File:The American Museum journal (c1900-(1918)) (18161593041).jpg

Title: The American Museum journal
Identifier: americanmuseumjo18amer (find matches)
Year: c1900-(1918) (c190s)
Authors: American Museum of Natural History
Subjects: Natural history
Publisher: New York : American Museum of Natural History
Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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'/•///•; si'oi:)' "/■■ riih- i:/:i) sryrutw /■:/: ■15 l»()t;iii\ trcjitiiii:' tile >ul»jrrt witli that I'ui' tliis cnuiitrv tn ciiiiilnv a iuiml)('r riillii('» of detail uliicli i> inM iiiicoiii- *)( >l(>tiini.-t> io make a iiii- iiinn ill iiindcni l"'.iirn;icaii lliira>. Only mitc >tiiily of tlic varialiniiv of ;ilaiits, l>\ cloM' altciilidii to tlic ;ilu'iioiii('iia of ami set tlicir ohscrvations t'ortli in u \ariation can Uf t'\;)i'(t in iiiKlcrstaml scrirs of dicaii vohinics wliicli would llic cxolnlioii of jilaiil -;ifiic-. and at >! ininlatc a far wider and moi'e intelli- i:elil interest ill I lie .-lllijeel. .\ltlioi;u;i ill ,,;;,. sense the hi'eeder the >anie time lo de\elo;i I ho,-e new liort ieiili iiral ronii> \\liii' creates lutthiiii;-. vet he does virtiiallv fanns and «:arilen>. create in the sense that the new eo We sonietiiiie> lic.ir of the ■"creai ion" hinations he produces are in efl'eet and of new kimU of ;ilant> hy the hreeder. The plant hreeder can utilize oidy what nature pro\ ide>. In the (ir>t in-laiice he iiiii>t M'nrcli for iiialerial> to -erve to all practical pui'poses actual novel- tie.-. 'riii> may he illii>t rated 1)\- the history ol' the wine-red suidlower. If we take ravs of the ehestnut-red \aii- lii> piirpoM'.-. for plants ;)ossessin<i; ely and soak Iheiii in acidulateire> to impart we L:ct a solution which is not ehestnut- ;o hi> new li(U't icult iiral roriii>. In Vf^) hut wiiie-red. The va) color is in the case of the fed -Ullllower. the variation was so con>pic ;- ou> and reinarkahle as to ar- I'est the atti'niion at once: vet even so. the chances of the plant heino- saved were rather sli»;ht. it is perha))s n i exai:- jieration to >My that a thousand red sunliower- miL:'ht Moom in as many American tow n>. w itli- oiit anyone thinkii\ii' it worth while to save tiie seed and carry on hreedinji" experiments. When we come to valuahle new varieties of less coii-picuo.is plant>. such as wheal or oats. the present chances for isola- tion and ))reservation are in- finitesimal. Xot even the pro- fessional hotatiist is. as a rule, trained to ohserve minute d'f- ferenees: lie often actually prides himself on iirnorin'i e\crythin.:;" lielow the grade of a sjK'cies. Yet these small dif- ferences may carry the poten- tiality of an increase in yield >unicient to feed thousands of people, or of some new form of heanty to gladden the eyes of garden lovers in two conti- nents. Thus it w(uild doul't- less he a paying ))ropositii>n
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Helianthus annuus variety primulinun, the pule yellow type used in tlie first cross to obtain the winered (variety rinostm) form. The primrose variety was introduced to horticulture by Messrs. Sutton and Sons, of England, in 1889, it having occurred as a sport among the ordinary orange plants a few seasons previously. The plant here figured is an improved form, with two rows of rays, recall- ing the star dahlias. Sunflowers witli additional rows of rays have been known for a long time, however, as is shown l)y Vandyke (1599-1641) in liis portrait of himself, now in the collection of the Duke of Westminster

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