LUTHER BURBANK 



the production of the Burbank variety must hinge 

 upon what it can teach as to the possible produc- 

 tion of still better varieties or of varieties adapted 

 to different conditions of soil or climate from 

 those under which the Burbank thrives. 



THE SECRET OF FURTHER IMPROVEMENT 



Obviously the lesson of the Burbank is that all 

 further improvement must be sought through the 

 crossing and hybridization of the existing varie- 

 ties of potato, and the raising of seedlings. 



My own experiments in this direction have been 

 extensive, and have led to some interesting results, 

 even though the spectacular features of the 

 production of the original Burbank have been 

 lacking. 



As early as 1895, I produced a hybrid between 

 the Burbank potato and a variety known on the 

 Pacific Coast as the Bodega red. This was adver- 

 tised, but was never introduced. A variety that 

 was introduced only a few years after I came to 

 California was a sport that appeared in a field of 

 Burbank potatoes growing on my brother David's 

 place at Tomales. 



There were five or six hills of vines that differed 

 from the others in having larger tops and more 

 vigorous growth as well as an altered appearance. 

 They matured very late, and were found to have 

 potatoes far less regular in outline than the ordi- 



[296] 



