382 LUTHER BURBANK 



Perhaps it should be noted that the tasting of 

 fruit for the purpose of testing its quality be- 

 comes a rather unwelcome task for the fruit 

 developer even when the fruits under considera- 

 tion are plums or peaches or other orchard fruits 

 of the finest quality. 



People have often assured me that they would 

 consider it a very great privilege to test different 

 fruits by the hour. 



But such an offer only showed their inexperi- 

 ence. No one cares for fruit after he has tested a 

 certain number and the necessity of tasting one 

 kind after another becomes for the fruit devel- 

 oper who operates on a large scale a highly dis- 

 tasteful task. If this is true when fruits of fine 

 quality are in question, it must obviously be 

 doubly true of undeveloped fruits like the Goumi 

 berry, the testing of which gives nothing but dis- 

 comfort from the outset. 



But it is equally obvious that no progress can 

 be made unless the fruits are constantly tested 

 in order to select the best for the continuance of 

 the experiment. And as there is no known sub- 

 stitute for the human palate in making such 

 selection, the tasting of fruits is an unavoidable 

 part of the plant developer's everyday work. 



In the case of the Goumi berry, my efforts at 

 selective breeding have been rewarded by the 



