LUTHER BURBANK 



seeds secured from Europe. Quince stocks are 

 sometimes used for certain varieties of pears, 

 more especially for dwarfing and bringing into 

 early bearing. 



Seedlings of the hardiest and most vigorous 

 growing varieties of plums, either European or 

 American, may be used for plum stocks. The 

 myrobalan plum from France is a favorite. The 

 peach is also used for some 'varieties. Stocks or 

 the seeds from which to grow them can usually 

 be secured from wholesale growers and dealers. 



If it is desired to test the qualities of 

 hundreds or thousands of seedling fruits, a 

 knowledge of grafting is of the utmost importance, 

 as several hundred varieties may be readily 

 tested on a single tree. 



On the Gold Ridge Farm there are single acres 

 on which ripen several thousand distinct varieties 

 of hybrid seedling plums that could not properly 

 be tested one each on a separate tree on less 

 than about seven hundred acres of land. Besides, 

 a seedling grafted into a bearing tree usually 

 produces fruit in two or three years, but if the 

 same seedling were planted as usual and allowed 

 to fruit, it might require five, ten, or fifteen years. 



There is still another advantage in grafting 

 many seedlings in a single tree; a better 

 opportunity is afforded for comparative tests; if 



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