LUTHER BUBANK.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1775, 14 March 1906, Page 63

LUTHER BUBANK.

The world neglects a man for years, and Ms work, however meritorious, is known to but a few. At last somebody who perhaps had not heard of him a fortnight before becomes superficially acquainted with some of his performances, and having a desire to pose as a discoverer of genius, writes him up in magazine or newspaper. Thus comes fame—of a sort, .and the ignorant world is apt to be misled with many gross or foolish exaggerations. In scientific investigation many a man has done epochmaking work before being heard of outside his own immediate circle, and many another who was on the fair road to valuable discovery or invention, has bad the real value of his work discounted by.-, premature announcements, which have led the public to form hopes and expectations beyond the possibility of realisation. •Some time since Lutber Burbank, of California, well-known for years to scientific horticulturists as a painstaking experimentalist in the selection and hybridisation of plants, was “boomed’"’ by the “Century” magazine. Other magazines followed suit, and much found its way into print which must have been at least annoying to the retiring and reticent subject of the articles. Naturally enough this roused the ire of some who knew the possibilities of plant production, and of its natural limitations. It also excited the surprise of well-in-formed persons who knew that the processes described are tbe familiar work of many gardeners and have been so for ages, and who perhaps took it for granted that others knew as much as themselves. A temperate statement of Burbank’s true position in original work is the following, which recently appeared in the "Rural New Yorker”:—• Few individual,? save presidental candidates and multi-millionaires have been favoured with such astonishing press exploitation as Luther Burbank, the Californian plant breeder, since the announcement of a sufficient grant from the Carnegie Institution to enable him to continue his interesting work without financial worry. First came the pretentious high priced magazines, then the Sunday papers, weeklies and syndicates. The 10 e. magazines have since had their innings as well as the patent inside and local country newspapers, the whole punctuated by telegraphic announcements of new wonders in plant “creation” in the regular daily press. Tbe matter is now dribbling out through the multitude of mail advertisement publications that use clippings and second-hand news for their reading pages. From first to last, in all grades of periodicals, the tone of these Burbank write-ups has been in the highest ' degree sensational. Wild gush and screaming exaggeration is the keynote. The statements and language are all so familiar, no matter whose name is signed to the various articles, that a common origin seems evident. There is a real public desire for reliable information about Burbank’s work and the general possibilities of plant breeding, as the subject is novel and fascinating to many, but this sensational press booming, which has culminated in the recently issued book "New Creations in Plant Life,” bv #. S. Harwood, tends to confuse and disgust readers with the whole subject. Mr Harwood has missed a great opportunity to giya the korticulW world real information, and baa filled hundreds of pages with fulsome personal praise of Mr Burbank, depicted as the greatest genius among .plant breeders, with a preternatural ability for mould-

