FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
223 
he began his experiments the old groves 
were mainly fertilized by cowpenning 
with cattle; the muck mania was in full 
blast and the small amounts of commer¬ 
cial fertilizers used were usually either 
organic nitrogen material or one-sided, 
ill-balanced chlorine base mixtures that 
produced when used continuously unfa¬ 
vorable results. The discovery of a well- 
balanced chemical fertilizer produced 
from sulphates that can be used safely 
year after year was a triumph of which 
any horticulturist might be proud. 
The influence of this discovery has been 
far-reaching not only with citrus, but with 
deciduous fruits and the principle in¬ 
volved is now generally recognized as the 
correct method for high-grade results. He 
also discovered that an excess of sulphate 
of ammonia or a spray of bi-sulphate 
soda prematurely sweetens oranges. 
Mr. Phelps was also a prime mover in 
the citrus exhibits and competitions 
started at Orlando and continued at San¬ 
ford and Ocala. He used his full in¬ 
fluence for the judging of citrus fruits by 
scales of points and furthered the im¬ 
provement of those scales to this present 
form. Nothing educated public opinion 
and knowledge as to the standards of ex¬ 
cellence of oranges and the merits of 
different varieties as did these competi¬ 
tions, and there was no greater object 
lesson on scientific culture and fertilizing 
than the thin-skinned, high-flavored fruit 
shown at these exhibitions. I think Mr. 
Phelps was most proud, however, of his 
discovery of the cause of bud-sports, va¬ 
riations or so-called mutations of citrus 
fruits. The origin of new varieties, 
types or species in plants is a complex 
subject. The production of new varieties 
or types by cross-pollination or hybrid¬ 
ization and the culling and selection from 
thousands of seedlings is exemplified by 
the work of Burbank and others. 
To illustrate the small and inconclusive 
extent of experimental research into the 
origin of so-called accidental sports I will 
quote from Prof. H. J. Webber, Bulletin 
251, February 1908, Cornell University 
Agricultural Experiment Station of the 
College of Agriculture, Plant Breeding: 
“A second type of variation is that known 
to gardeners and horticulturists as sports 
and to scientists as mutations. These are 
large pattern, striking variations which 
do not occur very commonly, but which 
when found are likely to prove useful in 
the production of new types of value. The 
recent scientific studies of De Vries, a 
famous botanist of Holland, have empha¬ 
sized the great importance of such varia¬ 
tions in the production of cultivated vari¬ 
eties and the evolutions of species. As is 
well known to gardeners, these sports or 
mutations appear suddenly without warn¬ 
ing or reason so 1 far as we know. We 
cannot produce them and must simply 
wait until they appear and then be pre¬ 
pared to recognize and propagate them. 
Mutations usually reproduce their char¬ 
acters without much reversion to the 
parental type except such as is caused by 
cross-pollination. Mutations of self-fer¬ 
tilized plants thus usually come true to 
type, while in cross-fertilized plants the 
mutations must usually be cultivated in 
an isolated place and carefully selected 
to weed out the effect of such crossing 
as has occurred. Many seedsmen exam¬ 
ine their trial grounds regularly for the 
sports or mutations and many of our best 
varieties have resulted from the selection 
of such sports. Livingston, of Ohio, 
who during his life was famous for the 
number of new varieties of tomatoes 
which he produced, made a practice to 
