168 LUTHER BURBANK 



tree. In the arms of this were rocked seventy-five varieties 

 of apples. When they ripened they were of many sizes, 

 shapes, and colors: red, green, yellow, striped, splashed, 

 and dotted. Some were inferior, others of especially fine 

 quality. 



They were exhibited at the Stanford University by Bur- 

 bank, who was at that time a member of the faculty, and 

 used to illustrate a lecture. They were afterward placed 

 on exhibition at the San Francisco ferry building. 



Burbank now chose one of the best of all apples, the 

 Gravenstein, for special training. Thousands of seeds of 

 this fruit were planted, and thousands of young tree pupils 

 were soon in training. Selecting the best from this vast 

 number would seem an impossible task for most people, 

 but Burbank has hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of 

 such experiments under way at one time. Selections are 

 made by him, but assistants do the planting, cultivating, 

 and grafting: 



The Gravenstein pupils remained in the school for many 

 years that the best might be found, then an apple was 

 graduated which ripens later than the Gravenstein, and is 

 called the Winterstein. The trees are strong and heavy 

 bearers. The large, juicy apples are yellow, with stripes of 

 rosy red. 



Believing it possible that another good apple could be 

 improved, he chose the Newtown Pippin as a pupil. Many 

 seeds were planted, and when promotions were made, the 



