198 LUTHER BURBANK 



all his personal property; and the accounts of 

 the business transacted had been so accurately 

 kept that the total amount of these sales was 

 found to be within a few cents of the amount of 

 his annual appraisement. The same regard for 

 system and accuracy in all the details of busi- 

 ness which have ever characterized his methods 

 were here shown. Meantime, besides settling up 

 these matters, he had sent to different parts of 

 California for copies of various newspapers, pur-- 

 chased and read several books on California, and 

 interviewed several parties who had visited the 

 State ; and from this information he decided that 

 northern California was probably the most suit- 

 able to his purpose for the production of im- 

 proved forms in plant life. 



Two older brothers were then living in Toma- 

 les, California George, who came in 1854, and 

 David in 1859. Having learned before coming 

 to the State that the climate of Tomales, being 

 close to the ocean, was too harsh for his experi- 

 ments, after some hesitation between San Jose 

 and Santa Rosa, he decided to locate in Santa 

 Rosa. Sometimes he has thought that the work 

 might have been slightly more advanced if he had 

 settled in the larger town of San Jose, in the 

 midst of the world's greatest fruit-producing 

 section, but, on the whole, he has been satisfied 



