CHAPTER IV 
THE AMARYLLIS AND THE POPPY 
MONG the thousands of letters which 
Mr. Burbank receives from all quarters 
of the globe are very many having unusual 
interest because of the prominence of the 
writers and because of their interest in the 
remarkable work of which they make inquiry, 
but he has seldom received one of such pecu- 
liar interest as that which came from a pro- 
fessor of a far eastern college. It told of the 
loss of a little son. In the depths of his great 
bereavement the father had sought for some 
memorial which should be a visible token of 
the rare life that had gone. So he chose one 
of the exquisitely beautiful amaryllis plants 
which Mr. Burbank had created, to plant upon 
the child’s grave. The letter told of the splen- 
did blossoms that came and of the deep sat- 
isfaction that such a monument had been 
chosen. The flower was of rare color and 
great size; it would be a lasting memorial. 
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