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This fascinating 1911 catalog from Luther Burbank's 'Experiment Farms' shows the results of his initial successes in modifying numerous fruits and other plants. It describes in great detail some of the most famous Burbank developments in horticulture; like his Abundance cherry and several types of Plumcots. It also list numerous decorative plants he either developed or popularized. If you are interested in Burbank's work this early plant catalog is a must-read!
Luther Burbank was probably America's most famous botanist, horticulturist and pioneer in agricultural science. He developed more than 800 strains and varieties of plants over his lifetime. Burbank's varied creations included fruits, flowers, grains, grasses, and vegetables. He even developed a spineless cactus (useful for cattle-feed) and the plumcot.
Student's of Burbank would be wise to also examine the other books he wrote and co-wrote, on his methods and results, including his eight-volume How Plants Are Trained to Work for Man (1921), Harvest of the Years (with Wilbur Hall, 1927), Partner of Nature (1939), and Half-Hour Experiments with Plants.
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Born in Lancaster, Massachusetts, Burbank grew up on a farm and received only an elementary school education. The thirteenth of eighteen children, he enjoyed the plants in his mother's large garden. His father died when he was 21 years old, and Burbank used his inheritance to buy a 17-acre (69,000 m²) plot of land near Lunenburg center. There, he developed the Burbank potato. Burbank sold the rights to the Burbank potato for $150 and used the money to travel to Santa Rosa, California, in 1875. Later, a natural sport of Burbank potato with russetted skin was selected and named Russet Burbank potato. Today, the Russet Burbank potato is the most widely cultivated potato in the United States. A large percentage of McDonald's french fries are made from this cultivar.
In Santa Rosa, Burbank purchased a 4-acre (16,000 m2) plot of land, and established a greenhouse, nursery, and experimental fields that he used to conduct crossbreeding experiments on plants, inspired by Charles Darwin's The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication. (This site is now open to the public as a city park, Luther Burbank Home and Gardens.) Later he purchased an 18-acre (7.3 ha) plot of land in the nearby town of Sebastopol, called Gold Ridge Farm.
