LUTHER BURBANK 



facture of steam engines and new turning devices 

 were to be applied to the plastic material of the 

 living plant. 



Just where it all might lead no one could say. 

 The field I was entering had been but little devel- 

 oped, but to my aroused imagination it seemed a 

 field of picturesque possibilities. 



Meantime, of course, it was necessary that I 

 should gauge my enthusiasms in accordance with 

 the practicalities. I must make a living. So I 

 purchased a seventeen-acre tract of land in the 

 village of Lunenberg and began to raise garden 

 vegetables and seeds for the market 



Something of the practical success achieved 

 has been suggested here and there in connection 

 with accounts of later plant experiments. In par- 

 ticular, it may be recalled that I found ways of 

 cultivating sweet corn to meet the demands of an 

 early market; and it may be said that in general 

 my garden products were of exceptional quality. 



Something has been said also as to the hybrid- 

 izing experiments that were performed from the 

 outset, including in particular the work with corn 

 and Vi^ith various races of beans. The experiments 

 were by no means confined to these plants, how- 

 ever. I was like an explorer in a new and strange 

 land full of inviting pathways and alluring vistas. 

 I undertook to experiment in this direction and 



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