290 LUTHER BURBANK 



attitude of mind toward the garden products 

 was that of a manager handling plastic mate- 

 rials. And, as regards the potato, a very clear 

 notion that the ones we raised might be very dis- 

 tinctly bettered if only the right method could 

 be found. 



So the hint given by the seed ball was instantly 

 taken and day by day the ripening of this pre- 

 cious little receptacle was watched with the 

 utmost interest and solicitude. 



Judge of my consternation, then, on visiting 

 the potato patch one morning — with the thought 

 in mind that now, probably, the seed ball would 

 be ripe enough to pick — to find that the coveted 

 fruit had disappeared. 



With anxious attention the vines were moved 

 in a thorough search everywhere for the missing 

 seed ball. Every inch of the ground for many 

 feet on all sides was investigated, but with no 

 trace of the missing seed ball. 



Finally the search was given up for the day, 

 reluctantly admitting that I should probably 

 never see again the little ball of seeds on which 

 such high hopes and expectations had been based. 



Yet it could not be thought that the seed ball 

 had been carried away, for no outsider visited 

 the garden, and no one would have taken the 

 slightest interest in the tiny fruit in any event. 



