LUTHER BURBANK 
survives as the remnant of a tribe that flourished 
abundantly in the Mesozoic age. This species 
made its way to what is now the southern part of 
the United States, and has kept up its aristocratic 
traditions throughout intervening ages of such vast 
extent that it staggers the mind to attempt to grasp 
their significance. 
The thoughtful person cannot well escape a 
feeling of awe as he stands in the presence of this 
representative of a race that in the main was gath- 
ered to its fathers at a time when the ancestors of 
man were perhaps still progressing on all fours. 
But, traditions aside, the tulip tree of to-day is 
a thing of beauty, prized for itself, regardless of 
its ancestry. It makes a fine tree for avenue, door- 
yard, or park, and it may be grown as far north 
as New York and New England. 
Being a monotypic tree, one would not expect 
it to show very great variation. But no very keen 
powers of observation are required to see that the 
tulip trees are not identical, and doubtless their 
variation is enough to afford opportunities for in- 
teresting experiments, though there is nothing on 
the earth at the present time with which to com- 
bine them. 
Exceptional interest should attach to a line of 
experiment in which the plant developer is dealing 
with racial traditions of such antiquity and such 
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