Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1905-07-12
suRsAsws lArEsr fsATs.
New Wonders Wrought BY the Western Wizard
Of Horticulture.

can, says: Luther Burbank, the
man who with wizard. like genius has
altered the schemes of nature, is
busily at work on plan for remov-
ing from the grape the qualities
which are deleterious in wine-mak-
ing. This follows close on the heels
of bis startling achievement with the
"pomato." Briefly summarized, this
lee. evolution is matter OF plant
ing tuber and gathering from the
potato vine luoious, white fruit,
one that is delightfully."- palatable,
and makes an excellent preserve.
Mr. Burbank has named the po-
tato fruit "pomato." When COM
pared with the tomato the pomato is
smaller in size, and its meat is white,
instead of red, and is highly favored.
In other words, its flavor is that of
fruit rather than of a vegetable,
Burbank speaks of the creation of
the pomato as resulting from tho
"turning of the plant life in an op-
posite direction" Instead of cult
waiting tubers we now cultivate fruit,
and the tubers are of a secondary
consideration, the fruit on the vine
being the main object.
Chief among the experimental
work with the tubers on which Mr..
Burbank is now at work, is the cross
ing of the solanum commersoni, a
wild species of the potato which
grows on the Mercedes river in
South America, with the common
potato. The aforenamed potato was
discovered some ten years ago, and
specimens were taken to Paris, and
almost a decade ago DR.. Heckel
studied and tried to hybridize them.
Finally he sent Luther Burbank a
single eye and in twelve months
after the experiments he secured 120
hybridizations from it.
Burbank also has other varieties
of potatoes, including the potatoes
that grow in some parts of the
mountains of Arizona, Central
America and in the high mountain
GUS country of Old Mexico. The
hardy qualities of these "wild pota-
toes," so to speak, are being COM
bined with the ordinary tuber, which
has to certain extent almost run
it's race of service. Here is the
kind of new potato Mr.. Burbank
will produce. 1t will be better in
quality, better in flavor, more pro-
ductive and of more even size, 80 as
to do away with "small potatoes" al
together.-and potato that will re-.
sist the various diseases known to
these tubers.
"About how many varieties of po-
tatoes have you on hand now, Mr..
Burbank, with which you are ex-
perimenting to produce the new po-
tato ?" he was asked.
"Over 100000" was the ready re-.
ply. Most of the 10000 varieties
are hybridizations of Mr.. Burbank's
own creation. These have been pro.
duced by crossing, followed by care
full testing and selecting.
Recently Mr.. Burbank commenced
the planting of the 10000 varieties
on his experimental grounds. The
potatoes are of all kinds and shapes,
some round, some square, some long,
some short, of all colors. There are
pure white tubers and black ones.
Pink, crimson, purple and yellow are
among the colors of the potatoes be-
ing planted. There were in the va
rieties those that yield early in the
season and those that yield late.
Mr.. Burbank's other experiments
approach the marvellous. By follow
ing along the Darwinian lines of se-
lection he has produced the stoneless
plum, the unfading flower, the thorn
less blackberry vine. He has trained
the cactus to grow without spines.
He has caused five hundred kinds of
apples to grow on one tree and con-
sidering the lilies and how they
grow without fragrance, he has i'm