BURBANK'S HORTICULTURAL NOVELTIES 185 



bly more than one variety will recommend itself sufficiently 

 for introduction into the market. Thus a new kind of currant 

 with a higher and more specific aroma will be added to the 

 already existing varieties. It is, however, Burbank's purpose 

 to submit these new selections to the process of hybridization 

 by crossing them with some other indigenous types, as, for 

 example, the glutinous variety found wild in the region of San 

 Francisco (Ribes sanguineum glutinosum). 



Another wild California fruit recommends itself for im- 

 provement. It is the Elaeagnus, the pale yellow berries of 

 which are produced in such large numbers that the branches 

 are often seen bending under their weight. They are juicy 

 enough, but the taste is not that which is required to make it 

 a palatable fruit. Burbank has selected quite a number of 

 types and sown them on a large scale in order to gain a 

 marketable berry. By cultivation the plants have lost their 

 thorns, as in other instances, and the shape and vigor of the 

 whole shrub is notably improved. An increase in fertility and 

 some amelioration of the taste has also already been obtained, 

 but a large number of highly variable plants are still awaiting 

 ultimate selection. 



Freeing brambles of their thorns may seem to be an ar- 

 duous problem, but reducing the thorns to practical harmless- 

 ness is not at all difficult, for the prickles are variable in 

 number and size like any other character, and among many 

 thousands of plants some will be found very rich but others 

 very poor in these appendages. This character has the 

 great advantage of showing itself in early youth, and so the 

 choice may be made from among the young plants when still 

 in the seedling boxes. All the prickly ones are rejected, and 

 only the smooth ones planted out. It is an astonishing sight 

 to see those long rows of harmless brambles awaiting further 

 selection at the time they ripen their berries. 



The adduced instances may suffice to illustrate the prin- 



