PLANT WIZARD

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 75, 22 December 1920, Page 7

PLANT WIZARD

TEACHING NATURE HER JOB

BURBANK'S MARVELLOUS ACHIEVEMENTS

"The eld mtui who teachcs Nature lie job/' . Thai; is what CaUforaiaiis call tnei owai Luther Burbnuk, the wizard win makes white blackberries. seedles oranges, odorless onions, and spineles cactus; who grows different ki.nds;o fruit on one bush, .'and is now graftiui the bark of 0110 tree to the bark of an other to set a certain quality of woo< for building purposes. Mr Uurbiuik is over 70 (says Manoi llyau ill the "Daily Sketch"), but he ha not nearly finished his lifo .work.. Ho i still developing plants and ilrecs, and It wauls to formulate a system for develop iwr children so as to make a hotter liner race for the future. "The curse of modern child-lifo l over-eduoation," 'ho told me. We were walking round his fruit an< flower farm at Sanilt Rosa. It is i place of magic, that farm. It is as 1 Luther Burbank went about with a warn and touched the plants, and they did hi bidding. The fruit and flowers are cev tninlv hardier and more boautiiul wnu elsewhere, and they Have strange quail tins. too. ... '. His sunflowers are red, his petunia blue, his • primroses white, his rose black, mid in his lighter moments h grows two blossoms on a stem Natur intended for only one. His blackberry bushes have no thorns his vhilfe strawberries nro as bis am luscious as his red, his now grope grow, in clusters a foot long,' and has a rouKt instead of a smooth surface, hi? haw thorn bushes bear a berry in great de niand for jams and jellies, so sweet it ■ It is not easy to see Mr. Burbiuik. I. was difficult to persuade his doormai and secretary Si at 1 had an appoint ment With him, and 1 began to pictur him a stern man with a loud voice am overbearing maimer. Instead, ho is th gentlest of souls, a slender, straight oli man with white hair,, a whiio fact and wondarful blue eyes, clear, youth ful eyes that look through you and awa; beyond you. Ho was busy with four or five uoxc of weds, handing them in a seemingl; desultory way,, letting them slide fvon one box to the other through his lonj white fingers. They were cereals, It told ine, and did not say what he wa doing with tliem, but possibly Amenci will have auothcr breakfast food tin autumn. He finds it difficult to tell you abou his work.' "Come into tlie parlour am I'll show you the pictures." lie said, am as I sat on the horsehair sofa lie pro duced hundreds of beautifully paiiitei pictures of hie fruits and flowers. Ilie; mounted in piles either side of us as hi pointed out. It was like going through the famil; album. ' Thciy were his prized children. Tt was my saying that which made hin tell me of his ambition to formulate i system which should be adopted for tn training of the child plant. He believe in the crossing- of the speoiw and in care ful "selection" for the production of th' perfect human being. As to Tearing the perfect child, hi thinks no ohild should see the inside of < school liouso till after ten yeare of ago "T?or the first ton yeaw of this, the mosi sensitive, delicate, plieble life in th< world, I would prepare it," he said. "Thi country, or as near the country as pos siblo. is the place to bring up children in close touch with Nature, barefoot with all that it implies of physica stamina. "Suppose the- child who does not g< to school till ten years of age is !at< on oompleting his education. That does not matter. Do we expect a norma plant to bear fruit a few weohs aftei it is born ? It must have ample time to be prepared for the work before it. "Alwvc all el«e, the ohild must hi healthy. I do not work with diseased plants! Thev do not cure themselves of <lis«ise. They only spread it omoiu! their fellows.. and die beforo their time." "How do' yon get through so much work?" I asked, for not only is he always experimenting, making out new catalogues, and taking notes of his successes, but lie has ft larger correspondence even than the most successful film star. "I have fourteen working hours n day," ho explained. Not really too much for anyone if thoy enn managers I do. I go to bed at seven every night, and am up at live, which means I do my work when mv vitality is at its height. It is simplyfollowing nut a law of Nature. There is a visitors' book in the hall of Mr. Burbank's house, where the few who are privileged to seo him write their names. There are many famous Tlnglishmen nm) Americans in that book, and s'ome have written tributes to. "Nature's Magician" and ivivontivi other phmses for himi but perhaps the most terse .vet comprehensive tribute wub offered by a famous Californien. who wrote: "Luther Burbank—God's Friend."