The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1905-01-05
TO PRODUCE BLUE cARNATI0N

Efforts of Flower Growers Fruitless
Thus Far-Fortune for Lucky Man.
As people pass up and down the
streets and look into the windows
where flowers are sold few ever stop
to consider how much care it takes to
make them so beautiful, so fragrant,
so brilliant in color and so graceful of
stem and bud. 1t takes skill to pro
duce such effects, and the most beau.
tiful of them are not exactly as they
would have been if they had grown
loosely and unkept in the garden or
elsewhere. They have been made
pleasing to the eye as well as to the
sense of smell by the careful and close
guidance of an ever watchful flower
grower. The brilliant colors in most
of them are developed by the cross OF
two special kinds OF flowers.
For instance, suppose the flower
grower should desire to get new col
or of carnation. He takes deep red
flower and, with a camel's hair brush,
dusts the pollen of one flower on the
p1stal of another which, for example,
of light pink color. Then the carna-
tion is very carefully wrapped up SO
no insects can get to it, and is guard
ed until it goes to seed. The seed is
put away until the next spring, when
it is planted
The florist NAV be anxious to see a
dark red flower growth from the seed
but he may be sadly disappointed, for
there is no surety as to the color of a
hybrid. On an average three plants
will spring up from the seed, and
each one have flowers of a different
shade and not look like those from
which they were produced. Often
two dark carnations will yield perfect
" white flowers.
Each year there are from $4,000 to
10000 plants grown and thrown away
on these experiments, for all the time
sarnation specialists are endeavoring
to produce better flowers, larger ones,
and those with deeper and richer col
0rs.
So extensive has become the grow
ing of carnations that the Carnation
Society of America was organized. 1t
is the duty of this organization to
judge on the value of these experiment
tai plants. For instance, should a
grower secure a good looking flower
after crossing two plants, it is sent to
the society and Judgment asked as to
its strength and value as a flower
from which to start a stock. The flow
ers are judged very carefully with
reference to points, just like a race
horse or blooded cattle. The country
is divided into districts for the society.
and Kansas City is in the district
having Chicago for its headquarters.
The carnation enthusiasts have been
satisfied in a degree with shade of
pink that has been produced, but are
still clamoring for more brilliant
and deeper shade of red, and will not
be content until perfect is reached.
They are mixing all shades of carna-
tions and making their experiments
under all sorts of conditions in the
hopes of getting the much coveted
and desired results.
But probably the most intricate
problem before the carnation growers
is to get blue carnation. Several
times enthusiasts in different sections
cried out in triumph that they had
succeeded in triumph the much
coveted flower, and all carnation rails
ers would be all anxiety to see the
new creation. But Just as often have
they been disappointed, for never has
this color been brought out clearly
in a carnation. Still experienced flor
lists hope to see blue carnation some
day, and the man who succeeds in
producing it will have fortune. For
the old rule of like makes like holds
good in the life of flowers, and the
cuttings from that blue carnation
would always produce blue flowers,
Just so long as the pollen was not
mixed with that of another colored
bloom
There are freaks among carnations,
and those are called sports" A
sport usually results from the work
of a bee. These insects sometimes
light on one color of flower, and when
they go to another with different
shade they leave some of the pollen
which has caught on their feet. When
the seed of this flower produces a
plant it has a shoot, which will haye
on it bloom with a different color
from that of the mother plant.
Warm Where He Is Now.