El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-03-17

naturalization. The first plant hybrid
vas produced in 1719 by Thomas Fair
child, an English gardener, who crossed
the sWeetwilliam with the carnation.
Another Englishman,. Thomas Henry
Knight, has been called the father of
plant breeding. His work extended
until 1888, and was based upon the
scientific principles recognized by
Darwin and his followers.
Genius Lies In Patience.
In all Of the achievements of Luther
Burbank there has been no radical de-
parture from the methods Of these
earlier men. Burbank's genius lies in
his wonderful patience and the magni-
tude Of his experiments The breeding
OF plants like the breeding Of animals
is dependent upon crossing, or the Sc
curing Of new individual progeny from
parents OF distinct species Mutations
or changed forms spring up generally
from unknown causes, as, for instance,
when a colOred flower yields white
blossoms. These mutations can be pro-
duced at viii by a careful study Of
their products, as Luther Burbank
demonstrated when, by taking q yell
low poppy upon which he noticed some
crimson lines, he increased its red in
other generations, by selection, until
he has now been able to produce a
field Of crimson peoples in place Of the
golden EschschOltZia which grows wild
in such luxuriance in California
Products OF Practical Value.
As 4
has given to the world products Of
greater practical value than are some
Of those which are credited to Luther
Burbank. His first effort was toward
the improvement OF the potato; to Sc
cure this he made his first great Sacri-
fees. Thirty-fve years ago potatoes
were round, comparatively small and
most Of them red skinned. Now these
Old-fashioned potatoes are difficult to
find. The whole world raises the
Burbank potato which is long in shape,
white skinned, and several times the
size of the Old-fashiOned tuber.
In his work for the Improvement OF
the potato Burbank accomplished three
things of universal benefit: He in
creased its size, multiplied the num-
Der which could be produced in a single
hill and improved the quality. and ia
Vor. According to an estimate made
BY the department Of agriculture the
Burbank improved potato is adding
more than S17, 900, 900 annually TO the
output Of the country It IS as well
known abroad as at home and a care
ful estimate gives the sum Of $6O0,o0O,-
600 as the value which it has added
during thirty years to the farm in
comes Of the world
A New Walnut Tree.
So great has been the decrease in the
production of walnut trees that their
extinction seems threatened and the
supply Of black walnut lumber is prac-
tfcally exhausted. Now Burbank is ~
feriug to the lum Dermen a new wal
nun zee which possesses wonderful adj
vantages over the old. The old black
walnut tree was slow Of growth. It
took at least 20 years under good con-
dftions to produce a tree Is feet high
and IS inches in circumference. The
new Burbank walnut. tree in II years
viii reach a height Of so feet and
circumference of so inches. At-a- cost
Of 81 a tree for planting, this new
walnut in ten years will yield a lum-
Der value of $1,000 an acre. It is a
fine-grained hard, wood. capable tf
taking a high polish in finishing. It is
lighter in shade than the Old walnut,
more nearly resem DnD
MANY Acres in Gardens.
The results which Burbank obtains
have been brought about by the large
number Of plans he has under ObserTa-
ton in making a study, permitting him
a wide range of selection. Instead Of
having a. few square feet Of ground or
few plants in pots. he uses acres Of
ground, If necessary, in making a
single test Instead of half a dozen
or 5000 plants in making a given test.
he NAV have a million ell of them
similar. out of this million he may,
perhaps. save only one in the last slit
ing, but that one will be the best Of
all The rest are all likely to be de-
stroyed by huge bOnfires which clear
the ground for other plants
Grating Experiments.
In the course Of fruit development