144 LUTHER BURBANK 



like a flat tomato, and was so bitter that it puckered one's 

 mouth all up. 



But the oddest thing about it was that it had almost 

 no pollen at all on its anthers. It was hard to find even a 

 few grains. Burbank had once found some, for you must 

 know that he could find it if any one could. These few 

 grains he used in creating the Delaware plum, one of the 

 parents of the Bartlett plum. 



Now the Bartlett plum is a very distinguished pupil, 

 for it has the exact flavor of a delicious Bartlett pear. 

 Indeed, to prove this, one of the foremost fruit men of the 

 world was blindfolded and given some of the fruit to taste, 

 and not knowing what kind of fruit he was eating, said, 

 "It is the finest Bartlett pear I have ever tasted." It is 

 also very attractive otherwise, having an upright, erect 

 form, and beautiful, glossy, green leaves. The fruit is 

 yellow, turning to deep crimson when fully ripe. It is 

 firm and juicy, with salmon-colored flesh. 



So the teacher saw the good in little Simoni, and knew 

 that it would be of still further use in the world if properly 

 trained. 



Triflora was a more lovable child, with a much sweeter 

 disposition; and felt better acquainted, for other pupils 

 from Japan had been trained in the plant school. You 

 know that children tell each other about their school days, 

 and anything new that they have seen and enjoyed, so per- 

 haps Triflora had heard more about it than Simoni had. 



