Poppies 
the broad pistil in the middle. It is interest¬ 
ing to know that all the Shirley poppies have 
come from a single plant found by an English 
clergyman, Rev. W. Wilks, in his Shirley 
vicarage garden. The story has been told 
by the originator, in 
these words: ‘'In 
1880 I noticed in a 
waste corner of my 
garden, abutting on 
the fields, a patch of 
the common wild 
fi e 1 d-p o p p y, one 
solitary flower of 
which had a very 
narrow edge of 
white. This one 
flower I marked and 
saved the seed of it 
alone. Next year 
out of perhaps two 
hundred plants, I 
had four or five on 
which all' the flow¬ 
ers were edged. I he 
best of these were 
marked and the 
seed saved, and so 
on for several years, 
the flowers all the 
while getting a lar¬ 
ger infusion of white 
to tone down the red 
until they arrived at 
quite pale pink, and one plant absolutely 
pure white. I then set myself to change the 
black central portions of the flowers from 
black to yellow or white, and have suc¬ 
ceeded at last in fixing a strain with petals 
varying in color from brightest scarlet to 
pure white, with all shades of pink between, 
and all varieties of flakes and edge flowers 
also, but all having yellow or white stamens, 
anthers, and pollen, and a white base.” 
The Shirley poppies are the most useful 
for cut flowers of any of the types. If cut 
early in the morning and placed at once in 
water they will remain in good condition 
through the day. Simple, erect flower jars 
should be used to 
hold them. 
There are various 
poppies with larger 
and thicker leaves 
and stems than 
those of the Shirley 
poppies, which are 
very ornamental. 
The scarlet and 
white Mikado is one 
of the most attract¬ 
ive of these. The 
flowers are very 
large and double, 
the petals being scar¬ 
let and white. The 
Snowdrift is a pure 
white of similar form. 
These are some¬ 
times called carna¬ 
tion flower poppies. 
They differ decided¬ 
ly from the peony- 
flowered poppies, 
which suggest in 
their form and colors 
the beautiful blos¬ 
soms of the peonies. 
There are many varieties of these—some 
single, some double, but nearly all attractive. 
Among the best sorts are the Lady in White, 
Rosy Morn and American Flag. 
The Oriental poppies generally require two 
seasons to bring forth blossoms, after which 
they bloom yearly, and add much interest 
and beauty to the part of the garden assigned 
to them. They are not satisfactory for indoor 
use, wilting quickly beyond recovery. 
MIKADO POPPIES 
294 
