350 LUTHER BURBANK 



encouraging to give me early assurance that I 

 was on the right track. 



So it was with a very definite purpose in view 

 that I began sending to the remotest regions for 

 specimens of different species or varieties of 

 garden or orchard plants, having full confidence 

 that when brought together these remote cousins 

 some at least would be found that were still 

 near enough to their common ancestral point of 

 separation to be mutually fertile; and being fur- 

 ther assured that in such cases there would ap- 

 pear offspring in which the conflict of tendencies 

 would produce wide variations, giving precisely 

 the materials that were sought for such further 

 selections and hybridizings as would result in the 

 development of new arid improved species and 

 varieties. 



At first the experiments were carried on in 

 connection with the general nursery business. 



But about 1884 the work had developed to 

 such an extent that I determined to devote the 

 tract of eight acres purchased in Santa Rosa 

 wholly to experimental work. Experiments had 

 been conducted with garden vegetables, plums, 

 apples, berries, nuts, and numberless flowers pre- 

 vious to this time, but generally on a small scale. 

 Now, in casting about for the most practical lines 

 of procedure I was impressed with the demand 



