LUTHER BURBANK 



silver berry of the far west; all somewhat similar 

 plants in general appearance, but quite different 

 from the Elaeagnus of the eastern hemisphere. 

 The seeds should be treated like those of the pear 

 — removed from the fruit when fresh, thoroughly 

 washed, and kept fairly moist until planting time. 



The seedlings grow rather slowly at first, but 

 offer no particular difficulties. 



I have made various attempts to cross the dif- 

 ferent species, but thus far without success, chiefly 

 because the plants bloom at widely different 

 seasons. 



Up to the present, therefore, the improvement 

 has all been due to selection and to crossing within 

 the species. After many years of selection my 

 stock has finally been reduced to a single plant, a 

 large bush bearing most abundantly each season. 

 The fruits are large and of very good quality. In- 

 deed, the improvement has been so marked that 

 it is not unlikely that this variety, when it has 

 been more fully tested, will be introduced. It has 

 certain attractive qualities that seem to make it 

 worthy of a place in the fruit garden. 



The best varieties of the American Elaeagnus, 

 especially the buffalo berry and the silver berry, 

 are well worthy of cultivation, and extremely 

 promising for work, being enormous bearers of 

 pleasant-flavored, currant-like fruit, which in the 



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