LUTHER BURBANK 
Strange to say, among the seedlings of the first 
generation was an apple which was fully as large 
as the Gravenstein and very much like it, except 
that, though quite good for a short time just be- 
fore ripening, it changed rapidly to a punky or 
mealy state. Others were about halfway between 
the two species in size, color, quality, growth, and 
other characteristics, both of trees and fruits in 
all variations. 
But among the second-generation seedlings 
raised from these hybrids some fairly good apples 
were produced. In form, some almost duplicated 
the Gravenstein itself; very few of them resembled 
the true wild crab type, except that nearly all had 
a certain crablike acidity and lack of flavor. 
Some of these hybrids are still growing on my 
Sebastopol farm. No one of them gives promise 
of being worthy of introduction, but it is not un- 
likely that something of value may be developed 
from this stock by further hybridizations and se- 
lections. The wild crab has certain qualities of 
hardiness and prolific bearing that might be of 
value in combination with the fruiting qualities 
of some cultivated variety. This, at all events, is 
a line of investigation that offers opportunity for 
further tests. 
Doubtless the most interesting of these hybrid- 
izing experiments with the apple tree are those in 
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