106 
Xb[)<2. Slower (Brower 
October, 1919 j 
Defining Double Flowers. 
Willard N. Clute in Gardeners’ Chronicle. 
The Glad Philosopher’s 
Musings. 
T HE AVERAGE cultivator of flowers 
commonly places a greater value upon 
those which are double than upon the 
ordinary kinds. It is difficult to understand 
the reason for this for, judged by any con- 
ceivable standard, the specimens fancied are 
often far less attractive than the others. 
The stardard seems to be some brush-like 
or pin-cushion effect and the nearer the 
specimen approaches this, the more it is 
admired. And yet, even here, there is a 
choice of taste, for many admire the Chrys- 
anthemum who pass the dandelion, formed 
on the same plan, without a thought. 
It may be doubted, however, whether the 
admirer of double flowers could correctly 
define what a double flower is, or at least 
could distinguish such at sight. Certainly 
one would not consider a mere increase in 
size of the floral parts as a case of doubling 
and yet a considerable group of flowers are 
double in this sense only. An examination 
of any composite reputed to be double — 
Asters, Sunflowers, Daisies, Dahlias, Chrys- 
anthemums and the like — will show that the 
doubling is here due merely to an increase 
in size. It will be remembered that the Com- 
posites naturally divide into two groups, one 
in which the flowers are all ligulate, like the 
dandelion, and one on which the outer circle 
of flowers only are ligulate while those in 
the center or disk are shorter and less con- 
spicuous. When a composite is double, 
therefore, the disk flowers take on the form 
of the ray flowers. The dandelion is habitu- 
ally in this condition, the Sunflower and 
its kind very frequently become so. But if 
double means to increase in number, there 
are no double composites for none of the 
parts increase’ in number. 
There are, of course, no completely double 
flowers in nature, and though we may oc- 
casionally find double flowers in almost any 
wild plant, there are very few species that 
show a tendency toward regular doubling in 
normal flowers. All the showy double flow- 
ers of the gardener have been bred up from 
chance specimens that have appeared among 
flowers of the ordinary kind. Among the 
few species of flowers that indicate slight 
doubling in the wild state we may name the 
blood root, hepatica, anemone, calycanthus, 
and magnolia. These commonly have more 
sepals or petals than the number we nor- 
mally associate with dicotyledon flowers. In 
most of these it is the sepals that are multi- 
plied, but in the Water Lily it is the petals 
and in the Cactus it is both sepals and petals 
that are thus increased in number. It may 
be noted that nearly all the examples given 
are from low types of plants. Such forms 
are especially numerous in the buttercup, 
poppy, and allied families, and the multi- 
plicity of parts with them is regarded as a 
survival from still more primitive ancestors 
in which the typical dicot type with regular 
4-parted or 5-parted flowers has not yet be- 
come firmly established. If these flowers 
never have had fewer parts, we can scarcely 
call even them indications of doubling, how- 
ever. 
In the truly double flowers of the gardener 
we find one or more of the floral parts in- 
creased in number. Usually this increase is 
found in the petals, not because these are 
the organs most likely to vary, but because 
they are the ones the gardener most 
fancies. The doubling may extend to the 
sepals or even the bracts near the flower. 
One form of Carnation is called the wheat- 
ear because there are numerous duplications 
of the bracts that subtend the flower which 
make it look like a head of wheat. In sym- 
petalous flowers the doubling may consist of 
one corolla within another while in poly- 
petalous flowers there may be an increase in 
the petals, the number of the latter often 
reaching a hundred or more. It is but 
natural that the petals should most readily 
show an increase in number since they are 
regarded as having originally been derived 
from stamens and we may suppose the 
po wer to make more stamens into petals has 
not been entirely lost. This is not the only 
way, however, in which a greater number of 
petals have been produced. Often the group 
of cells that is destined to form a petal split 
into several parts before the growth is car- 
ried very far and several petals, instead of 
one results. This sort of doubling is most 
common in flowers in which the number of 
stamens is not large enough to produce 
them, 
Considering the double flower from the 
standpoint of beauty, it may be noted that 
not all flowers are enhanced in beauty by 
doubling. It takes but a little thought to 
show that some flowers please us by their 
color while others produce the same effect 
by their shape, and still others by a combi- 
nation of the two. Some flowers are indi- 
vidually too small to attract attention and 
are pleasing only in mass on account of 
their color. The flowers of orchids, on the 
other hand, especially the tropical Lady- 
Slippers though large, are often dull greenish 
or of other quiet colors and here it is chiefly 
the odd shapes that attract. Sweet Peas, 
Columbines, Bleeding Hearts and the like, 
please quite as much by their shape as by 
their color. It is clear, therefore, that some 
flowers can be doubled without loss of 
beauty while others doubling would have the 
opposite effect. One can scarcely imagine 
how doubling a Pansy or Iris would increase 
its attractiveness. On the other hand, mere 
saucershaped flowers may have a certain 
added beauty given them by a multiplication 
of the parts. 
