The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1913-03-14
Spring Flowers
BY Frederic j. Haskin,

The number of men, women and
children who desire keen pleasure and
delight in flower growing is multiplied
every spring. The number of public
parks, school gardens and private
gardens, whose owners are generous
enough to share their floral treasures
with those less fortunate, was never
so great as at present. The interest
thus called forth develops a constant
demand for new flowers, as well as a
greater utilization of the old ones, so
that the floriculturists are continually
kept busy to meet it. The Department
of Agriculture does all in it's power to
further this interest. 1t distributes
flower seeds, bulbs and plants, issues
bulletins of direction for their cultiva-
ton, and also gives frequent exhibit
tons of floral beauties. These exhibit
ons sometimes are calculated to
stimulate interest in some forgotten
plant, to demonstrate the value of new
ones, or to simply give pleasure to
those who attend by visions of beauty
such as only those familiar with the
resources of great green houses can
imagine.
This spring the department is inter-
ested in demonstrating the beauties of
the amaryllis, an old time favoritc in
the gardens of our grandmothers. but
little heard of recently. The Xhibi
ton, which was one of the attractions
of the National Capitol during inaug-
u%ration week and for some time after,
, included thousands of plants whose
rnrypnnS hlnSCnIDS had a trnnir11 Inv
uriance and served to demonstrate the
remarkable changes which the hybrid
florists have beer able to accomplish
by cross fertilization. The process of
cross fertilization is as simple as it
is effective. No doubt the idea of
it, as demonstrated to the many visit
ors who attended the exhibition, will
have widespread development
throughout the country during the
coming season. The amaryllis blos-
som end itself readily to the process
because of it's size n simplicity. The
florist desiring to make a CrOSs-breed
between two plants will select two as
nearly perfect in size and coloring as
he can secure, usually representing
two distinct colorings. For instance,
ne WIZ '"h' a ith GU ailu d
white lowered amaryllis. When the
flower first opens, he will domove the
pol~lcn-bearing anthcrs of each. Then,
| with a soft camel's hair brush, he will
apply the pollen from the anther of a
white flower to the stigma of a red
blossom and the pollen from a red
blossom to "A white one. The applied
pollen will pass through the styles ot
the flower down into the ovary where
it reaches the seeds which already are
formed. 1t nourisheS them quite as
well as the pollen from the anther Of
the lowe to which they belong. When
the flower fades, these seeds ripcn
and are carefully gathered and plant
ed. The results of Decentralization
are seen in the wonderful striped and
variegatcd flowers which grow upon
the plants reproduced from the seeds
WHICH were taken from plants produc-
ing flowers of a single color
The history ut the amaryllis goes
back to the earliest times when voy-
ayers to unknown countries brought
back to the centers of civilization rare
tropical plants which the botanists of
the period delighted to add to their
herbariums, while the expert garden
ers endeavored to adapt them to their
own localities. The Amaryllidaceae
family is a large one, including more
than 500 species. of which the Hippo
astrums are best known. This species
includes about so varieties, most OF