LUTHER BURBANK 



experience teaches me that I have no alternative 

 in the matter. If I permitted these bulbs to go out 

 they would presently be exploited by someone as 

 "Burbank's Best Watsonia," or under some still 

 more spectacular title, and my reputation as a pro- 

 ducer of fine varieties would suffer, as it has many 

 times in the past through similar deceptions. 



So there is no recourse, after selecting the com- 

 paratively small numbers of bulbs that give great- 

 est promise for the carrying on of the experiment, 

 but to destroy all of the remainder, even though, 

 as in the case of the Watsonias, these may number 

 a quarter of a million bulbs of considerable intrin- 

 sic merit, representing an enormous amount of 

 labor. 



A Flower That Rivals the Gladiolus 



The Watsonia has been somewhat recently 

 introduced, and has made its way slowly. So it 

 may not be superfluous to tell the general reader 

 that this plant bears a close resemblance to the 

 gladiolus. It is indigenous to South Africa, one 

 species being found also in Madagascar, and is 

 represented by a number of wild species, among 

 which two or three have pre-eminent importance 

 from the standpoint of the horticulturist. 



Perhaps the similarity of the Watsonia to the 

 familiar gladiolus has interfered with its rapid 

 introduction. Moreover the new plant is some- 



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