LAWN AND DOCKYARD 



oped watsonias of multiform colors, some of which 

 show delicate shades of purple and pink that are 

 rivaled only by the orchids. 



THE EOTATION OF CHOPS 



In his work with the bulbous plants, Mr. Bur- 

 bank has met with peculiar difficulties because 

 from time to time his fields have been invaded by 

 a pestiferous little mammal, the pocket gopher, 

 which burrows underground, and which has on 

 occasion destroyed thousands of his choicest bulbs 

 before the presence of the marauder was detected. 

 'At one time the gophers became so destructive 

 seeming always, as Mr. Burbank says, to select 

 his choicest bulbs that the plant breeder was led 

 to give up the cultivation of the gladiolus and of 

 various allied bulbous plants. Only after almost 

 numberless experiments did he find a method of 

 coping with the rodents. 



The successful device was a kind of gun that 

 is exploded just at the moment when the body of 

 the gopher is in contact with a quantity of powder. 

 After this device was in hand, Mr. Burbank re- 

 turned to the interrupted line of experiments with 

 the bulbs, and his experiments with plants of this 

 character have been among his most important 

 works of recent years. 



In carrying out these experiments on an ex- 

 tensive scale, he has discovered that there are 

 other pests that are almost as destructive as the 

 gopher. The bulbous plants, indeed, are pecul- 



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