LUTHER BURBANK 



able for the young child; that it should be kept 

 in the open, allowed to play, to come in contact 

 with nature, to do the things in which childhood 

 naturally delights. 



He would have no child sent to school until it 

 is nine or ten years old, believing that the educa- 

 tion of the playground and field is better than the 

 education of the schoolroom during this early 

 period. 



And when the child has reached the school age, 

 he would have its tasks made less laborious and 

 exacting than they sometimes are. 



He would pay heed at all stages to the child's 

 bodily development, knowing that fine blossoms 

 do not come from dwarfed plants. 



In a word, he would make the environment of 

 childhood and adolescence healthful and stimu- 

 lative and pleasure-giving comparable to the en- 

 vironment that he supplies for his seedling plants. 

 Only by doing as he does can Mr. Burbank secure 

 the best results with his plant proteges ; and x only 

 by a comparable line of action, in our treatment 

 of the child, so he believes, can we count on mak- 

 ing the most of the coming human generation. 



Mr. Burbank 's love of children is comparable 

 to his love of flowers. It^was^ peculiarlyappro- 

 priate that the Legislature of 

 have sH^^e^JiOiHEdS^lhe ninth_of^tarch, 

 as a school holiday to be known^s j?orbank Pay. 

 On that day each successive year the school chil- 

 dren of Santa Rosa" come to pay their respects to 

 Mr. Burbank in jperson ; and he has received as 



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