How Plants Are Trained to Work for Man Useful Plants

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Luther Burbank (1849-1926) was an American horticulturist, botanist, and pioneer plant breeder, who developed more than 200 new varieties of plants for which he was recognized by an Act of Congress, among many other honors. Burbank was born in Lancaster, Massachusetts, and was educated at local schools and at Lancaster Academy. His boyhood was spent on a farm, and at the age of 21 he purchased a plot of land near Lunenburg, Massachusetts, and began his lifework of plant breeding. In 1873 he developed the so-called Burbank potato, a large, hardy variety of potato considered much superior to the small, easily spoiled type then grown. In 1875 Burbank moved to Santa Rosa, California, and established a nursery garden and a greenhouse that were the site of his experiments for the next 50 years. There he developed the edible, thornless Opuntia cactus; several improved varieties of fruits and vegetables; several new strains of roses and many other ornamental and decorative flowers and plants; and a new fruit called the plumcot, which is a cross between the plum and the apricot. At the time of his death he had more than 3000 experiments under way and was growing more than 5000 distinct botanical species native to many parts of the world. His work stimulated worldwide interest in plant breeding. Burbank's primary concern was the development of new varieties of plants. His ability to perform experiments that produced plants with favorable characteristics depended more on his sense of intuition than on strict scientific methodology. However, Burbank was influenced by certain scientific theories, such as the formerly accepted theory of the inheritance of acquired characteristics affirmed by Jean de Lamarck and others.