In a completely double flower, that is, one 
in which all the essential organs have turned 
to showy petal-like parts, there can, of course, 
be no seed produced. If the plant that bears 
such happens to be a perennial, it may be mul- 
tiplied by budding, grafting, division, and the 
like but if it happens to be an annual or bi- 
ennial herb the case is quite different. In 
some cases it happens that the pistils are 
normal and capable of forming seeds if pol- 
linated. Even if pollen from flowers that 
are not wholly double is used, the race can 
be kept up. When pollination does not oc- 
cur the seed for a new crop must come from 
the specimens that are not wholly double. 
In flowers expected to be entirely double, 
there are usually some specimens that set a 
few seeds and these seeds commonly pro- 
duce more nearly double flowers when 
planted and thus the supply is assured. The 
fact that double flowers produce very few 
seeds accounts for the high price of the 
seeds of the best varieties. 
Owing to illness the continuation of 
the Henry C. Eckert series of articles 
entitled “Fifty Years Acquaintance with 
the Gladiolus,” does not appear in this 
issue, but Mr. Eckert writes us that he 
is getting better and expects to con- 
tinue the series in the November issue 
and conclude it with the December 
issue. 
We learn that there have been made 
many sales of flower stocks of various 
kinds for fall and spring delivery. In- 
dications are for higher prices before 
another planting season. 
I believe it was Seneca who observed: 
“ We are always complaining that our 
days are few, and acting as though 
there would be no end of them.” What 
beautiful homes, what beautiful neigh- 
borhoods, what a beautiful country 
America could be in a few short years 
if one-half the time that is idled away 
or spent in useless and sometimes 
harmful occupations were devoted to 
“ fixing things up.” 
As one drives through the country it 
is easy to judge the character of the 
dwellers in the farmhouses by the out- 
ward appearances of the home grounds. 
A clean kitchen and a tidy parlor will 
almost invariably be reflected in the 
front yard. 
If you have naturally inherited a 
vigorous constitution, you doubtless i 
owe it to a grandfather who tilled his ( 
own land, and a grandmother who did 
her own housework, and handed down , 
to you the fruits of their labor. If you j 
do not have good health, an interest in 
flowers and garden experience in grow- > 
ing them will probably do more to 
endow you with physical vigor than a I 
peck of doctor’s pills or shelves full of 
patent medicines. 
Any money in flowers? Well, when 
one goes to the flower shop to pur- 1 
chase some, he is somewhat impressed 
with the belief that there is. And yet 
there are florists who fail in their busi- 
ness. As in every other branch of j 
trade, there is money in flower grow- j 
ing and flower selling for the man who 
is capable and enthusiastically inter- 
ested. 
Yes, as Joe Coleman sums it up so \ 
tersely, “There’s a pot of gold at the i 
end of the rainbow.” But there’s a >> 
long journey ahead and a good job of j 
digging for the man who goes after it. 
I recently dropped into the private 
office of a florist and heard him recite i; 
his tale of woe— the old, old story ofi 
increasing expenses and decreasing : 
sales. Lying all around I observed 
numerous unopened copies of one of 
the leading trade papers devoted to his 
business, and I could easily understand 
why he was complaining. Those un- 1 
opened wrappers gave silent testimony : 
of the fact that he lacked the interest 
and enthusiasm necessary for a suc-j 
cessful business career. 
Don’t forget that today is the tomor-; 
row for which you put off that little 
job of fixing up that you should have! 
done yesterday. 
The Glad Philosopher. 
Bound volume No. 5 The Flower 
Grower is ready for delivery, price i 
$1.75 postage prepaid. The very com- 
plete index makes it useful for refer-j 
ence purposes. 
