A DAY WITH MR. BURBANK 
completed, he is out again in the proving 
grounds, and until the sun goes down there is 
always something which needs attention. 
But while this work fills in every moment 
of the day, be sure it is not all. In a single 
year fully six thousand people visit the 
grounds at Santa Rosa—as many would go to 
Sebastopol if they could get in. These visitors 
almost without exception want to see Mr. 
Burbank. No matter what else they want, 
they want to meet him. And it is natural and 
not culpable, but it is deplorable. They are 
easily divided into three classes: Those who 
come from curiosity, whom Mr. Burbank never 
sees if he can avoid it; those who come from 
genuine interest and who are content, when 
some attendant tells them Mr. Burbank can- 
not be seen, to look over the grounds; those 
who come by appointment and whom Mr. 
Burbank wishes personally to see. The first 
class is far and away larger than the other two 
put together and more difficult to handle. 
But there remains a large enough number 
whom Mr. Burbank feels that he must see, to 
consume very much of his time and to make 
direct inroads upon his strength. These are 
299 
