The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1909-09-16
ON THE PACIFIC COAST.

The Pasadena Gardeners association
has gone on record as condemning many
of the horticultural novelties of Luther
Burbank as fakes and this position
has been supported by Hans Plath,
president of the Pacific Coast Horticul-
tural society, and Hugo Lilienthal, the
well known San Francisco horticult1riSt.
They all declare that many of his crea-
tons are not novelties, and that his
wonderberry is identical with the berry
| of the deadly nightShade and is poison
Gus. Mr.. Burbank has replied briefly
to these criticisms. showing that this at
tack is largely based on sensational
newspaper or magazine reports of his
work. for which he cannot be held re-
sponsible. Of the genuine value of Mr..
| Burbank's work no one here has any
doubt, and proof of his remarkable hor-
ticultural skill is afforded by a visit to
his experimental farms neal Santa Rosa.
| The Carnegie institute gives Burbank
| subsidy of $4,000 a year, and this
proved fruits will be worth millions to
| California horticulturists, while the val
ue of the spinelesS cactus is inestima BILE
as food for animals on desert lands.
A thorough investigation will be made
of the Children's Home Finding society
of San Francisco. OF which Henry w.
y
Brayton has been brought into the lime
light by the discovery in a filthy Chi
nese cellar of a little white girl who
had forgotten her own language. 1t was
alleged Brayton sold this cheild to the
Chinese for $40 and that he accepted
money for other children placed with
Chinese. He says the money was a
voluntary contribution to the society,
and asserts that all children thus placed
in Chinatown had Monaghan blood. The
latter statement has been diSprOved, it
is alleged. 1t is said that Brayton has
lived for years ON the contributions of
charitable persons without furnishing an
account of his stewardship.
The newspaper zinc etchers of San
Francisco returned to work this week,
after a lockout of five weeks. The etch-
ers refused to handle rouse blocks, or
even to furnish zines for mounting on
these patent blocks. The whole matter
has now been referred to arbitration.
Track laying on the San Diego & Ari-
zono railroad has begun. The first four
teen miles of road from San Diego to
the Mexican line are graded, and grad
ing in lower California will begin at
once. This road will connect with the
Southern Pacific at Yuma, and will
open up a rich cattle raising and agri-
cultural country, going. through the
heart of the new Imperial colony in the
delta of the Colorado river, which has
soil as fertile as that of the lower Nile
valley.
Because of loud noise and interfer-
ence with telephone wires, the wireless
plant on Russian hill, San Francisco,
will have to move. Residents of that
hill complained that they could not sleep
l. +ho IN,
and sending messages and that they fire.
quently could not use the telephone be-
cause of electrical disturbances.
Dr. Taylor of the pathological depart
ment of the University of California,
will establish poison squad of twelve
students at the opening of the fall term.
tive qualities of sulphured California
fruit. which DR.. Wiley tried to suppress.
The students will be fed on various kinds
of California dried fruit and other phys
ical condition will be carefully noted.
These tests will be furnished to the gov
of sulphuring fruit has been submitted.
The creditors of the Calkins newspa-
per syndicate have received a dividend
of 10 per cent. About per cent. will
be paid in second dividend. This is
double the amount which Calkins offered
to pay after he had been forced into
insolvency. Calkins was a Nevada coun-
ty newspaper man with Napoleonic am
billions. He bought a half dozen Cali
fOrnia newspapers and attempted to
manage them from San Francisco.
The first celebration of the vintage
festival after the European style will
be held at Aetna Springs, in Napa val
ley, CAL, on September 8. Prominent
wine men have co-operated in this
scheme. which it is hoped will result in
regular annual celebration of the be-
ginning of picking and crushing grapes
for wine. The costumes worn by the
girls will be duplicates of those worn
by the German frauleins at Schloss Jo-
hannesburg.
Charles w. Dood, an alleged mining
swindler. wanted in Boston on a charge
of obtaining money on fake mines, was
arrested this week in Oakland. Cal,
where he has been making preparations
to begin operations. There will be no
difficulty about securing his extradition.
1t is charged that his scheme was to adj
vertise for a partner in a good mining
venture and then disappear after obtain
ing money.
The Mazuma Mountain Climbing club
of Portland, Ore. this week assembled
Mount Baker. one of the most difficult
SUBMITS to scale in this country. Five
out of the party of thirty succeeded in
reaching the summit after nearly six
hours climb. They found enormous
fields of ice. two active volcanic craters
and great assures not mapped by pre-
vious climbers. One member, who
knows the Alps we'll, says they have no
snowfeld that compares in extent with
the Deming glacier of Mount Baker.
Some Observations