LUTHER BURBANK 
should not prove both wholesome and nutritious. 
The West Indians sometimes grind the nuts to 
make meal. When this is soaked in water the 
poisonous principle is partially removed, and the 
residue is cooked and eaten. 
I have experimented somewhat in the attempt 
to test the western buckeye as to its possibilities of 
improvement. As long ago as 1877, I began work 
on this tree, and continued the experiments in a 
small way for a number of years. I observed that 
there was great variation as to productiveness of 
trees, as to size of nuts, and also as to bitterness 
of the nuts themselves. 
I am convinced that it would be possible to 
develop a variety in which the bitter principle 
would be greatly reduced in amount and perhaps 
altogether eliminated, and that at the same time a 
nut having a high starch content could be 
developed. 
It has been found possible with the South 
American plant called thé casaba to utilize roots 
that contain a poisonous principle for the produc- 
tion of so important a commercial product as 
tapioca. It is not unlikely that the nuts of the 
horse chestnut, if developed until it had a still 
higher starch content, could be utilized in some- 
what the same way, even though the bitter prin- 
ciple was not entirely eliminated. 
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