40 LUTHER BURBANK 



deal of attention to be given them. So almost 

 numberless varieties have been accidentally and 

 sometimes purposely developed which meet the 

 most varied requirements. But the small fruits 

 have been the Cinderellas of the pomological 

 family. Our own generation was first to give 

 them proper recognition, and it remains for our 

 successors to carry them forward to their true 

 plane of utility. 



So it is these fruits rather than others that we 

 shall have chiefly in mind, as the title of the pres- 

 ent chapter would suggest. But it may be re- 

 peated that much that will be said applies to all 

 marketable fruits, and even where a particular 

 species is referred to, what is said is often sus- 

 ceptible of general application. 



Bearing this in mind, let us briefly review the 

 story of the modern development of the small 

 fruits, and with equal brevity outline a few sug- 

 gestions as to the lines of future progress. 



THE INCREASED CONSUMPTION OF FRUIT 



The consumption of fruit has increased more 

 rapidly in the United States, and perhaps 

 throughout the world, during the last one hun- 

 dred years than has that of any other kind of 

 food, with possibly the exception of nuts. The 

 increase in the consumption of both fruits and 



