176 LUTHER BURBANK 



When the hybrids were old enough they were 

 carefully set out in rows in the open field on the 

 Sebastopol farm. For a month or more after 

 transplanting they showed no inclination to 

 depart from the habit of the strawberry. To 

 close inspection it might appear that the main 

 stem was unusually thick, and that the leaves 

 were a little more wrinkled than is usual with 

 the strawberry, and their edges slightly more 

 serrated. But aside from this, the hybrid plants 

 were in appearance true strawberries. 



About the first of June, however, the plants 

 began to throw out underground stolons, 

 whereas strawberry runners are normally on 

 the surface. These stolons suggested roots of 

 the raspberry, yet the new plants that sprang 

 from them here and there were exactly like 

 strawberry plants. So at this stage it would 

 seem that the influence of the mother parent had 

 been but slight. 



But along in July came the transformation. 

 Rather suddenly each main plant sent up two, 

 three, or more strong smooth canes, which grew 

 to the height of from two to five feet. These 

 canes were absolutely thornless, as were all other 

 portions of the plant; they were as smooth as 

 strawberry plants in leaf and stem, but their 

 form and manner of growth now departed 



