And 

 the case of the Hermosa, just cited, illustrates the 

 fact that some of our roses are practically sterile. 

 Indeed most of them are so. 



But then the flower that has ceased to have 

 productive stamens may sometimes still have a 

 receptive pistil, so that new blood may be intro- 

 duced from a species that retains normal virility — 

 although in general, such flowers show small 

 capacity even for accepting the pollen. 



Characteristics of the New Roses 



The new Burbank rose and its sister plant, the 

 Santa Rosa, present further object lessons in the 

 value of cross-fertilization, in that they are not 

 only much more beautiful than the original Her- 

 mosa from which they sprang, but that they also 

 have qualities of hardiness and of productivity 

 that are the token of their mixed heritage. 



[48] 



