240 LUTHER BURBANK 



Meantime, of course, it was necessary that I 

 should gauge my enthusiasms in accordance 

 with the practicalities. I must make a living, so 

 purchased a seventeen-acre tract of land in the 

 village of Lunenburg and began to raise gar- 

 den vegetables and seeds for the market. 



Something of the practical success achieved 

 has been suggested here and there in connection 

 with accounts of later plant experiments. In 

 particular it may be recalled that I found ways 

 of improving and cultivating sweet corn to meet 

 the demands of an early market; and it may be 

 said that in general my garden products were of 

 exceptional quality. 



Something has been said also as to the hybrid- 

 izing experiments that were performed from the 

 outset, including in particular the work with 

 corn and with various races of beans. The ex- 

 periments were by no means confined to these 

 plants, however. I was like an explorer in a 

 new and strange land full of inviting pathways 

 and alluring vistas, and undertook to experi- 

 ment in this direction and in that, giving every 

 moment of spare time to the work of investigat- 

 ing the mysteries of plant life. 



Every plant in the garden and every shrub 

 and tree and herb in field or woods was examined 

 now with new interest, always with first thought 



