On Sat, 19 Jul 2003, Cereoid-UR12- wrote:
|Sorry Henrietta but a degree in botany is not required for one to
|hybridize plants.

Degrees in botany are not necessary for marketing such hybrid plants,
either.

|There are scores of amateur and professional plant hybridizers in
|the world who don't have degrees.

Thereby making the world a better place to live in.

|You may be shocked to know that Luther Burbank never had a degree
|in botany or horticulture but he was able to make many outstanding
|plant hybrids that are still being grown to this day.
|
|After reading over his memoirs, it quickly became clear to me that
|Burbank could have done much more if had a clearer understanding of
|botany but he was still able to make a fortune anyway.

That is an encouraging thought.

|To become better aquatinted with the phylogeny of the genera of
|Apiaceae (Umbelliferae) (and the allied Apiaceae), one should read
|over the taxonomic and cytological articles written on the family,
|find out exactly on what is the basis for the genera, find out what
|intergeneric crosses have already been made and just go ahead and do
|experimental crosses to see what happens.

Okay.

|You may want to look in the Agricola database for some leads.
|
|The recent creation of the snap pea was the result of someone who
|went ahead and made what originally seemed to be frivolous crosses
|between traditional seed peas and oriental pod peas. A whole new
|type of commercially viable pea was created instead. You never
|know what you might get unless you try.

Success stories are always encouraging.