ing refactory plants into new, astonishing and superlatively desirable forms. Mr Harwood’s ignorance of the actualities of the subject, about which he writes is all pervading, and his profound wonder at the common-places of propagation and breeding by hybridisation and selection, as practised by hundreds of intelligent gardeners all over the world, is almost pathetic. His estimates of the value of certain of Burbank’s productions, such as the calculation of a profit of 485,000 dol. to be realised in twelve years from 100 acres of land, planted to hybrid walnut trees, 36 to the acre, seems too absurd to mention, but this is only a sample of the tenor of the whole book. How far Mr Burbank is responsible for such bosh is not known. If lie doe S not enjoy this booming no public disclaimer has yet been made. The It. N.Y.” has appreciatively followed Burbank’s work for many years, and has first figured and described the majority of his productions. Nearly everything that lie has given to the public has been grown on our trial grounds. AY e believe him to be an enthusiastic and energetic originator, but we do not consider him the foremost plant breeder m the world, if measured by the general success of his introductions to date, he may be the most extensive breeder in regard to the variety of plants lie is working on, and. in the number of seedlings grown. He has exclusively engaged in this work for the past twelve years, while other highly successful plant breeders have kept within the bounds of business caution, and devoted their energies to the perfection of .special products. Thus, without touching on the invaluable services of such originators, now dead, a© Ephraim W. Bull, raiser of the Concord grape, or Peter M. Gideon, who gave the AVealthy apple to the north-west, we may mention the grand and little rewarded work of Jacob Moore, New,York, prodticer ot Brighton, Moore’s Early and Diamond grapes, as well as splendid currants: r. Y. Munson, Texas who has rehabilitated the grape industry of the old world through breeding resistant stocks,. and has originated scores of new varieties of the greatest value, and the venerable H. A. Terry, lowa, for 36 years a patient and successful breeder of valuable paeonies and native plums. It is no kindness to mention the name of the Californian grower, now heading towards the poor house, after giving the State two of the most profitable fruits overy grown. These men are all “great” in their specialties. and have given horticultural enduring and valuable novelties without receiving a fraction of the praise landed by Burbank. Instead of using weird and peculiar methods of inducing plants to yield to his desires, Burbank employs the ordinary manipulations of plant breeders — selection, hybridisation, re-selection and propagation by seeds, grafts, cuttings or division, and only differs from the most obscure worker by going into the business on a larger scale. He bas been helped and hindered by the peculiar Californian climate; helped by having a longer and mere economical working season each year, with little need of glass house protection, and hindered by being deceived as to the general value and actual hardiness of new varieties bred under such conditions. As far as liis climate gives him a practical monopoly of experimental breeding with certain plants, such as Pacific coast flowers, his products are unique, and may be superior to previously existing varieties; hut when he handles subjects worked on by breeders in other localities, lie does not always make a specially brilliant showing. Thus the novelties he has sent out among Amaryllis, Aquilegias, field daisies, callas, Cannas, Gladioli, Nicotianas, A 7 erbenas, roses, rhubarb and tomatoes are not by any means world stunners, but have been greatly surpassed by other raisers. The same may be said of his Rubus berries, quinces and chestnuts. AVhat he has in store for the public we do not know. The plants named above have been grown on the rural grounds, or accurate information has been received from unprejudiced sources. His Primus and Phenomenal hybrid berries are outclassed bv the Logan berry, raised by a Californian. The Loganberry is so successful in Europe that French gar_ deners talk of uniting to award the originator, Judge Logan, a medal for £is service to horticulture. The Burbank plum, the most successful of all Japanese varieties, was not produced by Luther Burbank. It originated, in

Japan, and was named, propagated and disseminated by Burbank in his capacity of nurseryman. The Burbank potar to, one of his earliest - novelties, has probably met the widest appreciation of any of his productions. It is a darkskinned variety, much grown near the Pacific coast, but long superseded in tike East by the splendid kinds raised by the late E. S. Carman, former editor of the “R.N.Y.,” and others. The states rnent that the Burbank potato is conquering the potato blight of Ireland, and is to add untold millions to the resources of the British Isles, should be taken with many grains of allowance. It is adapted to moist climates, being extensively grown in Oregon and Washington, and may • endure blight better than European kinds. Many American potatoes have this advantage, including the excellent Gold Coin, raised by E. L, Coy, Vermont. Burbank is not a “'wizard” of horticulture, nor a “creator” of anything whatever. He is a skilful and experienced plant breeder and a sincere plant lover- The plant breeder’s work is to direct existing life forces in desirable plants, so as to produce useful and interesting variations. The -public is not greatly interested in freaks and oddities of vegetation that do not have positive ornamental or economic value, but dees want superior, forms of plant life that may enhance the beauty or increase the productiveness of the earth we live on. The Carnegie grant will enable Mr Burbank to do much better in the future, in that he will not feel obliged to part "with a new production until sat : sfied it is really. better than its predecessors in some particulars, and that it has at least sufficient vigour to live out of California tinder ordinary cultivation. _ Probably no fragment of the mountain of money known as the Carnegie fortune wili do. more real good than the very moderate sum to he used for carrying on Burbank’s work.