THE POTATO AND THE POMATO 



sible knowledge. He studies a thousand and 

 one phases of the subject whenever he projects 

 a new creation. He must know the conditions 

 under which old varieties have been produced 

 and their life history; he must know the 

 character of the soil, the length of season, the 

 climatic conditions, the markets, and their de- 

 mands. He never produces a new fruit or 

 vegetable without taking clearly into account 

 all these practical bearings. This adds enor- 

 mously to the sum of all his labor, but it is 

 precisely this which has made his creations so 

 successful — he knows not only how to create 

 but how to fit and adapt. This suggests some- 

 thing of the tremendous demands made upon 

 Mr. Burbank in the prosecution of a work of 

 such great magnitude and of so diverse a 

 character. 



So these new potatoes are being bred to suit 

 all sorts of climate and soils. 



But there is another and vitally important 

 phase of the work, the changing of the potato 

 itself — making it over into a far richer vege- 

 table than it has ever been before. Just as 

 corn may be bred, and is being bred, to pro- 

 duce a required per cent of a given element, so 



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