LUTHER BURBANK 



ers with dark flowers, and white ones with white, 

 and pink with pink, wherever possible, so as to 

 intensify the various types. 



As already noted, there is a pronounced ten- 

 dency to variation even among the wild species, 

 all the camassias sometimes producing pale green- 

 ish, almost white, flowers. These, if grown from 

 seed and carefully selected, can be changed to 

 snowy white. Some of the variations secured bear 

 flowers that are truly white, while others that are 

 called white are really of a pale greenish hue. The 

 seedlings of these greenish white ones tend ordi- 

 narily to produce blossoms that revert to the pale 

 blue color of the species from which they were 

 derived. 



So the production of a truly white camassia 

 required continued selection — a process of gradual 

 intensification. 



But of course hybridizing facilitated this pro- 

 cess. It also gave opportunity for selection with 

 regard to flowers having broad petals — narrow- 

 ness of petal being one of the original defects of 

 the camassia as a flower. Moreover, a nmnber of 

 extra petals have been added in some cases, and 

 it is only a matter of time until double camassias 

 will be produced. 



All along the line, then, the flowers of the ca- 

 massias have been improved by selecting from 



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