BERRIES AND GARDEN FRUITS 



Mr. Burbank is constantly experimenting with 

 other wild plants that have more or less inedible 

 fruits. He has in recent years conducted a very 

 elaborate series of investigations with different 

 varieties of elder, and is developing varieties that 

 produce berries very much improved in size and 

 quality. He is confident of producing a valuable 

 commercial fruit, and the fact that the elder is 

 a hardy ornamental shrub gives added value to 

 the experiment. 



Another line of experiment that promises good 

 results is being made with the different species of 

 passion flower. This subtropical vine has been 

 chiefly prized for its flower, but it bears a fruit 

 that is edible, and the quality of this fruit is being 

 improved by cross-breeding experiments in which 

 species from different parts of the world are 

 utilized. 



THE MOST PROLIFIC FRUIT-BEARER 



But by far the greatest of Mr. Burbank *s recent 

 triumphs in the production of new fruits is that 

 associated with the development of the fruit of the 

 cactus, and in particular those new hybrid cac- 

 tuses of the genus Opuntia that have been relieved 

 of their spines. 



The development of the spineless cactus through 

 a long series of experiments in hybridizing and 

 selection constitutes one of the most remarkable 

 of Mr. Burbank 's achievements in recent years. 

 The slabs of the perfected varieties are as smooth 



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