new career in California^ were planted on his brother's 

 farm, and the entire product of the first season was saved 

 and replanted; so that by the end of the second season the 

 stock was large enough to offer for sale. 



But victory was not won without an heroic struggle and 

 years of persistent effort^ for it should be remembered that 

 Burbank was blazing a new path — a path that others may 

 now follow with comparative ease^ since he has cleared the 

 way. 



During the fourth year at Santa Rosa an incident of 

 momentous importance occurred^ an event that proved to be 

 the definite turning point toward marked success. Burbank 

 received a "rush" order from Mr. Warren Button^ a wealthy 

 merchant and banker of Tomales^ who had become suddenly 

 interested in prune growing and wished to undertake it on 

 a large scale with the least possible delay. Mr. Button 

 required 20^000 prune trees to be produced in a single 

 season. 



Though this was an unprecedented task^ Burbank brought 

 his ingenuity and resourcefulness to bear on the problem^ 

 and solved it to the consternation of a skeptical world. By 

 placing French prune buds on the required number of 

 almond seedlings^ which sprout almost as readily as corn, 

 the miracle was accomplished^ and within the time specified. 

 Never before or since, so far as is known, was a two- 

 hundred-acre orchard developed in a single season. 



At this point Burbank ceased to be just a beginner and 

 entered the ranks of the successful plant breeders. The 

 prune experiment served to advertise his work locally, and 

 by cumulative degrees his fame spread throughout the nation 

 and eventually became worldwide. By the end of the tenth 

 year in California, the quality of the products and reliabil- 

 ity of the Burbank ''Santa Rosa Nursery'' became so widely 

 known that he was selling over $16,000 worth of trees and 

 plants per year. 



16 



