Luther Burbank; his methods and discoveries and their practical application Volume 6

by Luther Burbank

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1914 edition. ...clear record of its coming. Indeed, the precise place of its origin is somewhat in doubt. The species referred to is the Evergreen Blackberry, Rubus lacinietus. In our northwestern states, especially in western Oregon, this blackberry is cultivated extensively. It is popular as a home berry, since it produces fruit from midsummer until late autumn. As its name implies, this is an evergreen, or nearly evergreen plant. It is a trailing bush with thick perennial canes armed with very stout recurved thorns. This blackberry was worked upon quite extensively on my place in 1890, and the following years, at the time when my chief experiments in the hybridizing of the Rubuses were at their height. Among the hybrids produced were some very curious forms, the variation in the shape of the leaves being especially remarkable. Some of the leaves resembled those of the grape, others were much dissected, like the leaves of a.wild carrot. The most promising of the hybrids were produced from a cross between the Evergreen and the popular Lawton blackberry. Some selected seedlings from this cross, in the second generation, were rampant growers, thorny, with curious, handsome, palmate leaves and delicate pink blossoms. The berries ripened late in the fall. Some were rather large and possessed a superior aromatic sweet quality not found in the common summer varieties. One of these promising hybrids was mentioned in my New Creations in 1893. It was never introduced into cultivation, however, as its merits were not quite equal to those of some other varieties of different parentage. But there is no doubt in my mind that if the experiments with the Evergreen blackberry, of this or some other hybrid combination, were carried to a more advanced stage, really useful...

46 pages, Paperback

First published August 13, 2001

About the author

In 1849, Luther Burbank was born in Massachusetts. He found fame early, when he single-handedly saved U.S. potato crops from the deadly blight by cultivating russet potatoes. The inventor, who ran Burbank's Experimental Farms in Santa Rosa, Calif., produced more than 800 new varieties of fruits and plants, such as the Shasta daisy. He was recognized for his plant breeding by an Act of Congress. The beloved naturalist was one of Robert Ingersoll's greatest fans. Burbank believed, "Children are the greatest sufferers from outgrown theologies." Shaken by the Scopes trial, Burbank wrote: "And to think of this great country in danger of being dominated by people ignorant enough to take a few ancient Babylonian legends as the canons of modern culture. Our scientific men are paying for their failure to speak out earlier. There is no use now talking evolution to these people. Their ears are stuffed with Genesis." In 1926, an interview about his freethought views appeared in the San Francisco Bulletin, which headlined it: "I'm an Infidel, Declares Burbank, Casting Doubt on Soul Immortality Theory." The article was reprinted around the world, creating shockwaves. Burbank was inundated with mostly critical letters, which he felt he had to reply to personally. Friend and later biographer, Wilbur Hale, attributed Burbank's hastened death to the exertion of his replies: "He died, not a martyr to truth, but a victim of the fatuity of blasting dogged falsehood." A crowd estimated at 100,000 came to Luther's memorial, and heard the openly atheistic and ringing tribute by Judge Lindsay of Denver, Colorado. California still celebrates Luther Burbank's birthday as Arbor Day, planting trees in his memory. D. 1926.

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