LUTHER BURBANK 



And, by the same token, we may suppose that 

 when the gladiolus was finally brought to Cali- 

 fornia, shifted thus half way 'round the globe 

 from its new home in Europe, there was an added 

 stimulus given, urging the plant to still further 

 modifications of habit, and supplying yet other 

 elements of variation with which the plant devel- 

 oper might work. 



At all events the gladioli in my gardens at 

 Santa Rosa and Sebastopol have proved responsive 

 and adaptable. And further modifications have 

 been produced in the much modified flower that 

 add greatly to the value of what was from the out- 

 set one of the most popular of ornamental plants. 



I began work with the gladiolus about the year 

 1882, starting with the Gandavensis hybrid, the 

 origin of which has already been described. 



At that time there was no great interest taken 

 in America in growing gladiolus seedlings, but I 

 was able to secure a large number of the best types 

 of Gandavensis, and also obtained bulbs of about 

 a dozen of the natural species. 



I obtained my material not alone from Ameri- 

 can growers and the cultivators of Europe, but also 

 directly from South Africa. 



I began from the outset to experiment on a 

 comprehensive scale, raising the gladioli by the 

 half acre and acre on my Sebastopol place. The 



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