Luther Burbank. WONDERS OF HYBRIDISM.

Progress, Volume I, Issue 4, 1 February 1906, Page 88

Luther Burbank. WONDERS OF HYBRIDISM.

One summer evening, years ago (writes Mr. William S. Harwood, in the "Century") as Mr. Burbank was walking through his experimental grounds past a bank of verbenas — a scentless variety which he was breeding up into a finer variety — he was attracted by a faint odour from the bed. Bending over the flowers, he tried to locate it, but was unable. A year later, as he passed beside the bed of verbenas, now somewhat advanced in development, he was again attracted by the scent, a delicate hint of the odour of the trailing arbutus. With his characteristic patience, he went over the plants one by one, until at last he found the one that had the elusive odour. It was at once isolated, and its seeds were saved and planted with great care. Succeeding sets of seeds were planted year by year, and year by year the plants were challenged for an increase of fragrance. Such as persisted in the odour were m turn chosen for future testing, and the others discarded. The scent became more and more pronounced, continuing m its likeness to arbutus, and becoming at last greatly intensified. To-day, the bloom itself having been much improved, the fragrance still identical with that of the arbutus, and double its strength, has been established. Mr. Burbank once called Mr. Harwoods special attention to a little case of earth containing a few scattering plants just appearing above the ground, a new generation of a beautiful hybrid larkspur, upon which he had been at work for several years. It is much larger than any other, and has a combination of colours never before seen in the larkspur, From the new plants in the case some were to be selected for further tests as soon as they were large enough. The day before a whole colony of little birds swooped down upon the case, and by the time a workman had discovered them they had destroyed all the plants save a few scattering ones here and there. In the opinion of Mr. Burbank they were worth their weight m diamonds but in a day the birds had well-nigh undone the work of years From Siberia, Australia India or Africa devoted friends, ever on the alert send Mr Burbank new and strange plants that he may make them over into more beautiful and useful forms of life. An agent m Japan sent some plum pits coming from a tree not specially remarkable, but from which he thought Mr. Burbank might develop a higher order. After several years had passed in growing the plum, one of the trees was chosen for further treatment. It early showed that it had marvellous reproductive powers, and three or four years ago m a large orchard planted from its cuttings, 22,000 plums were stripped from a single tree in order that the tree might have a chance to mature its normal number of plums. The greatest obstacle in the way of this plum — one of the most famous that Mr. Burbank has produced, and bearing his name — is that it is so marvellously productive. It requires many hired " strippers " each year to go through an

average-sized orchard to strip the branches of the green plums, in order that the trees may not overbear. At Santa Rosa Mr. Burbank blindfolded one of the best-known fruit merchants in the world — an expert ,too, m all lines of the earth's fruits. A fruit was handed to him to eat, and he' was asked to name it. Enthusiastically he replied, after the first bite, " That's the most delicious Bartlett pear I ever put tooth into." With sight restored he found that he had been eating a plum, with not a hint or trace of the pear in all its ancestry. A vague pea flavour had been discovered years before in one of its forebears. This flavour Mr. Burbank has nurtured and intensified with vast pains until at last he has produced this marvel, a plum having the flavour, the meat texture, and the aroma of a pear. Strangely enough, soms of ths typical pear-tree characteristics are noticeable m the Bartlett plum tree, without there having been the slightest strain of pear-tree blood m its veins. But let no one think that the evolution of a new plum, or of any other new fruit, is a matter of a morning's stroll with grafting knife or pollen saucer. More than 500,000 plum trees, developed during years of patient breeding and selection have been raised for a single test, and all but one of two of them have been put to death.