LUTHER BURBANK 



In point of fact it was not easy to effect the 

 cross between the Japanese plums and the Euro- 

 pean varieties. Some varieties refused to com- 

 bine; and probably not more than one in a hun- 

 dred of these crosses proved in any way satis- 

 factory. 



When a hybrid is produced, the traits of the 

 Japanese plum usually seem prepotent, though 

 in some cases the balance between the two is 

 fairly good. 



Whereas the hybrids of the first generation 

 sometimes produce fairly good fruits, as a rule 

 their fruit is rather soft and acid. The full pos- 

 sibilities are revealed only in later generations, 

 and in particular after other species and varie- 

 ties of plums have been brought into the com- 

 bination. 



As rapidly as possible the hybridizations were 

 extended, until forty-three races of plums had 

 been used. In successive generations the various 

 strains were intermingled until they were com- 

 plex beyond computation or accurate recording. 



The original seedlings were used as stocks for 

 grafting the cions of new seedlings year by year. 

 To this day they stand in the original rows, al- 

 though little is left of the original trees except 

 the trunk and the bases of the branches. Each 

 season, the grafts that have been proved to be of 



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