Luther Bur bank 53 



produced what he called a ' plumcot.' This is a com- 

 bination of the American wild plum, a Japanese plum, 

 and the common apricot. It is hardy like the wild 

 plum, has a delicious flavour, and its flesh is firm so that 

 it will stand packing and travelling. 



Plums were always a favourite subject for Burbank's 

 experiments. He was successful in producing a number 

 that had no stones, and others with stones so soft they 

 could be cut in two with a knife, but his greatest triumph 

 in this line was a new prune four times the size of the 

 French prune — from which it sprang — and very much 

 richer in sugar. Fifty years ago France supplied prunes 

 to almost the whole world, but to-day, thanks to Burbank, 

 California has an enormous trade in this particular 

 commodity. Another plum that Burbank created has the 

 flavour of a pear. 



At one time there were growing in the garden at Santa 

 Rosa three hundred thousand distinct varieties of plums, 

 differing one from another in foliage, in form and colour 

 of fruit, in flavour, and in all other qualities, sixty 

 thousand peaches and nectarines, between five and six 

 thousand almonds, two thousand cherries, two thousand 

 pears, one thousand grapes, three thousand apples, twelve 

 hundred quinces, five thousand walnuts, five thousand 

 chestnuts, between five and six thousand berries of all 

 descriptions, and many thousands of other fruits and 

 flowers and vegetables. 



1 Colossal ' is the only word to apply to such an enter- 

 prise, and one wonders how any one individual could 

 possibly handle such a business. For it must be remem- 

 bered that each one of all these thousands of trees and 

 vines had to be watched by Burbank himself, its habit of 

 growth, size, shape and flavour of fruit produced carefully 

 observed. Yet the skill of the man was such that the 

 task was never beyond him, and a visitor who watched 

 him at work wrote of him : 



