turn out all I predict for it, it is as much of a disappointment and surprise to me as it is to them. This confidence which I think they have in my honesty of purpose is one of the great compensations which I feel my business career has had for me.
White Carnation Seedling Fred Burki
I was in quest of other good things, spurred on anew by the success of Rose Pink Enchantress. John Murchic, of Sharon, Pa., had a white Carnation seedling, which he named Fred Burki. That seedling looked good and promising. Growers in the immediate vicinity thought a great deal of it, more so in fact than did Mr. Murchie himself, and were ready to place large orders. Mr. Murchie thought I was the man to put it on the market, and so did I.
At the Detroit Carnation Show it was given a certificate of merit. It was a clear road now toward launching another winner. I got ready for the occasion, and in due time I introduced it. Unfortunately, the Fred Burki, unlike the man after whom it was named, proved anything but popular. It seemed to be one of those varieties that while behaving admirably at the introducer's place manifest all sorts of unsuspected caprices when taken away from its first habitat. Fred Burki Carnation did not last very long, and like many another variety of its kind in the past it died a natural death, and was soon forgotten.
William Murphy's Carnation Delhi
Another variety which I undertook to introduce, conjointly with its hybridizer, the late William Murphy, of Cincinnati, was the red Carnation Delhi. I had often seen it during my visits to Cincinnati, and while it never impressed me as a great improvement on existing varieties, I nonetheless saw some merit in it. Its productiveness was one of its chief meritorious characteristics. It came into full crop for Christmas, and continued blooming throughout the season and late into the Spring and Summer, never losing its color. I thought, as did many growers in Cincinnati (among whom was the late Max Rudolph, in whose judgment I placed reliance), that there was room for Delhi. As the case proved in the end, quite a number of growers were delighted with its habit. In the South especially, it did well, and there are some who still consider it the best all around red Carnation for their purposes.
The Carnation Enthusiast, C. W. Ward
C. W. Ward, of Queens, L. I., is another Carnation enthusiast. He wrote a book, "The American Carnation and How to Grow It," tracing the evolution of the "Divine Flower" from its humble origin to its present stage of perfection. He did much in a practical way for the improvement of the Carnation. He introduced several varieties years ago, such as Maceo, Gomez, Harry Fenn, and a white one whose name I do not recall at this moment, and in later years Mrs. C. W. Ward, Alma Ward, and Matchless. These varieties were grown successfully in various parts of the country, and Mr. Ward became known as a successful Carnation hybridizer. When the Carnation convention met at Washington in 1908, he had a particularly attractive white seedling. If I remember rightly, it was Alma Struss, although I am not sure. Its size, substance, and perfect form attracted the attention of every grower present.
The Carnation convention of Washington was not so successful in certain ways as it might have been, though in others it proved to be a memorable one to every grower that attended. William Gude thought it would be interesting for the delegates to meet the strenuous Theodore Roosevelt, then still in the White House. The suggestion of course was hailed without a voice of dissent. So on
