April, 1911 AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 145 
d 
“Satsuma ‘Botan,” “Chabot,” “Long 
Fruit,” ‘“Maru,” and six other varieties under 
numbers as received from his collectors. The 
last four of these were named by P. J. Berck- 
mans, of Augusta, Ga., president of the Amer- 
ican. Pomological Society. Prof. L. H. Bailey 
named: the “Berckman,” ‘‘Humi,” ‘‘Blood,”’ 
“Willard.” 1891 also saw the delivery to 
fruitgrowers of the ‘Phenomenal’ berry, 
which has since made half-acres more profit- 
able than farms. 
In the exhibition of the California Floral 
Society, 1892, the prominent feature was Bur- 
bank’s new Gladiolus, the ‘‘California,” a 
large double flower with a solid cone of blos- 
som, 51% inches expanse of petals clustered 
on stiff, compact low-growing stems, flowering 
so profusely as to hide the stem on all sides. 
Compared with the thinly scattered blossoms 
A new flowering allium on but one side of the weak-stemmed ordinary 
flower, it looked like a new race. It came 
Oregon natives, many of which in size and clustering growth from the common Gardanensis type as a basis with bulbs 
are grapes, rather than plums. ‘Some of them are of very from South Africa; and is so vital that even in the scorch- 
little value,’ remarked Mr. Burbank, “having an unpleas- ing sun and wind of inland California, the last flower to 
antly bitter taste, reminding one of the eastern meee 
cranberry.” Ihe famous walnut hybrids are 
now under culture. 
But, important as these successes were, they 
were only in a way by-products. Mr. Bur- 
bank’s main business had been to entrench and 
establish himself. To this end, he had built 
up the largest and best-stocked nursery west 
of the Mississippi. For years he had resumed 
the habit begun as a boy on his fragment of 
soil at his home in Lunenberg, Mass., of tak- 
ing the premiums at the State and county 
fairs; and his reputation for integrity and lib- 
erality in dealing was fully substantiated. In 
1888 he sold one-half of his nursery (which 
was yielding a clear profit of $10,000 per an- 
num) for $13,000, and focused on his life 
work the far less promising venture of plant- 
breeding. He purchased the large experiment 
grounds at Sebastopol. 
The ennobling of the plum, stands perhaps 
foremost in Mr. Burbank’s work; and the Gigantic platystemon, native cream cup of California, greatly improved 
year (1890-1891) developed the first } 
twelve of the new varieties which were to distinguish it. bloom on the stalk finds the first unwithered. The same 
They were the “Burbank,” so named by Prof. H. E. Vande- year “Hale,” and “Abundance,” the latter so named from 
man, of the United States Department of Agriculture; its ropes of fruit and afterward renamed “Alhambra,” 
; and the first perfect freestone of Japanese 
blood were added to the list of plums. In 
June, 1893, was published the now historic 
“New Creations.” The stir this pamphlet 
made was immediate and far reaching. Its 
bold claim that the new fruits and flowers it 
described would inevitably displace present 
standards, the extensive biological knowledge 
it displayed, its high scientific character and 
the grace and dignity of its style, ushered it 
into an appreciation quite outside of the at- 
tention usually accorded to the presentations 
of plant growers. It was sought by students 
of plant science; received the indorsement of 
the authorities; was adopted as a class book 
in universities of this country and abroad. Its 
singular illustrations from actual photographs 
were convincing of its statement that “‘the life 
forces of plants may be combined and guided 
to produce results not hitherto imagined,” and 
that ‘we are now standing at the gateway of 
Burbank’s new rosy-crimson chives, showing astonishing blooming qualities scientific horticulture.” Among the new 
