Los Angeles herald., 1909-01-10
BY F. n. DoUD


In the first place. there has been no
official test made of Luther Bur-
banks spineless cactus, other than the
tests made by Mr. Burbank himself
during the years he was experimenting
with this most remarkable of his pro-
auctions, and which tests have been
borne out by the observations made by
government experts who have inter-
ested themselves in the thornlesS cactus
produced by the wizard of Santa Rosa.
No such test could have been held
without the knowledge of the officers
of the Thornless Cactus Farming COM
pany, which owns and holds all of the
Burbank thornless cactus there is in
America, as attested by Mr.. Burbank
himself
By way of explanation, it should be
stated that after sixteen years of eX-
perimenting, during which period he
crossed and recrossed hundreds of
thousands of seedlings, Mr.. Burbank
succeeded in producing seven perfectly
thornless cactus varieties, with tree
mendous growing and feeling values. To
these he gave his name, calling them
and them alone the Burbank thornleSS
cactus. The Thornless Cactus Farming
company of Los Angeles was organized
and bought from Mr.. Burbank all of
these plants except one of each variety
which he retained at his Santa Rosa
nursery for exhibition purposes, and
five plants which he sold to Australian
parties for $1,000 each. En- PEASANT, it is
interesting to note that with the $1,000
raised from the sale of these five plants
Mr.. Burbank built his new home at
Santa Rosa, his old house being now
known as the pumping station be-
cause it is there that his biographers
h i'm 10 70 Il
animation, in order that they may gain
from this great and busy man the sal
tent facts about his life work.
Plants Left Over
After he had sold all of these inn
proved thornless plants to the Thorn
less Cactus Farming company Mr.. Bur-
bank had left on his hands a large
number of very excellent plants, partly
thornless, inferior to the Burbank
ThornleSS cactus, but useful in their
way as fodder for beef cattle and rep
resenting to him thousands of dollars
outlay. These plants, while not valued
nearly so highly as the improved plants
to which he gave his name, he regarded
as too good to utterly Destroy and
these plants he has sold at a nominal
figure to all applicants in small lots
and with clearly defined explanations
as to their usefulness.
SCI NO4A1 PCISOllS l4dNl1l6 Sd1DOo pOS-
session Of some of these plants with
which Mr.. Burbank experimental be-
gan TO advertise them to sell at a
round figure and some confusion arose
as to the relative merits of Burbank
thornleSS cactus and the So-advertiSed
Burbank Standard cactus (the old,
partly thorny kinds.) To overcome this
confusion and prevent any misconcep-
ton on the part of the purchasing pub
lie, the Thornless Cactus Farming COM
pany bought all of the old plants Mr..
Burbank held some thirty odd tons,
and transplanted them at Los Banos
in the San Joaquin valley, where they
are now being propagated for their
large fruiting values.
All of the Burbank thornless cactus
in the world, except the few plants
here and there loaned out for exhibit
ton and the five plants sent to Aus
tralia, are held by the Thornless Gao
tus Farming company at its propa-
eating station No. l at Eagle Rock.
Located at Indio
Originally all of these plants were
located at Indio, in the Coachello val
ley, where they propagated wonder
fully during the early months Of the
year 1908. In this valley no wild cactus
grows at all, and the fact that the
Burbank thornless cactus flourished
there, producing a new generation Of
leaves every six weeks was the high
est proof possible to obtain that Mr..
Burbank had produced a cactus plant,
without spines, with greatly increased
growing and feeding value, and, more
over able to withstand conditions I'M
der which the wild cactus could not
survive. In other words, the Coachello
valley experiment proved that Bur-
banks thornless cactus is harder than
the wild cactus.
The statement accredited to the
anonymous official report in the Fruit
World that lone particularly fine lot
of q new variety in which Mr. Bur-
suits were nearly lost on the Indio
desert" is quite untrue. All Of Mr..
Burbank'S new varieties were first
grown at Indio, because the spring is
earlier there and it was desired to
force the plants as rapidly as possible
and secure as many plants as possible
to satisfy the worldwide demand for
this newest and most wonderful of
the Burbank creations. AS soon as the
weather became so warm that slight
irrigation was necessary in this desert
land, the plants were removed to the
most favorable cline, found right at
our doors.
The Maltas, Anacanthias and SkelIys
are varieties of the old, partly thorny
cactus, with which Mr.. Burbank ex-
perimented. They are among the best
of the many varieties of wild cactus
with which he experimental. But
they are not to be compared with the
genuine Burbank thorniess cactus
which Mr.. Burbank himself evolved
and which he expects to revoIutfonize
the dairy and cattle business.
The universal demand for the Bur
bank thornless cactus compelled the
company which Mr.. Burbank intrusted
with the responsibility Of propagating
and distributing them to defer the first
distribution till the summer Of 1909. No
Wei informed person questions the mat
ter Of relative virtue between the Rur-
bank cactus and the so-ca1led STAND
ard" cactus which Is merely the in
ferior plants he had left on his farm
when he finished his wonderful work of
evolution.