BURBANK'S HORTICULTURAL NOVELTIES 211 



tion of the characters of Japanese and native American 

 species, with the flavor and fleshiness of the older cultivated 

 sorts. Some of his best hybrid and introduced varieties may 

 be named and briefly described, according to the claims of 

 their originator. " Abundance " and " Burbank " may thrive 

 almost everywhere. They are capable of resisting frost 

 during the period of blossoming. The " Burbank" is said 

 to supplant the older varieties over large regions and may 

 even be cultivated in districts where plum culture was for- 

 merly impossible. It has been exported to South Africa, 

 Australia, and New Zealand, and many thousands have been 

 planted in these distant countries. It has proved to be the 

 most reliable plum, as well for household purposes as for 

 canning and shipping. "Sweet Brotan" is another success- 

 ful hybrid, and "Satsuma," an introduced variety miscarries 

 in some districts, but yields a large harvest in others. About 

 twelve years ago, the giant prune was introduced. Others 

 are younger, and almost every year some new ones are placed 

 on the market. Their total number now exceeds a dozen. 

 Of the youngest varieties the fruits are not yet on the market, 

 and only cuttings or young trees are for sale. In some cases 

 companies have been organized with the aim of propagating 

 and multiplying one of Burbank's hybrids, in order to dis- 

 tribute thousands of trees at the first moment of introduction 

 to the public. The Maynard plum may be cited as an 

 instance. 



Ordinarily, Burbank sells the whole variety and leaves 

 the propagation and sale to other men. The result is, that 

 of his previous hybrids, nothing is now to be seen on his 

 farm. The visitor sees hundreds of trees, each grafted with 

 from twenty to forty or often more hybrids, all of which are 

 awaiting trial and selection. Here the prunes of the future 

 are growing, but of course they are rare instances among 

 the thousands of good and palatable fruits that will have to 



