Evening journal., 1905-07-17


if rather daring, costume most becom-
ing to brunette.
The gown illustrated is of hlet net
The skirt has a hem Of white lawn ap-
piled with a pulled design Of the net.
Above this hOunce are tucks and bands
OF the lawn. The plain material also
makes the natty little short coat.
IuDIC CIOLLET.
How Luther Burbank Changes
Plant Life.
Geo. Archibald Clark IN Success Magazine
The processes by which he Outher
Burbank, the famous horticulturisD
works are not new or peculiar. They
are in accord with wen-knOwn and un-
.alterable laws of nature. The principal
methods used are selection ana cross
ing. Nature is using these same pro-
cesses every day. The bees and the
wind carry the pollen of one flower to
fertilize another thus bringing about
the crossing of species. The struggle
for existence, and Thousand circum-
stances cf growth and development.
tend TO weed out the unfit among the
plants, leaving the best 10 survive.
This is selection. But where natures
operations are largely left to chance
and accident, Mr.. Burbank gives them
/ Intelligent direction and his results are
sure and immediate.
He takes two plants whose life
habits. structure. and invironment may
| have been wholly different He brings
them together. implantng the pollen OF
one upon the Stigma Of the other. As
a result the species are thrown into
a state OF perturbation-set to "wah-
bling'," as it We're The life tendencies
are broken mp by the shock. The
lplants resulting from the crossing may
iresemble one or the other OF the parent
plants These are not important Some
of the plants will combine the best
qualities Of the parents. From these
improved varieties of fruits and flowers
are produced Some of the plants will
be different from either parent-per-
haps unlike any other plant In exist
euce. From these unusual variants
new plants may be developed. lie
selects his original subjects from fal
and near He brings,a raspberry from
Siberia TO combine it with a blackberry
OF California. He brings a plumb from
China or Japan to combine with a
native apricot. An experiment Is built
up on a foundation of common wild
flower. as the daisy, for example. In
another experiment. flower from
Australia may be used. He brings a
cactus from Central America TO cross
with a species from Arizona.
Having crossed his species, he plants
the seeds. From the resulting seed
/ lings he selects the single plant, or the
two or three at most which he finds
lbest suited for his purpose. The seeds
lof these are again planted and the
work of the selection goes on. tt was
from a bed of sixty-hve thousand
lplants that he selected the one from
which his white blackberry was de-
veloped. The seeds accumulate by q
rapid progression. In a Few seasons
there IS an immense quantity of them
All are planted. lie does not believe
in dealing with n few examples He
chooses few but fhe number TO be
chosen from is large. When the time
for selection comes the whole lot-ii
may be a hundred or two hundred
thousands passed before him in re.
view He selects those which suit his
purposes, and the others 60 20 thi
brush heap and the bonfire. Prof Dt
Nries has remarked: 1T is no easy
task to pick the right apple tree from
4 a growing bed Of three hundred thous
4 Iand seedlings But this IS eNactls
what Nfr. Burbank does. He deals
with large numbers and his results
are corespondingly large ana i'm
portant.