Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-04-08
CoLoRS IN FLOWERS.
Florists Obtain Scarlet Datfodils by
Soaking Stems in Dye.
ON the London Spectator.

From the London Spectator.
The desire to obtain flowers Of colors diff
ferent from those given them by nature has
led to curious correspondence in the pa
pers. Some Of the fashionable flower shops
exhibited and advertised scarlet daffodils
for sale. There is no doubt that a scarlet
daffodil would be a very beautiful object.
and that it's propagation would be highly
desirable. Apparently dafodil fanciers and
growers have for long time been aware
of this. but have never succeeded in getting
a red blossom. They therefore took the
alleged discovery very seriously until one
Of the leading firms OF daffodil growers
wrote to explain that these red daffodil6
were obtained only after the blossoms were
cut. by setting the stalks in vermilion-dyed
water. The color then passed up into the
blossom, just as the green tint did into the
white carnations. which in the dyed. or SUI
fused state, were a startling novelty in
fowershops some years ago.
Every one will remember the quest for
the black tulip. and the hopelessness Of ever
obtaining blue rose has long been known.
The constancy of color in some flowers. and
its variation under domeStication in others,
are very marked. Thus primroses and cow
Slips which would appear to be quite az
essentially and unchangeably yellow az
daffodils are easily brought to assume
most shades of red except pure scarlet, and
In some cases are not so very far removed
from that. Where oxlfps. primroses and
pOASdHthuS SAOW III QudullucS, WIZ UlO0~
SONS being mixed together. the bees, or
some other cross fertilizin1 agents, produce
endless varieties of red. yellow. orange and
purple. Selection of the seeds then gradu-
ally stereotypes in a particular flower the
brighter tnts. The antagonism between
red and blue, which seems to forbid any
mutation of the colors in the rose is not a
constant one in our wild flowers, though
the tendency of blossoms belonging to GER
tain families to keep to the same line OF
color is rather marked. Thus of our wild
geraniums the majority are red or pink.
But the meadow cranesbill, the most con-
spicuous Of our wild geraniums, has q
beautiful blue flower with purplish VEINS
Some very bright blue flowers turn pink as
they are verging toward decay. This IL
seen especially in the field forget-me-nots
In which the change from turquoise blue
to pink takes place very quickly. The
bright blue borage flowers do the same. In
the woods of certain counties, especially in
Hampshire. a purplsh-blue flower with
bristly plant leaves of green spotted with
white is very common. 1t is the lungwort.
In this the flowers are often of a pinkish
red and bright bluish-purple on the same
plant The forget-me-not borage and al
kanet all belong to the same family in
which the brilliant vipers bugloss is also
included. A sapphire or turquoise blue is
almost as characteristics Of many of this
family of flowers as in the same color,
slightly deeper in the blue" butterflies,
No one could mistake one Of the latter for
a member of any other family Of English
butterflies.
The intense azure of the evergreen aka
net Is as brilliant as that of the water for
get-me-not The viper's bugloss, borage,
forget-me-not and alkanet all show il.
while the tendency to turn pink or red
when fading is equally common. OF the
lungworts one has pink flowers and the
other purple. while the wild confrey has
flowers of three varieties white, dark
purple and pinkish purple. Family colors
are kind Of livery among many of our
flowers. All the ranuncuius or buttercup
tribe but two wear yellow. The wild daffodiis
are yellow, the heaths are pink or purple,
with a sport of white. All the hawkweed6
are yellow. and two of our four gentians
are blue, while the others are BLUSH
purple. Our campanulas are all blue or
purple. and the minis lilac-gray. There are
thirteen blue veronicas, as against three Of
white or pink, and Of the flowers of the ten
hypericums all are yellow.