LUTHER BURBANK 



the best varieties of apples theretofore originated 

 in Australia and New Zealand. 



It was necessary to graft these cions into older 

 trees to test the fruit, and some very curious re- 

 sults were observed. 



Most of these new varieties from another 

 hemisphere appeared to be surprised to find the 

 winter over so soon and the spring now opening 

 upon them. Some varieties imniediately put out 

 buds and blossoms and continued to do so at inter- 

 vals throughout the summer; others stubbornly 

 declined to bud or blossom until nearly the begin- 

 ning of the following spring. For two or three 

 years thereafter all seemed quite confused and 

 disturbed by the transposition of the seasons; but 

 ultimately they became adjusted to the new order 

 of things. One or two of them have proved to 

 be unusually fine apples, and are now thriving 

 well in northern Sonoma and Mendocina Coun- 

 ties. 



About 1894 I began experimenting with our 

 native crabs, crossing them with pollen of our best 

 cultivated apples, more to see what would result 

 than with any expectation of securing improved 

 commercial varieties. 



One striking result was produced by using the 

 pollen of the Gravenstein. Numerous seedlings 

 were thus produced from this little native crab. 



[202] 



