LUTHER BURBANK 



have exceptional qualities, and from the progeny 

 of which, variously interblended, many new and 

 important races of plums and prunes will doubt- 

 less be developed in the immediate future. 



The sum total of my work with the plums and 

 prunes, judged by the record of actual introduc- 

 tions, comprises the development of only 62 new 

 varieties. But it must be understood that these 62 

 introduced varieties are only the pick among 

 thousands, very many of which were but slightly 

 inferior to the ones chosen. And,' as I said before, 

 the final balance sheet for my work with this 

 fruit cannot be struck for many years to come. 



My plum orchard might be compared, in this 

 regard, to a large number of modern industries, 

 manufacturing establishments, for example, 

 which have a high first cost and which cannot be 

 expected to pay more than the interest on the 

 investment for a good many years, yet which may 

 ultimately show a profit that will pay back the 

 original expenditure and even give a balance on 

 the credit side of the ledger. 



PLANT IMPROVEMENTS CANNOT BE PATENTED 

 There is, however, one feature of plant develop- 

 ment that puts it on a different plane, as regards 

 probable financial returns, from that occupied by 

 most other fields of inventive or creative industry. 



This is the fact that nothing comparable to a 







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