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appearance but not very modest in its title. It found its way East* and it was 
dubbed “The Creations of Mr. Burbank.” Many are rather inclined to believe 
that there is only one Creator and once a week at least we bend in reverence to 
Him. The position which I took in relation to that title when I made my first 
public utterance upon it has been questioned by very good friends of mine. I 
still believe that when Luther Burbank assumed the title of a “creator” of new 
plants, he filed a presumptious claim, and that he has no more right to claim the 
title of “creator” of new plants than he has to apply it to the bee that flits from 
flower to flower and carries the pollen ; that he has no more right to claim it than the 
insects, or the winds. However, it gave an index as to what might be expected from 
such a source, and many were very wary of everything emanating from it. That 
weariness, up to the present time, has been fully justified by the results. I will 
not go over the entire list of “creations” but beginning with the potato which 
Mr. Burbank “created” in Massachusetts, and which was a “volunteer” seedling 
of the Early Rose not hybridized by him. It was a good potato, but it has out- 
lived its usefulness in the East at all events. It is still I understand cultivated 
in the West; and it is said to be peculiarly adapted to the climate of the Pacific 
Coast, where there is a considerable precipitation of rain. 
But there have been other men working on the potato, such as Mr. E. L. 
Coy, who has raised many good potatoes, and I want' to say that the Early Rose, 
which the Burbank was supposed, to supercede, is still grown here, while the 
Burbank has almost disappeared. Mr. Coy also raised the various Hebron 
varieties, the Beauty of Hebron and so forth. Mr. E. F. Carman, late editor of 
The Rural New Yorker, is also responsible for several excellent varieties of the 
various “Rural” potatoes, such as the Rural New Yorker, Rural Blush, Carman 
Nos. 1, 2, and 3 ; they are all potatoes which have superseded and outlived the 
Burbank. So much for that particular part of Mr. Burbank’s achievements. There 
are three views of Mr. Burbank at the present time; one is the view of the maga- 
zine writer, although I can hardly class Mr. Wickson of the University of Cali- 
fornia in that category, notwithstanding Jhe has written for the Sunset Magazine 
— contributing splendid articles in relation to Mr. Burbank and his work. These 
articles were subsequently issued in book form under the title : “Luther Burbank, 
An Appreciation.” Many friends and admirers of Mr. Burbank contend that he 
is not responsible for the extravagant claims made for him in that publication ; but 
it is well to bear in mind that he helped to circulate it and therefore gave a sem- 
blance of sanction to its contents. 
When I visited Mr. Burbank’s gardens at Santa Rosa, I did not see any- 
thing startling in the place, and I want to say it fearlessly and candidly, and 
without prejudice, to warrant the reputation given to Mr. Burbank in the maga- 
zines, either by Mr. Wickson or Mr. Harwood. When I returned to New York 
I was interviewed by the editor of the Florists’ Exchange as to my trip. I didn’t 
intend to initiate a controversy, but dropped the remark that I did not see any- 
thing. on the place to show me that Mr. Burbank was entitled to the reputation he 
had received from the magazines. That remark called for the reply by Mr. 
Burpee of Philadelphia, trying to show me the light, but I could, not see the 
