LUTHER BURBANK 



not unlikely that very valuable betterments could 

 be brought about. It is at least -within the possi- 

 bilities that a quince might be developed that 

 -would be superior in various ways to even the 

 best of the European varieties. But doubtless a 

 long series of experiments would be necessary 

 to attain this goal. 



Whatever the precise steps through which the 

 further development of the quince is brought 

 about, there can be no question that this fruit has 

 a very important future. It has been neglected 

 in the past, and the fact of its tendency to vary 

 toward the wild type, demonstrates the compara- 

 tively slight improvement that has been made in 

 it through artificial selection. But the production 

 of the new quinces that I have described opens a 

 broad new field in quince culture. The first steps 

 in improvement have suf&ced to show that the 

 fruit is responsive. 



The quince of to-day is, indeed, a half wild 

 product that has waited long for its opportunity. 



It remains for the fruit growers of tomorrow, 

 working with the partially developed product in 

 hand, to see that the possibilities of this unique 

 fruit are realized. So hardy, prolific and generally 

 attractive a tree should make especial appeal to 

 the amateur orchardist. The fact that the quince 

 has been neglected, and thus has abundant possi- 



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