THE BROWN FAMILY 



as trials have shown, are readily absorbed by the tissues of plants. An 

 illustration of this fact is afforded by the ease with which certain kinds of 

 flowers may be changed in color from pink to blue or from white to blue by 

 sprinkling them with a solution of iron. The same effect, indeed, is pro- 

 duced when they are grown in a soil rich in iron." 



"Why, I had no idea that plants assimilated minerals so readily," said 

 my wife. 



"Yes, indeed, they do, ma'aam," replied Simpson, "and if folks only 

 knew it instead of taking pills for various ailments they could assist in giv- 

 ing the body the proper nutrition in the most direct and assimable form 

 by eating vegetables and fruits containing the desired minerals. I think 

 Dr. Viaud's conclusion that watering the soil with a solution containing 

 minerals, feeds those minerals, in a way, to the plant only goes to show 

 that where the earth contains these minerals they are readily absorbed by 

 the plant." 



"Goodness me, what a study they make of plant growing now-a-days? 

 It has come to be quite a science," said Mrs. Simpson. 



"That's so. It is a science," replied Simpson. "Agriculture calls for 

 the same scientific thought that any business or profession does. And 

 when a man is up-to-date and makes the study of plants his hobby, his 

 results are correspondingly great." 



"Do you recall any California men who have achieved success through 

 the application of scientific principles to agriculture?" I asked. 



"I certainly do," said Simpson. "Take the man who has achieved the 

 greatest results in fig growing, and who has made money by it. He spent 

 years establishing the caprification of the Smyrna fig. Take the man who 

 has made the greatest success in olive growing; he is a scientist in his line. 

 Take the leading grape-growers; they are familiar with the studies of gen- 

 erations of men in Europe and other countries. The same may be said of 

 almost all other lines of agriculture. The men who have coupled energy 

 and practical application with scientific principles are the men who are 

 foremost." 



"Then you do not think that to raise a great quantity of produce means 

 success?" I asked. 



"No, indeed, it doesn't," replied Simpson. "It may mean failure Suc- 

 cess means doing some one thing a little better than the other man. The 

 man who raises better table grapes than anybody else, or better olives, bet- 

 ter figs, better oranges, is sure to succeed. If his goods are marked by their 

 excellence he will command a ready market at a high price. I have in mind 

 a man who has made a notable success in orange growing. He is an 

 expert, a scientist. His fruit brings a high price. He goes to Europe al- 

 most every year while some of his less fortunate neighbors are wondering 

 whether they will come out even. 



"What we have we should try to have the best of its kind, and we 

 should be content with nothing less," continued Simpson. "Mr. Burbank is 

 showing the world what can be done, and though none of us can ever hope 

 to duplicate his work, we can all profit by his example." 



"Do you think a man like my Jason, who has a small diversified farm 

 can use these scientific principles to advantage?" asked my wife. 



"Of course I do, ma'am," said Simpson. "We were talking about this 

 red earth here and how good it is for Flaming tokay grapes. Now, if Jason 

 can raise the finest table grapes in the market, he can get almost fabulous 

 prices for them because the very best of anything costs money." 



"And all this means that it pays to raise a good article," I said. 



"Exactly," replied Simpson. "Now I guess my team is getting restless, 

 and if you folks are ready we will all drive over to the Estudillo rancho for 

 dinner." 



And so we all had a mighty good dinner at Neighbor Simpson's that 

 evening. 



(To be continued.) 



13 



