346 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



suit of breeding on such a large scale as that mentioned above was at 

 the time unknown, and it was believed that the results could be ob- 

 tained only by repeated selections. If by experiments on a large scale 

 the varieties could be produced at once, the former view would evidently 

 lose much of its value. 



The magnitude of Burbank's work excels anything that was ever 

 done before, even by large firms in the course of generations. The 

 number of fruits and flowers which he has improved is unequaled. 

 Others confine themselves to one or two genera ; he takes hold of every- 

 thing. The majority of breeders who became famous by their improve- 

 ments of certain groups took up this work merely as an adjunct, as a 

 means of widening their commercial relations, thus creating a greater 

 demand for their nursery products. Burbank commenced in the same 

 way, but as soon as he had obtained what he thought he required, the 

 nursery business was abandoned, and he devoted himself exclusively to 

 the improvement of flowers and fruit. It is to this resolution he owes 

 his present fame. 



Another point of importance which is also evident from Burbank's 

 work is that in many genera the development of hybrids seems to have 

 reached its limit. In some cases neither Burbank nor any other 

 breeder could produce something new. Apples, pears, peaches, straw- 

 berries and a few other types are quite exhausted. The circumference 

 of their form-circle, if I may be allowed to express myself this way, 

 or, as Americans say, their possibilities, are already taken up in culti- 

 vation. Inside that circle, of course, improvements are possible, and 

 every one who eats canned apples, or pears, or peaches from California 

 knows that progress in regard to these fruits is evident enough. But 

 Burbank himself considers those species exhausted, and he asks for his 

 improvements no higher rank than what already exists. He has added 

 to them only greater productivity and the qualities required for pack- 

 ing and shipping. It is, however, by just these qualities that a great 

 deal of California's prosperity has been created and the fruit export to 

 Europe increased, qualities which the consumer applauds as much as 

 the European orchardists fear them. 



From a scientific point of view Burbank's varieties are but indi- 

 vidual, by which I mean that the variety has been produced by one 

 single individual, hence from one seed. That specimen has then been 

 multiplied by vegetative propagation into the thousands, or probably 

 millions, of plants which are in the market. As an individual the 

 variety preserves the characters obtained through hybridizing. 



Exceptions to this rule are rare. Burbank has, however, obtained 

 a few hybrids which are stable when raised from seeds. These are 

 naturally crossings of stable species or at least stable hybrids. As an 

 example I may mention the hybrid between the California dewberry 



