Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-06-27
suRsANHs LATEsr FEArs.
New Wonders Wrought BY the West
ern Wizard ~ Horticulture.

New Wonders Wrought BY the West
ern Wizard 81 y rortieu!ture.
Thomas Nunar, " iting from San
Francisco to the New York American,
says; Luther Burbank. the man who
with wizard-like genius has altered the
schemes Of nature. is busily at work
on a plan for removing from the grape
the qualities which are deleterious In
wine making. This follows close on
the heels of his startling achievement
with the "pomato." Briefly summar-
ICED, this last evolution IL q matter Of
planting a tuber and gathering from
the potato vine a luscious, white fruit,
one that Is delightfully."- palatable, and
makes an excellent preserve.
Mr.. Burbank has named the potato
fruit "pomato." When compared with
the tomato the pomato Is smaller In
size, and its meat Is white, instead Of
red, and Is highly favored. In other
words, It's flavor is that of fralt
rather than Of a vegetable.
Burbank speaks Of the creation Of
the pomato as resulting from tie
turning of the plant life In an oppo-
site direction" Inst I'd Of cultiyating
tubers we now cultivate fruit and the
tubers are Of secondary considers
ton the fruit on the vine being the
main object. Gs
Chief among the experimental work
with the tubers on which Mr.. Bur-
bank Is now at work. is the crossing
of the solanum commersoni a wild
species of the potato which grows on
the Mercedes river In South America,
with the common potato. The afore-
named potato was discovered some
ten years ago. and specimens were
taken to Paris, and almost decade
ago DR.. Heckel studied and tried to
hybridize them. Finally he sent Luz
ther Burbank single eye and In
twelve months after the experiments
he secured 120 hybridzations 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 mountainous country OF OLD
Mexico. The hardy qualities Of these
wild potatoes" so tO speak, are be-
ing combined with the ordinary tuber,
which has to a certain extent almost
run its race Of service. Here is the
kind of new potato Llr. Burbank wilt
produce. It will be better In quality.
better In flavor. more productive END
Of more even size, 30 as TO 90 away
with "small potatoes" altogether-and
d sato that will resist the vartous
diseases known to these tubers. "a !
About how many varieties OF po-
tatoes have you on hand now, MT.
Burbank, with which you are expert
menting to produce the new potatoT
he was asked. ~
"Over 10000" was the ready reply
Most of the 10000 varieties are hybsi-
dizations Of Mr.. Burbank's own crea-
ton. These have been produced by
crossing, followed by careful testing
and selecting.
Recently Mr.. Burbank commenced
the planting of the 10000 varieties on
his experimental grounds The pota-
toes are Of all kinds a.nd 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 being plant
ed. There were In the varieties those
that yield early In the season and
those that yield late
Mr.. Burbank's other experiments ap.
proach the marvellous. BY following
along the Darwinian lines Of selection
he has produced the stoneless plum,
the unfading flower, the thornless
blackberry vine. He has trained the
cactus to grow without spines. He
has caused five hundred kinds OF ap-
Piles to grow on one tree; and consid-
ering the lilies and how they grow
without fragrance, he has impaired q
delightful fragrance to them.
"The wee, modest, crimson tipped
flower has been transformed by him
into the glorious and queenly Shasta
daisy. The carnations have been
planted green and retain that color at
the wizards bidding. In more pracu-
cal lines Mr.. Burbank has taken the
prune which used to be nearly all pit
and made q giant, meaty fruit or II.
The tomato and other vegetables have
been wonderfully improved. The Bur-
bank chestnut tree will be a revelation
to those who are still unacquainted
with 1t.
Mr.. Burbank plans In the immediate
future to make vast Improvements In
all grains that grow. He will cause
wheat, rye, barley, oats and corn 10
double the present acreage output
without causing two grains or two
ears to grow where one only grew De-
fore. And he feels that his work has
only been Just begun and that the
possibilities extend beyond the present
dreams Of man.