The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1905-08-23
LUTHER BCRBANK'S WORK.

The current Popular Science has an
interesting article on the work that
Luther Burbank is doing in Califor.
mia. IN the creation and improving OF
fruit and flowers.
He Is a wizard in his profession.
He marries a mulberry to a:.raspberry
and the progeny Is a fruit that is su.
perior to either parent. He takes a
prune and manipulates it with the re.
suit that the new species is vastly su.
perior to the old and is pitless. He
takes the lilies that grow about the
base OF old Shasta, crosses them with
other lilies and the result is a new
lily compared with which Solomon in
all his glory would look as though he
had nothing on but his pajamas. He
takes the California apple, and while not
especially improving its flavor, gives
1t a solidity which makes possible the
packing of the fruit ana the sending
OF it to Europe. The miracles he per-
forms are endless. All up and down
the coast grows a wild beach plum.
1t is worthless in itself, but it grows
on the most sterile points and cares
no more for water than did Major
Nounon in the old days. But on this
he is grating a valuable plum be.
lieving that his work will eventuate
in producing a new plum that will
grow in barren soil, and produce real
fruit. He Is breeding the thorns and
prickly surfaces from the desert cactus
d%ehorning it, SO to speak and looks
forward to a time when the cattle on
the desert will exult in this ~luxuriant
food. His hobby is heredity, his
thought being that there are germs Of
good in the most worthless OF plants,
but by a proper blending the vagrant
features can be bred out and some-
thing beautiful or useful be produced.
This is an idea which mortals should
consider with all thoughtfulness.
But note his way of working. He
is struggling for a result. To accom-.
plish l: he gathers all the plants Of
the same species, no matter how re-
mote, and gratis them. Often he has
$4,000 OF these. He notices the result.
Out of the O,O0O he selects five or six
that come nearest to the realization of
his ideas, and all the rest are torn up
and burned. Then he proceeds with
his experiments on the few selected,
and of these ' perhaps one or two,
and the others are burned. la his
garden he has 300, 600 varieties of
plums or prunes. He has produced
one called the Fleming prune. 1t is
as big and round as a big peach. He
has produced a wonderful flower that
when it first blooms is a glorious red,
but which gradually fades until it ia
snow white. His thought Is to give to
the world better fruit and to fill the
gardens of the land with new and in.
comparably beautiful flowers.
His whole life il absorbed in the
delightful work. He works incessant-
ly, and when a new bloom or q new
fruit materializes he knows how Watt
felt when he heard the first respiration
Of the first steam engine; how Edison
felt when the first still small voice
came to him through the telephone:
how Columbus felt on that black night
when, from the masthead of the little
Pinto there rang down the cry: "A
light, q light"
His life ought to be q great example
to men, says Goodwin's Weekly. An
intense desire for good aud steady
work can fill q life with happiness
when the world outside turns only
harsh crner to a struggling soul.
There are new fruits to be created in
all the worlds fields, new flowers can
be made to bloom everywhere that an
earnest soul works. Of course Luther
Burbank likes approval, but withou,
it he is not left desolate; the Joy in
his work is complete and keeps his
face always lighted with smiles.