LUTHER BURBANK 



Strange to say, among the seedlings of the first 

 generation was an apple which was fully as large 

 as the Gravenstein and very much like it, except 

 that, though quite good for a short time just be- 

 fore ripening, it changed rapidly to a punky or 

 mealy state. Others were about halfway between 

 the two species in size, color, quality, growth, and 

 other characteristics, both of trees and fruits in 

 all variations. 



But among the second-generation seedlings 

 raised from these hybrids some fairly good apples 

 were produced. In form, some almost duplicated 

 the Gravenstein itself; very few of them resembled 

 the true wild crab type, except that nearly all had 

 a certain crablike acidity and lack of flavor. 



Some of these hybrids are still growing on my 

 Sebastopol farm. No one of them gives promise 

 of being worthy of introduction, but it is not un- 

 likely that something of value may be developed 

 from this stock by further hybridizations and se- 

 lections. The wild crab has certain qualities of 

 hardiness and prolific bearing that might be of 

 value in combination with the fruiting qualities 

 of some cultivated variety. This, at all events, is 

 a line of investigation that offers opportunity for 

 further tests. 



Doubtless the most interesting of these hybrid- 

 izing experiments with the apple tree are those in 



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