256 LUTHER BURBANK 



self with the narration of a single incident, partly 

 because it has to do with an event that was at the 

 time of momentous importance to me, inasmuch 

 as it gave a much-needed monetary return, and 

 at the same time served to advertise the work; 

 and partly because it illustrates in detail the pos- 

 sibility of rapidly laying the foundations for an 

 orchard, and hence may be of value to some other 

 plant experimenters. 



Twenty Thousand Prune Trees 



The incident in question has to do with the 

 production of twenty thousand prune trees, well 

 rooted and ready to transplant for permanent 

 location in an orchard, in a single season. 



It was in the fourth year of my attempt at the 

 development of a nursery business at Santa Rosa 

 — that is to say, in the season of 1881 — that I 

 produced the twenty thousand prune trees in 

 response to a "rush order," and in so doing forti- 

 fied a reputation for reliability and resource- 

 fulness that my earlier work had begim to 

 establish. 



The order for twenty thousand prunes was 

 given by Mr. Warren Dutton, a wealthy mer- 

 chant and banker of Tomales, and later of San 

 Francisco, who had conceived a sudden interest 

 in prune growing and wished to undertake it on 



