The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-06-03
BURBANK, HHV PLANT WIZARD
ms HOeE avn ms 6ARDES AZ
StVTt ROst


WV Wv ' "
zee easMlcweg nustaAh q fspsiesa
WssNev The HwsSaHR Pstate WsFth
atg mn HNB q teas w tAe tSWNtsy
'Wlmti' Hustmoh, who Performs ae'cn.
lshlus stunts In hls deaItHaa Wlth the veee.
tahie Wusid. lives IN santa ttpas, q lttls town
my miles nofth N san Ffanclaro
Hundreds ~ visitors 90 ~ 10 see him
every yrtf, says Hugo de Vfies IN the fade
rnd,Ni and puftmnt Always gives thefn
aofne N HE pfeeioua tirre, htf M enJoya
yo,if v,sl, only whcr he pcfcrivea that yotir
ayes ara quick N the small differences hy
which W. ariecta HE new typrs
Visitors who estect ~ see long rows NJ
beautiful pianla will MT nud Whit they
supposed hut instead viii are 4 Workshop,
with NJ utter ch,oa ~ toula the tools beihg
the lndlv,Iutl plan,s. with their almost
iinperrrptihle d~lferrntiitina marks.
N you hivr no appreciation NJ such small
differences don't try ~ pay him q conpli-
ment your praise will miss Its aim becatHe
by the choice NJ che plant you mention no
will Instantly aee how much you know
about methods and results In plant brecd-
Ing.
In peraon, Burbank IL slender. almost 10
f~railness. 10 IA now nearly thirty years
since he came 10 California from Massachu-
setts. where he was born, He Ia about
an years Of age. He Ia a tireless worker,
spending many hours each day at his eE-
perimental grounds.
The finer experiments he oonducts at
Santa Rosa, on the farm where he lives.
but he owns other grounds In the %neighbor-
hood, at Sebastopol. where His larger cult
ures are TO be found. His house Is a little
cottage, where he lives with his old mother,
a lady Of about 90. II Is approached
through closely trimmed box borders.
In outward appearance he is a plain mans
more a gardener than a savant, with clear
blue sparkling eyes, full Of life and fun.
He appreciates humor in others, and told
us stories that kept us constantly laughing.
He began his busine as an ordinary gar
dener, c%ultivating fruit trees, shrubs and
flowers for sale. In the beginning he had a
big nursery and won money enough to in
crease his business rapidly; but he pre-
ferred the improvement Of his varieties
and the production Of new ones. So, as
soon as his means allowed, he disposed Of
his nursery
He now sells only novelties, and leaves
their multiplication for trade to other men.
For some Of those varieties large COM
panies have been founded, since from the
one seeding which Burbank may have
won Inc Bold, hundreds Of thousands OF
trees have to be produced before the novelty
can proitably be brought into trade.
When talking, his eyes glow with love OF
his plants, many Of which he remembers
Of flowers are his special d%arlings. He tries
to make their bloom brighter and richer.
to extend it over q longer season and to
make them cheaper 30 as to bring them
within the reach Of the poorest people.
fields and woods. AS soon as he discovers
a type which is new to him or excels In
some attractive quality he will take the
plant or its seeds home with him for ex-
pertinent.
BY crossing and selection he will improve
the type almost beyond recognition, as In
the case of the wild tiger lilies and OF the
Shasta daisies, whose blossoms are as large
as the palm Of ones hand
His most important recent achievement
with fruits is the production OF a stoneless
prune. The seed is naked, unprotected by
the ordinary woody shell 80 that one can
bite right through the fruit: These stone
less prunes are not yet ready for trade, as
they have still to be improved by renewed
crosses.
varieties of plums will be crossed with the
stoneless prune, 80 that they too will be
stoneless, although they will not lose their
distinctive flavor. Stoneless prunes and
plums will be as common then as seedless
oranges now are.
A single instance will show what a valua-
BILE asset Luther Burbank ia In the wealth
Of the country. His first contribution to
our productions was a new potato, which
now bears his name.
According to an official statement Of the
United States Department of Agriculture
at Washington, made a few years ago, this
Burbank potato is adding to the agricul-
tural productivity Of the country an annual
amount Of 81, 900 900. To convey an idea
Of the morn number Of Purbank poto-
toes, some one has calculated that II all the
tubers produced in one year were arranged
in a row, touching one another, the line
would be thrice the distance between the
earth and the moon.