CHAPTER XIII 



ON THE ORIGIN OF NEW SPECIES 



a dweller upon some other 

 planet where some other sun kisses its 

 earth into life come down through space bear- 

 ing a fruit as yet untasted by the world-men, 

 it would not be more distinctive, or more deli- 

 cious to the taste, than the fruit which Mr. 

 Burbank picked one summer day from a tree 

 which he had made from three other trees. 

 For the fruit which he picked was unlike any 

 other fruit which had grown on the earth 

 before it was absolutely new, he had accom- 

 plished that which men had said was impos- 

 sible. So it has been said on other occasions, 

 such and such things cannot be done. Mr. 

 Burbank says, Wait; let us see about it. 



He took a wild American plum, a Japanese 

 plum, and an apricot. He bred these three 

 together and made a third, the plumcot, dif- 

 ferent in texture, color and taste from any 

 other fruit. Not only did he thus create a 



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