LUTHER BURBANK 



The later defect is obviously one that requires 

 only reasonable intelligence in the planting of 

 different varieties in contiguous rows, so that 

 cross-fertilization may readily take place, or the 

 production of varieties with perfect blossoms. To 

 overcome the defects due to too early blooming is 

 a somewhat more difficult matter. 



Fortunately, however, there is a rather wide 

 range of variation among different kinds of 

 almond as to the matter of time of blooming. It 

 follows that there should be no great difficulty in 

 producing, by selective breeding, a variety that 

 combines desirable qualities of nut production 

 with the habit of late blooming. The difficulty has 

 been that until recently orchardists have not rec- 

 ognized the possibility of thus segregating and 

 recombining characters, and they have "trusted to 

 luck" in setting out their almond orchards, so in a 

 large number of cases the profitless trees were cut 

 down or regrafted to Burbank prunes. 



Latterly, the California orchardists have 

 learned that there are two or three varieties that 

 may be depended on, notably the Nonpareil and 

 the Ne Plus Ultra, both of which originated in Cal- 

 ifornia from seedlings grown by A. T. Hatch of 

 Salinas County. These may best be polenized, in 

 the opinion of experienced orchardists, by the 

 variety known as Texas Prolific. 



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