The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1905-10-06

crossing it with the Lawton blackberry,
and if his expectations are realized Mr..
Burbank has taken a wild berry sent
the Lawton with fewer seeds and equal
| ly good flavor, which can be grown by
i! the bushel upon vines 200 and 800 feet
long.
His white blackberry is becoming
Known. 1t is large fruit of delicate
flavor, but perfectly white. His pitless
prnne and stoneless plum are actual re-
suits, but they are not entirely seedless.
mond, without a stony covering, and
you can bite through them. The score
less APPLE" which you may have read
about, is a joke-an invention of some
clever reporter. Mr.. Burbank makes no
freaks. He wastes no time. The stories
about his ''blue roses" and "black car
nations" are fakes, but it is true that
he has produced blue peoples, and he
says it is not difficult to make flowers
of any color by introducing the neces-
sary pigments into the soil. He is now
endeavoring to combine the plum and the
apricot, and has produced what he calls
| the 'pmmcOt," with a delicious flavor,
the soft skin Of the apricot and the fiber
of the plum. He is experimenting with
about 500 different kinds of flowers,
one of the most interesting experiments
being to give a fragrance to the dahlia.
| If you Will remember, it has an un-
| pleasant odor. This he has succeeded in
removing, and now by crossing it with
other flowers that eXhale a strong per
fume, he hopes to enhance its value.
He says the same thing can be done
with the chrysanthemum; that it can
be given a perfume like the tuberose !;
but he has not yet attempted any ex-
periments with it. He considers the
! chrysanthemum good enough as it is.
Mr.. Burbank's most important work
at present is the production of spine
less cactus, in order to furnish forage
| for the cattle of the desert. If plant
can be produced that will grow in rain
less regions millions upon millions of
acres which are now without value can
be made profitable as pasturage for cat
tie and sheep Mr.. Burbank has been
eminently successful in his experiments.
He has produced seven or eight varieties
of cactus without thorns. You can rub
the leaves against your cheek without
scratching the flesh, and they are filed
| with moist, nourishing pulp. Tis cat
tie devour it eagerly.
Nature placed thorns on the cactus for
it's defense. The plant would have been
exterminated by the animals of the des-
ert ages ago if it had not. There are
varieties of cactus without thorns, how
ever, growing i'm places which cannot be
reached by animals, and occasionally it
is possible to find solitary spineless
plants growing in the desert. Then,
again, some varieties are less spineless
than others. Mr.. Burbank's agents and
collectors have brought him all the ex-
amples they could find of these varieties,
and by interbreeding them he has pro-
duced the results desired. Some of his
plants are entirely without thorns, 9th
ers have little spines, about sixteenth
of an inch long and very thin, but
those can easily be removed. He says
he hasn't the slightest doubt that he
can reproduce any of the different va
rieties without spines. At the same
time he has been able to make the plant
much sweeter and more nourishing than
| it naturally is. The spineless cactus
| is rapid grower, and Mr.. Burbank is
sending out cuttings by the carload for
experimental cultivation in different sec
tions of the arid states. 1t has not yet
become an article of commerce, however.
Although it is scientific success and an
absolute certainty, it will be several
years before its cultivation can be
trusted to the care of ordinary ranch
mon