DISCOVERY OF MARQUIS WHEAT 229 



of plant breeding are widely known. Of Gregor Mendel, 

 the Austro-Silesian monk who, by experiments upon the 

 edible Pea, discovered the now famous Mendelian Laws of 

 Inheritance, and of the Dutchman, Hugo de Vries, who, by 

 his Mutation Theory of Evolution, has also contributed 

 much to plant breeding on its theoretical side, many have 

 heard ; but, so far as the practice of plant breeding is con- 

 cerned, only one name is generally known to the public, 

 that of Luther Burbank. He, indeed, may be said to have 

 acquired universal fame. By means of books, of maga- 

 zines, and of newspapers, the story of his achievements 

 has been blown, as it were, upon the wind, so that at the 

 present time there is scarcely an intelligent man whose 

 ear it has not reached. Who has not heard of Burbank's 

 potato, of Burbank's plums, of Burbank's berries, of Bur- 

 bank's spineless cacti, and of Burbank's Shasta Daisy ; and 

 who does not know that these are but a few only of the 

 many novelties that have issued from the celebrated garden 

 of Santa Rosa ? Who has not been impressed by the skill- 

 ful way in which Burbank has chosen the best variations 

 from plots of thousands or tens of thousands of plants in 

 which to the ordinary eye all the individuals look alike? 

 And, finally, who has not felt astonishment at the often 

 surprising products which have issued from his hybridiz- 

 ing experiments ? Many are the delights which Burbank 

 has contributed to the garden and the orchard. By his 

 hard work, his persistency, his skill, his excellent judg- 

 ment, and his many successes he has truly deserved the 

 reputation he has acquired, and he will leave behind him 

 a heritage of plants which will keep his memory green for 

 many generations. On the other hand, the names of the 

 other masters in the realm of plant breeding, whose new 

 kinds of wheat, barley, oats, Indian com, potatoes, flax, 

 grapes, melons, fruit-trees, etc., have had, and are having. 



