LUTHER BURBANK 



should not prove both wholesome and nutritious. 

 The West Indians sometimes grind the nuts to 

 make meal. When this is soaked in water the 

 poisonous principle is partially removed, and the 

 residue is cooked and eaten. 



I have experimented somewhat in the attempt 

 to test the western buckeye as to its possibilities of 

 improvement. As long ago as 1877, I began work 

 on this tree, and continued the experiments in a 

 small way for a number of years. I observed that 

 there was great variation as to productiveness of 

 trees, as to size of nuts, and also as to bitterness 

 of the nuts themselves. 



I am convinced that it would be possible to 

 develop a variety in which the bitter principle 

 would be greatly reduced in amount and perhaps 

 altogether eliminated, and that at the same time a 

 nut having a high starch content could be 

 developed. 



It has been found possible with the South 

 American plant called the casaba to utilize roots 

 that contain a poisonous principle for the produc- 

 tion of so important a commercial product as 

 tapioca. It is not unlikely that the nuts of the 

 horse chestnut, if developed until it had a still 

 higher starch content, could be utilized in some- 

 what the same way, even though the bitter prin- 

 ciple was not entirely eliminated. 



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