'^ 



BURBANK'S WORK 



203 



on a tree of another variety — say a Red Astra- 

 chan on a Baldwin apple tree — had been prac- 

 ticed for generations, but it remained for 

 Burbank to graft five hundred and more varieties 

 of cherries or plums on a single tree; and by not 

 only short-cutting through grafting, but short- 

 cutting grafting itself, as explained in his books, 

 he has been able to produce fruit five or six 

 years sooner than by nature's usual process — 

 surely a stroke of horticultural genius, which, 

 once widely applied, will prove of tremendous 

 practical, commercial value. Had the five 

 hundred kinds of cherries he had on one tree 

 all been grown separately, and the same with 

 the five hundred kinds of plums, he would have 

 had to find room and food and care for a thou- 

 sand trees instead of for two only. And think 

 of the greater convenience of his way for com- 

 parison and selection for size, color, flavor, and 

 other qualities desired in fruit! 



In the letter from which I have just cited a 

 few paragraphs, Mr. Burbank refers to the 

 seeds he is receiving from all parts of the world. 

 Therein lies another of the secrets which explain 

 why he has been able to do more in the way of 

 creating new or improved fruits, flowers, vege- 

 tables, and trees than all other plant breeders 

 of the past and present combined. The United 

 States Government's Bureau of Plant Industry 

 has done splendid work in introducing Russian 

 durum or macaroni wheat, Egyptian cotton, 



