AND HIS PLANT SCHOOL 43 



oped in the character of a plant by slow and repeated effort 

 just as a child is trained and directed year after year by 

 loving parents and teachers. He works patiently, and 

 when the least sign of improvement is seen, continues his 

 work with the plant; otherwise it must be rejected and 

 the place given to another. As plants are not so easy to 

 teach as children, in this school ten thousand in one class 

 may fail and only one meet the requirements. Yet the 

 work goes on, for, like the master, plants seem never to 

 become disheartened. Usually from six to eight years are 

 required to complete the education of a pupil, but some 

 have remained in the school for thirty or more years. 



The Gold Ridge proving-grounds, where the more ex- 

 tensive work is done, are eight miles west of Santa Rosa, 

 near Sebastopol. On an eastern sloping hillside sixteen 

 acres are devoted to the growing trees and plants. Just 

 inside the enclosure is the pretty cottage occupied by the 

 superintendent of the grounds, and in which has been 

 furnished an office and rest room. 



The view from the place is very picturesque, overlook- 

 ing the beautiful Santa Rosa valley, with its wooded hills 

 and low mountains as a background, and Mount St. Helena 

 in the far distance. 



Narrowing bands of deepest crimson, delicate pink, and 

 many other shades and tints extend from the entrance 

 up and over the hillside. These magnificent flowers are 

 the new gladioli.* Wonderful new Shasta daisies glisten 



* See illustration on page 82. 



