LUTHER BURBANK 



be borne at any desired height from the ground. 

 Mr. Burbank has developed a variety of corn, for 

 example, that bears its ears at such a height that 

 a man can scarcely reach them. Such a .variety 

 has no commercial value, but was developed for 

 its scientific interest. 



You may amuse yourself by developing from 

 the same stalk a variety of corn bearing the ears 

 at the height of five or six feet and another variety 

 bearing them only a foot from the ground. Such 

 a series of experiments has been carried out suc- 

 cessfully by the Agricultural Experiment Station 

 of Minnesota. It is possible also to modify the 

 chemical composition of the corn, increasing or 

 decreasing its protein content. 



Such experiments, aside from their possible 

 practical value, have a high degree of interest, 

 and they fall readily within the scope of the 

 operations of the amateur who has even the small- 

 est garden at his disposal. 



Another interesting variation has to do with 

 color of leaf of the corn plant. By selective breed- 

 ing, Mr. Burbank has produced a variety called 

 rainbow corn because of the striping of the leaves. 

 He now contemplates combining this with sweet 

 corn of good quality, so that the plant may com- 

 bine ornamental quality with practical utility. 



COMBINING POTATO AND TOMATO 



Experiments of a totally different kind that may 

 lead to even more fascinating results may be per- 



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