PERSONAL HISTORY 215 



essay instead of declaiming for the Friday after- 

 noon exercises at Lancaster Academy, writing 

 has been a pleasure to him. 



His catalogues, entitled "New Creations in 

 Plant Life," which were published in 1893 and 

 in succeeding years, are used as textbooks by 

 many schools and colleges, and for reference by 

 horticultural societies and experiment stations 

 in this and other countries. 



In 1907 the little book, "The Training of the 

 Human Plant," was published and has found a 

 very generous response from the public; it has 

 been translated into several languages, put in 

 form for the blind, and has become a textbook 

 for the education of the young in thousands of 

 schools and homes. His love for children makes 

 it especially appropriate that his first printed 

 volume be dedicated to the millions of school 

 children under all skies, and that it be a plea for 

 their better development. Especially appropri- 

 ate, also, is the making of his birthday, March 

 7th, a legal holiday by the State of California, 

 to be observed by the planting of trees and 

 flowers. 



In his marvelous conquest of plant life there 

 has been no display and no magic, no elaborate 

 appliances for research; only intuition, industry, 

 skill, and patience; hands, eyes, and brain have 



