112 LUTHER BURBANK 



has, by the product of the "Burbank" potato, 

 increased the wealth of the world very greatly, 

 and this without the cost of a dollar except the 

 $150 which I received for it from a well-known 

 eastern seedsman. 



In the month of May, 1872, in this little New 

 England town, I held in my hand one seed, ten 

 of which were not as large as an ordinary pin 

 head. From this tiny seed the "Burbank" potato 

 came. More than six hundred million bushels of 

 this potato have been raised during the past 

 forty-nine years ; enough to make up a solid train 

 of potatoes to reach 14,500 miles, or more than 

 halfway around this planet. 



The interesting fact to be noted here is that 

 from this seed ball were produced twenty-three 

 new potato plants. 



Each of these plants yielded its own individual 

 variations, its own interpretation of long- for- 

 gotten heredity and numerous natural crossings. 



One, a beautiful, long, red potato, decayed 

 almost as soon as dug; another was red-skinned 

 with white eyes; another white with red eyes; 

 two white ones and several had eyes so deep that 

 they were unfit for use, and all varied widely. 



These twenty-three variations, in fact, may 

 have represented as many different stages in the 

 history of the potato family; and, having no 



