CHAPTER XX 



THE BURBANK POTATO 



FOR several years the authors of this book 

 have looked upon their occasional visits 

 to Luther Burbank at Santa Rosa, Cal. 

 as bright spots in their year's work. Each 

 visit brings a greater love for the genial, kindly, 

 wonderful man and a greater admiration for his 

 marvelous work in plant breeding — the like of 

 which the world has never before known. He is 

 both a genius and a philanthropist, and the value 

 of his hfe work to the world will probably never be 

 given a correct rating. 



The Burbank potato is in a class by itself on the 

 Pacific coast. In discussing the potato situation 

 in California, Mr. Burbank said: 



"I suppose the Russians, who had a trading post 

 on the coast of what is now Sonoma County, may 

 have grown potatoes, but the first potatoes in 

 the state of which we have any record were those 

 brought by sailors from Chile, South America. 

 That it was possible for them to be used on the 

 slow-sailing vessels of seventy-five years ago shows 

 that they were good keepers. 



"This Chilean potato was grown on the shores 

 of Bodega Bay in Sonoma County and came to be 

 known as the * Bodega Red. ' It was a red potato, 

 with heavy eyebrows and deep eyes, and when piled 

 in the field and covered with vines would keep for 



£87 



