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HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY OF NEW YORK. 



tion, and in many other characters, which were seen to be locally desirable. 

 How widely and how definitely also this selection of seedlings was pursued and 

 what satisfactory results were secured are shown in considerable detail in a 

 paper which the writer contributed to the Proceedings of the American Pomo- 

 logical Society, Session of 1895. This watching for wonders in chance seed- 

 lings is still a passion of the California fruit grower, and desirable acquisitions 

 are still being disclosed, although each year brings new casualties to the fruit 

 lists. There are probably not one-tenth as many varieties of all kinds of fruits, 

 both citrus and deciduous, now growing in California as there were twenty 

 years ago. Although many new varieties have been secured both by selection 

 of seedlings and by the higher arts of plant breeding, ten times as many have 

 been dropped from the lists, not because they were failures as fruits, but be- 

 cause they did not meet the very sharp requirements of commercial fruit 

 growing as now pursued in California. 



During the last decade plant breeding in California has rapidly widened 

 in scope and advanced in aim and method. Though our most distinguished 

 plant breeder, Mr. Luther Burbank, began his California life and effort as 

 early as 1875, it was not until some years later that results began to appear 

 and the people to understand his lofty purposes and wonderful achievements. 

 This disclosure of a horticultural prophet of the highest type has naturally 

 stimulated plant breeding and led to higher arts and greater ambitions, and 

 the results secured by others than Mr. Burbank are becoming notable. It has 

 seemed to me that even a rough sketch of what other Californians than Mr. 

 Burbank had achieved, with some mention of their beliefs and methods, would 

 be acceptable, and would indicate that under the favoring conditions in Cali- 

 fornia excellent work was being done by many enthusiastic and devoted plant 

 breeders. This elimination of Mr. Burbank is necessary because his work 

 alone, even cursorily discussed, would occupy more space than this writing 

 should claim; besides, information about him and his work was given by the 

 writer in four issues of the Sunset Magazine, San Francisco (December, 

 1901, and February, April and June, 1902,), to which the reader is referred. 



For the purpose of securing up to date and authentic data from Cali- 

 fornia plant breeders I addressed letters of enquiry to those whom I knew 

 to be engaged in this work. All did not comply with my request for informa- 

 tion, and if omissions are noticed they may be due to this fact. The replies 

 to these enquiries follow : 



The Loganberry and the Mammoth blackberry are the only plants of 

 any value that I have originated. 



In August, 1881, I planted the seed of the common wild blackberry, or 

 dewberry, of California, botanically known as the Rubus ursinus, gathered 

 from plants on one side of which was growing a kind of evergreen black- 

 berry known as the Texas Early, and on the other side of which was growing 

 an old variety of red raspberry. The Texas Early has a growth of cane 

 and leaves similar to the Lawton, although much less vigorous, and in our 

 mild climate is growing winter and summer. It has a small round berry 

 of more acidity than the Lawton and probably of poorer flavor. The rasp- 

 berry referred to has been growing in this place for the last forty years, and 

 I am unable to ascertain what variety it is, although it is' of a type similar to 

 the Red Antwerp. It is not, however, the Red Antwerp as we have been 

 growing it here. From this seed there grew about one hundred plants. 



