AND HIS PLANT SCHOOL 113 



Again the kindergarten was crowded, and again the work- 

 men were kept busy for many days during promotion season. 



Gentle, merry, laughing 'spring hastened rapidly by, 

 but before she vanished smiling, white-petaled faces looked 

 out from beneath the green canopies of thousands of berry 

 pupils. The day of selection finally arrived. Such a 

 variety of red-cheeked berries had seldom been seen. 

 The master moved among his plant pupils with anxious 

 anticipation. For more than thirty years his great heart 

 had longed to produce a berry that would gladden the 

 homes of rich and poor alike. 



The search continued. Finally one was found. The 

 ideal was at last attained. A plant bearing a most unique 

 berry was seen among the thousands around him. The 

 leaves of this new plant were thick and firm and covered 

 with silky down, well protecting the ripening berries from 

 the hot rays of the sun. The stalks on which the berries 

 grew were large and branching. The berries were large, 

 firm, and luscious, sometimes weighing an ounce each. 

 They were a pale scarlet outside and a delicate yellow in- 

 side. The seeds, which grow on the outside of all berries, 

 were so small on this new berry that they could scarcely 

 be noticed. 



John Burroughs, the naturalist and writer, visited the 

 plant school, and when invited to taste the new berry, he 

 exclaimed: "A most delicious berry; the best I have ever 

 tasted!" 



