The suburban citizen., 1902-10-11

de Vries, of Holland, has carried COM
mon red clover through process OF
breeding which has resulted in increas.
ing the leaflets from three up to five
and even up to eight in some in
stances. Carton Brothers, of England,
have hybridized various species Of
forage grasses, and made species new
to science, and their WORK with oats
wheat, and other crops is equally re-
markable.
THE WORK OF LUTHER BURBANK.
Wonderful results of hybridizatlon
have been produced by Luther Bur.
bank, the horticultural scientist of
Santa Rosa, Cal, whose name is men
toned wherever plant-breeding Is writ.
ten or spoken Of and who is known
as the wizard Of Horticulture" Born
In Lancaster Mass, in 1S49, he was
trained as machinist, and while still
o boy developed valuable improve
ment in the machinery Of the factory
In which he was employed. His bent
towards horticulture was so strong,
however, that he soon abandoned me-
chanics for the plant and seed bust
ness In this line his first notable
success was quickly achieved by the
production of the Burbank potato,
which was developed, by selection.
from only one Of twenty-three seeds
found in a patch Of Early Rose pota.
toes which he had planted. Though
doing well where he was, he became
convinced that California would afford
him much better opportunities for hor.
ticultural investigation, and he re-
moved in 1875 to Santa Rosa, where be
has since devoted himself to his re.
markably successful experiments in
plant On fifteen acres Of
land he breeds fruits and flowers by
thousands, continually producing new
varieties. BY crossing and recrossing
innumerable seedlings, so as to have
large numbers to select from, he has
introduced great many new plums,
most of which are superior to any OF
the parent varieties. One of these
Is the well-knOwn plum which is called
by his own name. He is now breeding
a stoneless prune, having already sue,
ceeded in eliminating the pit, SO that
only the kernel of the stone remains.
His giant prune, an offspring OF the
French pTune, is nearly three times
as large as the parent, and he has In.
trnAnanh cauaRa1 binds % hlo n
raspberry hybrids, the berries of which
are more than twice the size OF either
of the parent fruits.
BY crossing the apricot with a plum.
Mr.. Burbank has produced a new fruit
called the plum-cot. The appearance
of the fruit and foliage of the plum.
cot and the flavor of the former are
said to combine In a remarkable de-
gree the characteristics Of both itG
parents. By hybridizing the black wal
nut and the English walnut, Mr.. Bur.
bank has created new species, with
nuts very much larger and more valua.
BILE than those Of either parent, and o
more rapid-growing tree. Another re.
markable achievement Of his was the
production Of a. white blackberry.
OTHER PHASES OF DEvRLoPMHNT.
All sorts OF surprising things occur
in plant breeding. as it is impossible
to foresee the exact results OF inter.
marriages, however scientifically and
Systematically planned. Professor BY.
ron d. Halsted, OF Rutgers College,
as the results Of experiments in test,
ing the susceptibility Of certain grains
to different diseases, incidentally pro.
duced ears of corn bearing an even
mixture Of white, black and rose-coL
ored grains. these being the hybrid Off.
spring of a white and black breed OF
sugar corn.
The economic value Of plant breeding
is illustrated in many different ways.
In agriculture one OF the notable ad.
vantages of hybridizaton is the fact
that tender plants may be made more
resistant to cold by crossing them
with hardy species. Highly bred culti
waited plants are especially liable to
disease, but by selection or hybridiza
ton this tendency can often be over
come. For instance, the aww pea
which is valuable for blowing under
as a green crop, to increase the nitro
gen in the soil, suddenly developed a
disease which threatened it with prac.
teal extinction. Herbert j. Webber
who Is In charge Of the plant breeding
laboratory of the United States Depart.
ment of Agriculture, investigated the
matter and found a certain group Of
cow peas which were not affected by
the disease. With this as a basis. he
developed, by the process of selection,
variety which is perfectly healthy.
Up to a few years ago, it is said. no
one had ever seen the ripe seeds of the
sugar cane-perhaps because no one
had looked for them--and propagation |
was made from cuttings alone, so that
here was a comparatively limited
'ange of variations. Now seedlings are
being raised, and some of these prove
to be so much richer In sugar than
others that their cultivation may make
Ill the difference between profit and