Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-03-21

cherry without any stone can now pro-
cure 1t. The fair lady who sighed for
roses without thorns. and the small boy
who wished for thornless blackberry
bushes are not making unreasonable de-
mands, because these objects are now
easily obtainable. They have been
brought about through the maglc-like
science of one man and are trivial mat
tiers compared with the many greater at
tainments in plant development and pro-
duction he has been able to bring about.
Whether or not Luther Burbank is go
ing to fulfill all of the expectations of
those who are depending upon his ability
to make the desert yield a wy addi-
ton to the food supply of the world.
there is no disputing the many wonderful
things he already has done while work
ing quietly and patiently upon his little
experiment farm in California. An apple
that is sweet on one side and sour on
the other, with the color OF the ckin d.
viding it into even halves Of yellow and
red; new walnut trees which have the pos
sibility of multiplying the lumber pro-
duction of the country: flowers and fruit
of new colors and increased size. are
only few of the many attainments OF
this man, who has received worldwide
renown as the plant wizard"
No scientist ever received during MS
lifetime more positive and gratifying
recognition of his work from the general
public as well as from scientific societies
than has Mr. Burbank within the past
fifteen years. Before that time his work
was paved with difficulties as great as
those experienced by most other sclen-
lists. He suffered privationS OF many
kinds, and even now is accused by some
persons of being a mere charlatan, who
by an adept use of printers ink has
achieved undue credit for his work. These
dctractOrS are comparatively lew. now
ever and the scientific men are disposed
to credit most of the things he claims,
while thousands of enthusiastic admirers
are perhaps exaggerating his attainments
and giving him credit for work partially
accomplished by other plant breeders
Burbank's work is based entirely upon
scientific principles. He has no secrets.
and each OF
Work Based Entirely his results he
on Scientific Lines. em q nstrate
in thoroughly lucid manner. While he
has been pronounced the greatest plant
breeder the world has ever produced, he
introduced no special innovations in the
methods discovered by Dr. Joachim Cam
erius of Leipzig, who demonstrated the
sexuality of plants in 1851. 1t was the
recognition of this principle which made
possible the process of hybridization.
The first plant hybrid was produced in
1719 by Thomas Fairchild, 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. In all of the
achievements of Luther Burbank there
has been no radical departure from the
methods Of these earlier men. Burbank
genius lies in his wonderful patience and
the magnitude of his experiments. The
breeding of plants. like the breeding OF
animals is dependent upon crossing, or
the securing of new individual progeny
from parents of distinct species. Muta
tions or changed forms spring up gener
ally from unknown causes, as, for in
stance, when colored flower yields white
blossoms. These mutations can be pro-
duced at will be careful study of their
products. as Luther Burbank demonstrat
ed when, by taking a yellow 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 poppies II
place of the golden Eschscholtzia which
grows wild in such luxuriance in Califor-
mia.
It is doubtful if any scientist ever has
given to the world products of greater
practical value than are some of those
Which are credited to Luther Burbank.
Hts first effort was toward the improve
ment of the potato; to secure this he
made his first great sacrifices. Thirty
five years ago potatoes were round, com.
paratively small and most of them red
skinned. Now these old-fashioned pota-
toes 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 po-
tato Burbank accomplished three things
of universal benefit: He increased its
size, multiplied the number which could
be produced in a single hill and improved
she quality and flavor. According to an
estimate made by the Department Of Ag-
riculture the Burbank improved potato is
adding more than SIT 100000 annually to
the output of the country 1t is as well
known abroad as at home. and a careful
estimate gives the sum of $500 100000 as
the value which 1T has added during thir-
ty years to the farm incomes of the
world.
So great has been the decrease in the