May, ]920 



GLEANINGS IN hep: CULTURE 



261 



tree was growing was the liardest clay; in 

 <loo(l, most of the soil on the place seemed 

 similar to the hard clay which reduces one 

 to l)listers and desperation in our Ohio gar- 

 den. 



From the walnut tree wc went on to a 

 plantation of spineless cacti. They stand 

 up just as stitHy as their desert relatives, 

 but the thorns or spines are absent from the 

 leaves. Mr. Burbank, selecting and peeling 

 some of the fruit, explained tliat altho green 

 and not at its best he wished us to taste 

 it. The odd-looking fruit looked no more 

 tempting than a cucumber, but to our sur- 

 jirise it was juicy, sweet, and of a flavor 

 reminiscent of muskmelon, and yet, not 

 (|uite that either. It was rather a delicate 

 combination of fruit flavors. It was delici- 

 ous. And in addition to the fine flavor it 

 has the quality of being anti-acid, making it 

 a valuable food for those suffering fi'om 

 acidosis. 'Sir. Burbank cited instances where 

 his friends had used it to correct an acid 

 condition with quick results. 



The plant itself is used as a cattle feed. 

 Think of producing 501 tons to the acre. 

 This has been done, and I believe it has 

 proved to be an exceptionally valuable feed 



WHEN we went thru the packing rooms, 

 wliere seed is prepared for mailing, 

 and the office, I noticed Mr. Burbank 's 

 manner to his emjjioyees and theirs to him. 

 lie seemed to have a pleasant word or smile 

 for everyone he passed from a small boy up, 

 and they responded in tlie same way. 



AV'e saw stacks of 1920 catalogs ready for 

 mailing, and received copies of them. While 

 the catalogs are not large and a complete 

 collection of seeds is not offered, as Mr. 

 Burbank points out, no one person can grow 

 all the various seeds which are generally 

 catalogued. He offers the newest and best 

 Mowers, fruits, grains, and vegetaViles, all 

 l>roduced under his personal supervision. 



When we went outside again we stood un- 

 der the branches of a Cedar of Lebanon, the 

 very kind which is mentioned in the Bible. 

 The long, drooping branches, the tips of 

 which swept the ground, made a delightful, 

 shady bower, just the sort of place where 

 small girls like to play with their dolls. Mr. 

 Burbank told us it was always cool under 

 those branches on the hottest midsummer 

 <lay. 



We passed a climbing rose with a trunk 

 like a good-sized tree. We saw a nine-year- 

 old aecjuoia (giant redwoo<l), which bids 

 fair to crowd the residence if it keeps on 

 growing at the same rate. Behind the house 

 was a woodpile, trimmings from fruit trees, 

 which Mr. Burbank told us might be called 

 a $100,000.00 woodpile, if one counted the 

 cost of production. 



About this time some mention was made 

 of the Burbank potato. Mr. Burbank there- 

 upon told us that if all the Burbank potatoes 

 whi( h were ever grown were loaded in cars 

 it would make a train which would reach 

 around the worhl. 



Wl I lOX Mr. Burbank finally excused 

 himself — mindful of what his secre- 

 tary had said, we had tried to go once 

 or twice before, but he would not permit it 

 — he insisted that we go back to the living- 

 loom and spend some time with his books, 

 curios, and pictures, and said we should 

 come back and shake hands with him before 

 we left. 



Certain features of that livingroom, a 

 card receiver, signed photogra})hs of famous 

 men, etc., made me recall the old saying to 

 the effect that if yovi do something better 

 than anyone else has ever done it the world 

 will wear a path to your door. Santa Rosa 

 must be the converging point for paths from 

 all over the world. 



But the point of interest in the room was 

 the 12 volumes, "Luther Burbank — His 

 Methods and Discoveries; Their Practical 

 Application." These are profusely and 

 beautifully illustrated with color photo- 

 graphs, 1,260 large page photographs. Some 

 (lay I hope to own a set of those books. If 

 I were a young man with my living to make 

 from the soil, I should feel that I could not 

 afford to be without them, altho their price, 

 delivered from Santa Rosa, is $60.00. I 

 hope every agricultural college and every 

 agricultural experiment station in the coun- 

 try has a set of them. It is a complete his- 

 tory of all that Luther Burbank has learned 

 by 50 years of close work and experiment, 

 told by himself, and it is said to be written 

 in a form so simple that everyone can un- 

 derstand it. 



He has also written a little book, "The 

 Training of the Human Plant. ' ' This can 

 be obtained from The Century Co. by mail 

 for 65c. Mr. Burbank himself says that all 

 he has ever done has been thru the control 

 and manipulation of those tw-o great forces 

 in life, plant and human, heredity and en- 

 vironment. 



Some may wonder why I have not taken 

 more space to tell of Mr. Burbank 's wonder- 

 ful achievements. That was not the purpose 

 of this little sketch at all. I have merely 

 tried to share with my readers some of the 

 pleasure of that hour in Santa Rosa, being 

 careful not to exaggerate or make any mis- 

 takes. 



After all, the most inspiring part of the 

 exr)erience was meeting the man himself. 

 Fiom what I had heard and read I had gain- 

 ed the impression that Luther Burbank was 

 a recluse, interested iu little beyond his 

 plant creations. We found a man young and 

 full of energy in spite of 70 busy years, 

 enthusiastic about his work, with a gentle 

 friendliness and charm which make his visi- 

 tor feel at ease from the first. Tho it sounds 

 paradoxical I believe it is love for humanity 

 which compels him to deny himself to so 

 nmny visitors. If he received some thirty 

 a day, the average number who have been 

 coming of. late, he could not accomplish the 

 great work which he is doing, work which is 

 of inestimable benefit to the human race. 



