LUTHER BURBANK 



notable result of the recent betterment in the 

 practice of euthenics must be to complicate the 

 problem of the eugenist. 



From the present standpoint, we could hardly 

 fail to recall that the work of the modern hygien- 

 ist is directly in opposition to the method that Mr. 

 Burbank has so persistently practiced at Santa 

 Rosa in dealing with the weakly and susceptible 

 members of his plant colonies. 



From the outset, the theory on which he has 

 worked, and worked to such advantage, has been 

 that the best protection to his plant charges 

 against the disease with which they are menaced 

 must come from within the constitution of the 

 plants themselves. So he has sought to develop 

 immune races. He has not been sedulous to find 

 remedies for plant diseases, and he has almost 

 totally avoided the use of sprays and medicants 

 to kill off the fungous and bacterial enemies. His 

 habit has been to check disease by weeding out 

 and destroying the seedlings that showed sus- 

 ceptibility to disease. 



The hardy individuals that remain owe their 

 preservation to the fact that their tissues were 

 able to fight off the inimical germs ; and it was ob- 

 served that such immunity is a heritable trait, so 

 that the individuals possessing it become the 

 parents of an immune race. 



It might seem, then, that the method of the 

 modern hygienist is a direct contravention of the 

 method which the plant developer has found ad- 

 vantageous. A strict application of Mr. Bur- 



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