174 



THE PLANT WORLD. 



tunate ch(jice of a biographer, although it is of course true that 

 no hearsay account can be as trustworthy as an authoritative state- 

 ment of personal experience. Inasmuch as the publishers them- 

 selves announce that the author of this l^ook " has secured his 

 material at first hand, and it has all been approved by Air. 

 Burbank," it can scarcely be considered unfair if the latter is 

 held to a certain extent responsible for its deficiencies and inac- 

 curacies. 



Mr. Harwood's literary style is that of the average writer on 

 " popular "' science for the magazines and newspapers, with some- 

 thing more than a seasoning of yellow journalism. He uses a 

 profusion of trite and florid metaphors in the description of the 

 most commonplace natural phenomena ; shows a sublime disre- 

 gard of the proper meaning, usage, and even spelling of well 

 known biological terms ; indulges in fulsome and tedious pane- 

 gyrics upon Mr. Burbank's personality, his achievements, and his 

 infallibility in matters horticultural ; and directs shafts of criti- 

 cism against men of science who are inclined to ask for the why 

 and wherefore and to demand proofs of categorical statements. 



As the book deals wholly with ]\Ir. Burbank's work, the reviews 

 of which it has been the subject have naturally centered upon the 

 nature and extent of his achievements, and have thus inevitably 

 taken on more or less of a personal cast. We are glad to observe 

 that there is for the most part hearty agreement as to the value 

 of his achievements in improving horticultural standards and in 

 producing some new varieties of undoubted merit. The fact that 

 he has sought neither pecuniary profit nor personal aggrandize- 

 ment from his discoveries is also greatly to his credit, and shows 

 him to be in the truest sense a laborer for the welfare of humanity. 

 But in justice to the workers who have preceded and are contem- 

 poraneous with Air. Burbank, we should not permit ourselves to 

 overestimate these services or to be influenced in our judgments 

 by the fulsome adulation of such writers as Mr. Harwood. 

 Blinded by the glamour of Air. Burbank's truly remarkable 

 achievements, the public is apt to overlook the labors of such men 

 as Vilmorin, Crozy, Eckford, Bailey, Webber, and a host of 

 others whose results are equally important and far-reaching and, 

 in some instances, indeed, more so. 



