The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1909-10-06
WEDNESDAY,, OCT. s, 1909.
KNOCKING LUTHER BURBANK.

Down In Los Angeles they are hsv.
ing . lively time calling Luther Bur-
bank names not down In the book.
Mr.. Burbank is the wizard Of plant
life, but It would seem that the old re-
mark Of q prophet being without honor
In his own country applies in the case
of Burbank as lin the cas OF many
gone before. The Burbank wonder.
berry seems to be the particular point
about which theOlbattle wages and DR..
B. T. Galloway, head Of the bureau
of plant industryfof thesUnited States,
has been chosen to lesd;the van. MI.
Burbank claims ~lhe.created the won
derberry, while Dr.. G Galloway claims
that nature did the creating and that
the much touted wonderberry is elm.
ply . variety ofI.theNblack nightjade
which grove ALL over'athe United
States, and in somelsections 10 even .
pestiferous weed,3 but tthe particular
variety which Burbanklcalls the won.
derberry has beenlIknownkand grown
for years.
1t was his promotionlof the wonder
berry that madeIlB urbankuthe object
Of attack fromO gardeners land horti.
culturists in different 0psrts of the
country. For several Years many Of
them hsvs lookedlwithl suspicion upon
several Of his alleged "creations,"
but there wss noNpublic criticism Of
him until after seed of the wonder.
berry appeared .ioniIthe. market last
year.
The Rural NewOYorker. one of the
leading HORTICULTURAL journals Of the
country, investig tedlthelwonderberr
and published q statement declaring
the wonderberry to be:no creation, but
. natural variety existing In q state
OF nature. The journal then attacked
Burbank severely:in connection with
other claimed creations.
It was about the same time that P.
D.. Barnhsrt, editor of the Pacific
Gardener, the leading horticultural
journal of southern California, deliv.
cred an address before the Pasadena
Gardeners association, in which he
scored Burbank and denounced him
1s q faker. His address was mainly
IN account of q visit he had paid to
Burbank's home at Santa Rosa q
short time before. He alleged tina t the
"'plant wizard" had not produced one
authentic plant creation.
The result of reinstatement was that
the association unanimously adopted
. resolution declaring Burbank to be
q "nature faker, "iland deploring the
fact that the public had been induced
70 regard him seriously.
The addition of Dr.lG alloway to the
ranks of the Burbank doubters has
given the battle against him an added
impetus and handed thellplant wizard
OF Santa Rosa aIibunch which will
cause even a SO firmly entrenched to
cit up and tskeinotice.
Mr.. Burbanklsoi far has taken the
stand that bis. work spoke for itself
and that he refused to become mixed
up In the controversy. DR.. David S.
Jordan, president of Leland Stanford
university, has Icome forward, how.
ever, in defense and %thesthings he re.
marks of the anti Burbankers makes
strong reading. HeS declares the at.
tack upon the plant wizard to be
"misguided, misdirected, ill.adviscd
and made by thoseitwho knew not
whereof they speak,"
Burbank is q member of the faculty
of Stanford unive rsity and be and Dr..
Jordan have worked together in many
OF the plant genius experiments.-