CONTROLLING NATURE

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Mountain View, California · Apr 25, 1906

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 32, No. 17.

CONTROLLING NATURE.

AMONG the interesting steps in modern progress has been the control and development of plant life. People now living can remember when the number of edible fruits and vegetables was far less than at present, and even those that could be grown were vastly inferior to what we now have. For example, our parents knew nothing of the tomato except as a curious ornament in the garden. Sweet corn was hardly better than the commonest field sorts. All oranges had seeds. Celery was little known and poor in quality. In the flower bed, the magnificent pansy has replaced the insignificant heartsease from which it was developed, and the sweet pea traces its origin to the common garden vegetable. The practical results are accomplished by men operating largely for the love of the work, like Luther Burbank in California, and Eckford in England, as well as by the great seed merchants, D. M. Ferry & Company, of Detroit, Mich., who are not only eternally vigilant to hold what ground has been gained, but have a corps of trained specialists backed by ample means to conduct new experiments. The results of their experience can be found in their 1906 Seed Annual which they will send free to all applicants.