"No man living or dead has done so much to make scientific plant breeding a 

 reality. He lives today the chief inspiration and example of those who by artificial aid 

 to natural law would hasten the coming of ideal excellence." — "The Fruitman." 



"It is pleasant to turn from the distracting and corrupting influences of politics 

 and current affairs, to the work of a genuine benefactor of the race, such as Luther 

 Burbank of Santa Rosa, who is contributing to the welfare of the world to a degree 

 impossible to estimate. Outside of Edison's laboratory, there is no place in America of 

 interest equal to Burbank's experimental gardens." — "Santa Cruz Surf." 



"The creations of the horticultural wizard are so wonderful that even science has 

 to be convinced. An amusing incident in the visit of the Associated Agricultural Col- 

 leges and Experiment Stations of America to the Sebastopol grounds gives a fair illus- 

 tration. When the party had traversed but a small portion of the grounds and tested 

 but a few of the fruits therein, one of the professors called a halt, requesting from his 

 brethren their brief attention. Calling upon Mr. Burbank to step forward so that all 

 might the better view him, the producer of the wonders, he delivered the following: 

 'Gentlemen: In the presence of you' all I wish to make known that one of my objects in 

 coming to this coast was to expose Mr. Burbank's fraud. I have read that man's cata- 

 logue annually, and I have long considered him about the biggest liar in the United 

 States. I now retract all that, and declare that Mr. Burbank has never told one-half of 

 the marvels that he might. Gentlemen, hats off to the wizard before you.' The motion 

 needed no second." — "Santa Rosa Republican." 



"What Nature will do for us running loaded trains of profit in our direction, can- 

 not be guessed until we turn the switch. The finest fruits the world ever saw are en 

 route. They are moving manward among the mighty certainties of the future. Who 

 will set the switch and deftly sidetrack them in our yards? While fruit men were 

 testing grapes in America with dubious prospects, Mr. Bull of Concord shifted the rails 

 and brought to our very doors the fabulous fruitage of the Orient. Gideon of Minnesota 

 blindly grabbed the lever at a happy moment, and switched into the homes of the 

 northwest uncounted carloads of the Wealthy. Budd switched onto our northwestern 

 spur the Hibernal, and with it hope for the apple grower of Manitoba. Burbank, with 

 the foresight of a seer and a skill beyond precedent, seems able to realize all our dreams 

 of perfection by running the finished forms of fruit and flower of the whole earth into 

 the great central depot of the United States. And there are others listening for the 

 roar of the coming trains, and trying with might and main to shift the rails. If you 

 want any part in the twentieth century jubilee, take hold with a will and help switch 

 onto our sidetrack the train of success." — "The Fruitman." 



