ON EARLY YEARS IN SANTA ROSA 



of course, furnished a most valuable schooling. I 

 had learned the technique of growing seedlings, 

 and grafting, and the general routine of practical 

 plant culture. And this obviously was knowledge 

 of a kind that would be of inestimable importance 

 when I came to deal with rare exotics and with 

 new forms of plant life. The practical knowledge 

 of how best to nurse a tender seedling has had its 

 full share in the furtherance of the successes of 

 later years. 



Meantime, I had gained a comprehensive 

 knowledge of the native plants of California, 

 through having collected their seeds and bulbs for 

 Eastern and foreign seedsmen. 



At about this time there was an interest in the 

 native plants of California, and many nurserymen 

 were anxious to give them a trial. During those 

 years when my own nursery business was only 

 formative I eked out an income — in intervals of 

 carpenter work — ^by gathering seeds and bulbs on 

 orders from various Eastern and foreign firms. In 

 the course of this work I made various trips to 

 the surrounding territory. On two occasions, in 

 1880 and in 1881, 1 visited the region of the geysers, 

 which was found to be a productive locality for 

 new material. And everywhere I went careful 

 study was made of the vegetation, both with an 

 eye to the immediate collection of seeds and bulbs, 



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