LUTHER BURBANK 



Not only did Dr. Carrel transfer sections of 

 arteries from one cat or dog to another animal 

 of the same species; but he also transplanted 

 successfully even such vital organs as the kidneys. 



Moreover, what is more spectacular even if not 

 more important, he actually succeeded in ampu- 

 tating the leg of one dog and grafting it on the 

 amputated stump of the leg of another. 



The transplanted limb presently made union 

 with its new stock, as a horticulturist would term 

 it, and the borrowed member became a permanent 

 portion of a new body, just as the cions of my 

 apple trees or plums become component parts of 

 the tree on which they are grafted. 



All this, as I said, was so fully in keeping with 

 the familiar experience of the plant experimenter 

 that it had no peculiar interest for me. Perhaps 

 it seemed to me less wonderful than it really is 

 because my conception of the fundamental unity 

 of plant and animal life makes it appear to me 

 inherently plausible that such transplantation of 

 members should take place under proper surgical 

 conditions. 



The only difference is that the method of 

 grafting plant tissues one upon another has long 

 been familiar, whereas no one knew just how 

 such grafting could be accomplished in the case 

 of the animal until Dr. Carrel found the way. 



[146] 



