272 LUTHER BURBANK 



an almost equally great demand in larger quan- 

 tities, later on in the season, from the canners 

 and for drying. 



The illustration of the asparagus which stands 

 canning as against asparagus which does not, 

 typifies the needs of this demand. The same 

 truth applies to tree fruits and berries and vege- 

 tables — to everything that undergoes the pre- 

 serving process. 



Some plants are more profitable when their 

 bearing season is lengthened as much as possible ; 

 some, as has been seen, when it is made earlier or 

 later; but we faced a different condition when 

 we produced the Empson pea. 



The canners wanted a very small sweet green 

 pea to imitate the French one which was so much 

 in demand. Quite a little problem in chemistry 

 was involved. Peas half gi'own are sweeter than 

 peas full grown, because, toward the end, their 

 sugar begins to go a step further and turn into 

 starch. With these demands in mind, we planted 

 and selected; planted again and reselected until 

 we had the desired qualities in a pea of the right 

 size when half ripe. 



Still another element entered — peas for can- 

 ning should ripen all at one time and not strag- 

 gle out over a week or two. The reason for this 

 being that, if they ripen all at once, they may 



