LUTHER BURBANK 



It is nothing unusual in California where 

 almonds and peaches are growing in the same 

 orchard, and where peach seeds are planted, to 

 have one third of the seedlings turn out to show 

 marked characteristics of the almond ; or, contrari- 

 wise, to find that a number of the almond seed- 

 lings show the characteristics of the peach. 



This, of course, is sometimes annoying to the 

 practical orchardist, but it suggests interesting pos- 

 sibilities for the plant developer. 



Wishing to see just where the experiments 

 might lead, I have crossed the almond with the 

 nectarine, using great care to make sure that the 

 experiment was not vitiated by accidental pollen- 

 izing. In some cases I have used the old method 

 of tying a sack over the flower, which I do not 

 usually consider necessary in pollenizing if prop- 

 erly performed. 



Hybridizing experiments of this type have been 

 carried on somewhat extensively for at least fif- 

 teen years. I have thus produced a hybrid 

 almond-nectarine that has an absolutely smooth 

 skin, with nothing of the roughness and comatose 

 condition usually found in the almond. The 

 hybrid reproduced the color and quality of the 

 flesh of the white nectarine parent as well as its 

 smooth skin. And as the almond quality of seed 

 and stone was fairly reproduced, the combination 



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