. Florists' review [microform]. Floriculture. ?f,",» «; "?' ;i 18 The Weekly Florists^ Review^ Januabx 11, 1912. today. The commercial carnations of today are the offspring of numerous generations of cross-bred and inter- bred sorts, to such an extent that they are an extremely unstable lot, as evi- denced by their almost universal ten- dency to produce sports. We would think a chemist was wasting labor if he tried to produce a useful compound when he knew only the colors, but not the chemical analysis of his ingredients. Pure-bred Carnations. I believe it is safe to say that there i
. Florists' review [microform]. Floriculture. ?f,",» «; "?' ;i 18 The Weekly Florists^ Review^ Januabx 11, 1912. today. The commercial carnations of today are the offspring of numerous generations of cross-bred and inter- bred sorts, to such an extent that they are an extremely unstable lot, as evi- denced by their almost universal ten- dency to produce sports. We would think a chemist was wasting labor if he tried to produce a useful compound when he knew only the colors, but not the chemical analysis of his ingredients. Pure-bred Carnations. I believe it is safe to say that there is not a pure-bred carnation in com- merce today; and in order not to be misunderstood, I will 6ay that b^ pure- bred I mean one that will uniformly reproduce itself from seed when self- fertilized. With our present knowledge it is en- tirely possible to get such pure-bred sorts within a few generations. With theJse once produced and used as ances- tors, the production of new varieties could be carried on with as notable re- sults as have been attained by the men who have been working on similar lines with agricultural crops. Nearly all of us have tried at some time to raise new carnations, and I in a commercial way when grown from seed. It ought to be possible to pro- duce strains that will be resistant to stem-rot and rust, to produce summer- blooming strains and strains that are suited to heavy soil or to light soil. I consider this matter of pure-bred ancestors of such consequence that I would urge upon those who are com- mercially interested in the production of new varieties that they get together on this matter and divide the work among themselves, so that each will undertake to produce one or more such pure-bred sorts. By comparing results and by exchanging seed, rapid progress could then be made. It is entirely pos- sible that by such work further knowl- edge of the laws of heredity could be obtained that would be a valuable con- tribution, not only to this society bu
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