BURBANK, LUTHER, an American naturalist; born at Lancaster, Mass., March 7, 1849. Much of his boyhood was spent on a farm, a circumstance to which is attributable the love of nature that led him, after three years in a wood-turning plant in Worcester, Mass., to direct his attention to horti culture, especially with the view of ex perimenting with new specimens. He bought a farm at Lunenburg, Mass., and devoted himself to the study of new varieties of fruits, vegetables, and flowers. He removed to Santa Rosa, Cal., in 1875, and established his ex perimental farm under conditions of soil and climate most favorable for his in vestigations. Here his successes were so pronounced that he was considered a veritable wizard of horticulture. He was the originator of new species of chestnuts and walnuts; of the low bush like Delaware plumtree; of the Burbank plum, introduced with great success in New Zealand and south Africa; as well as of the Nickson, Gold, Chalco, and other new species of plum. From cross
ing with different varieties he has pro duced many hybrids, among the most remarkable of which is a white black berry. Not the least wonderful of his results have been obtained with flowers; the Shasta daisy, and the gigantic amaryllis, being among his many re markable discoveries. His gardens con stitute one of the features of that sec tion of California, not only on account of the results of his skill, but also on account of their extensive operations, 80,000 lilies at one time being seen in full bloom. The Carnegie Institution awarded him $10,000 for 10 years for his experiments. Among his publications are: "Training of the Human Plant," "New Creations in Plants and Flowers," and "Fundamental Principles of Plant Breeding."