Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1898-10-20
oK1aIx4n SYMPHONIES.
Prof. uhier Says They Were No Lnrr'
Than n silver Quarterl'-vn 81

Than silver QuarterI''-Yf" ts-
~ Prof. Philip r.. Uhler, provost OF the
Peabody Institute, has just completed
an experiment at his country home,
near Buena Vista, by which he believes
he has evolved the original sundower
plant.
The evolution of the sunfiower has
been remarkable. Scientists have sought
for the original plant, GUESSED at It's
size and made calculations about it,
without having settled Upon from
what size flower the towering golden
blossom sprang.
Tho changes in animals and plants,
their PROGRESS or retrogressibn and the
search for tho original is d ncyer-end-
ing and always interesting pursuit of
men of science. Prof. Uhler tells of his
experiment and how he found the origi-
nal sunfiower as follows:
During the last week in May
selected two very fine sunflowers. They
were large, full-grown and fine in every
way. One was a single and the other
double flower. | then picked out the
richest, fullest, most vigorous and most
perfect seed from these two flowers and,
keeping them separate, planted in a
continuous row in tho very poorest
ground could find. The flower with
the single petals 1 planted all in one
day, and on the same day put in part
Of the seed'of the dbuble-petal flower.
''Then came tho long, dry spell of
June, and the ground where the seed
was planted became hard and baked.
They got very little moisture, and had
to feed off of sand and clay. There was
lack of carbon and of phosphoric
ne xtyh ,al. nOfe an, a MIA 10 Honor
does on n man. 1t was almost COM
plete starvation, and the result showed
| ii. When the rains did come the
ground had become so hard that the
| water ran off instead of soaking in.
! The ground itself was enriched some,
but very little, and found that in two
months time my sunhowers had grown
only 21a inches.
"When they began to come up, an
interesting thing showed. They grew
without order as to size, but so con-
sistently and so true to the type that
there was no doubt at all that it was a
plain case of reversion to the original
flower. Even here it did not stop and
/ found that the starvation had been
| so complete as to carry the flower back
| to lower form than the original. 1t
was degraded and distorted in some of
the lower forms.
1.-THE smallest plant that I got was
not - inches high and the largest was
Just two and half feet. ,Therewere
no flowers over two inches across. 1t
took them three months to attain this
growth.
1.-THE most remarkable part about
the whole thing was the unfailing con
sistency about the diminished growth.
The reduction was along the lines Of
the construction of the plant and it die
not vary. From the largest one of the
plants in the lot down to the original,
every part, every formation was per
feet. The dwarfing was general.
AS tho plant approached closer anc
closer to the original, some of the
parts We're missing, the number o.
petals diminished. but it still retained
its nature and followed the stalk, Be
low the original plant there was {
shrinkage and distortion, which
showed that it had not reached it's full
growth. Ascending from the yer,
smallest plant, only a foot high, noting
its peculiarities and imperfections
until the plant is reached where ever,
part is perfected and the distortion
ceases, then you know that you hav
] iOuflN tllb iiOWtI, bn1 bilc
, above it, while quite as perfect, ar
! only fuller developments of the origi
nal and show progress. EE n
II found that the original plant is
simple little flower, with stalk abou
two feet high and flower Just abou
as big as silver quarter of q dollar
The progress that has been made upol
this plant, and the evolution as show
in our gardens of immense stalks eigh
feet high and flowers 10 inches across
is certainly wonderful. 1t has bee
done simply by taking advantage 9
l everything that can affect the growt
9 of the plant and aid it. Fertilizer
1 phosphoric acid, carbon and plenty q
0 moisture are some of the elements tina
have evolved the great blossom tina
|; is commonly seen.
! "The remarkable part about this es
9 pertinent uf mine is that this chang
d from the very finest specimen to tn
: original and even far below the orig
S nal has taken place in one season.
!, great many years had been require
for the change, naturalists would sa
that it was what could be expecte
from the doctrine of evolution. B,
10 the abrupt and sudden change in fe
months is something that | have nev,
I, heard of before.''
u The specimens of Prof. Uhler's SUI
! flowers have been pressed and will
J, preserved at the Maryland Academy