298 LUTHER BURBANK 



Though a little disappointed, I was contented 

 to accept Mr. Gregory's verdict, and let him 

 have the potato without looking farther. The 

 $150 just paid my fare to California next sea- 

 son, having first delivered to Mr. Gregory a 

 crop of the potatoes raised on my own farm 

 and a neighboring piece of land. 



Mr. Gregory permitted me to keep ten pota- 

 toes. These were brought to California, and 

 thus the Burbank potato was introduced on the 

 Pacific Coast. The name "Burbank seedling," 

 I should explain, was given the potato by the 

 purchaser. Mr. Gregory stated afterward, in a 

 letter now before me, that he chose this name 

 because he decided, "after pondering over the 

 matter, that the one who originated such a valu- 

 able variety deserved to have it bear his name." 



Progress of the Burbank 



It is not necessary here to trace the story of 

 the spread of the Burbank potato from one re- 

 gion to another until its annual crop has been es- 

 timated to have a value of many million dollars. 



After the prejudice against a white potato 

 had been overcome, the merits of the new variety 

 were so quickly recognized that the Burbank 

 came to be the standard tuber on the coast from 

 Alaska to Mexico. The U. S. Department of 



