THE ROSE 227 



may be permitted to indulge in a rather excep- 

 tional satisfaction over the success of this flower 

 for the reason that the rose is probably the most 

 popular of all cultivated plants, and the one that 

 has received most attention from horticulturists 

 of all classes, professional and amateur alike. 



In attempting to introduce a new rose, then, 

 the plant developer is coming in competition with 

 a vast number of workers, and the product with 

 which he operates is to be measured against an 

 almost bewildering number of similar products 

 that have attained a high degree of improve- 

 ment. So, as I said, the plant developer may 

 sometimes regard with greater satisfaction such 

 an accomplishment as this, than a more spec- 

 tacular achievement in plant development in a 

 line where there is no competition. 



HOW THE BURBANK WAS PRODUCED 



The origin of the Burbank rose suggests in a 

 way the origin of that very different plant de- 

 velopment, the Burbank potato. 



I was not personally responsible for either 

 name, and the analogy between the manner of 

 production of the rose and the potato was doubt- 

 less not at all in the mind of the dealer who 

 christened the new flower. Still, as I have just 

 intimated, there is a certain added propriety in 



