LUTHER BURBANK 



baby seedlings under glass, and give them every 

 favoring condition in which to mature; we remove 

 what for ages have been the chief problems of 

 their lives — we take over their two prime burdens, 

 the burdens of self defense and reproduction. 



"The frosts, and the winds, and the hail storms, 

 and the droughts, and the animals are no longer 

 the chief enemies of plants; for man, when he 

 comes into their environment, is more dreadful 

 than all of these combined — if he chooses to 

 destroy. 



"And the bees and the birds and the butterflies, 

 and the warnath of the sun, and the moisture in the 

 soil, fade into insignificance as friendly influences 

 when compared with that of man — if it pleases 

 him to be a friend. 



"So the geranium still advertises to the bees, 

 and the cherry tree to the butterflies and birds, as 

 of old. 



"But their main advertisement, now, is an 

 advertisement to us; their strongest effort, now 

 that we have become predominant in their lives, is 

 to lure us with their blossoms and their fruit — to 

 enchant us with their odors, and colors, and 

 lusciousness, as they formerly enchanted onlj' 

 the bees — to win and hold our appreciation and 

 affection, and merit our kindly attention and 

 care." 



[110] 



