New-York tribune., 1906-02-11

/ which had been Well-n1gh abandoned
as hopeless, is at last an Ro
pshed fact Uncle Sam has produced WS
the flower, and specimens of it will soon
be placed on exhibition in the Government green
houses in Washington.
The marvel has been evolved by the employment
of an ingenious artifCe certain elements being
tributed to the soil which supply the requisite pig
ment. Up to the present time the work has been
carried with great secrecy by experts of the
Plant Bureau but before long special bulletin on
the subject will be issued, telling people just how
they may grow blue in their yards
window boxes.
Like most things in this world it is simple when
you know how. All you have to do is to sprinkle
the soil about your plant with water into which
a small quantity of inexpensive chemical powder
has been put. You drop portion of the contents
of a little paper packet into the watering pot
the latter in the customary manner and the wished
for result is soon accomplished.
The experiments made by the experts were at
the start of a purely chemical nature They took
of different cOlOrs few at time and squeezed
the juice out of them thereupOn SubJecting the
liquid to analysis. In this way they ascertained
that the coloring matter present was composed
of two distinct substances red and the other
blue The latter substance, to which the
flower blue" has been given, was found to be
mixed with the red pigment in varying proper
tons, the compound being held in solution by the
plants. BY treating the liquid with chemicals its
color could be altered at will. For example,
potash turned it green alum changed 1t to lilac,
and muriatic acid gave it reddish hue, But
when the juice of perfectly white roses, which
entirely COOrless taken, the problem
became extremely simple, the liquid readily
adopting any tint desired.
This last point, indeed, might be taken as a
matter of course; but it necessary, in
order to solve the problem satisfactorily, to
ascertain definitely the makeup of the color
ing material present in different varieties of
roses The chemistry of the blossoms, 50 to
speak being understood it possible
to proceed scientifically and to apply the l:nowl-
edge thus gained to the production by artificial
means OF roses possessing tIntS unknown to nature.
The next step taken was to place cut roses of
of suitable chemicals and to observe the effects pro
duccd, 1t found that a result the flower
subjected to this sort of treatment gradually alter
their hucs, assuming tlnts corresponding To those
tanned in the experiments made with the ucc m the a
atOry. Murlatic acid turned them red. potash char
them to green, and alum gave them a lilac color
became copper red under the influence of muriatiC
BY using only white flowers however with def
amounts OF the appropriate chemicals, results abSou
definite could be secured 1t was decided therefore tn
roses oi new cOlorS to be grown successfully in
only colorcSS varieties must be planted This idea
finally adopted and the chemicals being utilized
dissovlng them in water and applying them about
roots the plants were made to bear tinted blossoms w
by the employment of particular solution which as
a secret, the first blue persuaded to unfold
delicate petals the problem was seen to have been sol
Not only blue roses, however but green ros