BURBANK'S WAY WITH TREES 



had it been left in partnership with its original 

 aerial stem. 



A striking illustration of this is furnished by a 

 splendid elm tree that grows beside Mr. Bur- 

 bank's old homestead at Santa Eosa. 



This fine tree is in reality only fifteen or sixteen 

 years old, although it matches in size other elms 

 that are approaching the half -century mark. The 

 explanation is found in the fact that the tree has 

 grown from the branch of a natural hybrid elm. 

 The parent tree, which Mr. Burbank declares to 

 be the largest elm he ever saw, grew near his old 

 New England home. When visiting his old home 

 some sixteen years ago, he cut a twig from this 

 hybrid tree and brought it with him to California. 

 The twig was grafted on the root of a California 

 elm, being implanted only a few inches above the 

 ground, so that the scion ultimately furnished the 

 trunk and all the branches of the tree. Casually 

 observing this wonderful elm to-day, you would 

 never suspect that it is not growing on its own 

 roots ; but careful inspection shows that the bark 

 of the tree on one side is of slightly different tex- 

 ture for a few inches from the ground, and that 

 there is a barely visible line of demarcation where 

 it connects with the contiguous bark of the main 

 trunk above. 



In a word, everything visible except these few 

 inches of bark just above the ground level is hy- 

 brid elm of New England ancestry; whereas, of 

 course, the entire root system is California elm. 

 But the coalition has proved a most happy one, as 



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