| 词汇 | burbank |
| 词源 | Burbank; Burbank plum; Burbank potato. There has been muted controversy over whether the plant breeder Luther Bur- bank (1849–1926) was a “plant wizard” or something of a fail- ure. Burbank was born in Lancaster, Massachusetts, and there developed the Burbank potato, his most important achieve- ment, while just a boy experimenting with seeds in his mother’s garden. At 26 he moved to Santa Rosa, California, using the $150 he made from the sale of his potato to pay for the journey. It was in Santa Rosa, his “chosen spot of the earth,” that he bred almost all the varieties of fruit, vegetables, and ornamentals for which he became famous. These included at least 66 new fruits, 12 new bush fruits, seven tree nuts, and nine vegetables, of which a number, notably the Burbank plum, bear his name. He once grew half a million strawberry plants to obtain one prize plant. However, according to Dr. W. L. Howard (University of California Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin, 1945), only a few of the several hundred varieties developed by Bur- bank have stood the test of time. The patient Burbank was not the first American plant breeder—Thomas Jefferson, George Washington Carver, and Charles Hovey, originator of the Hovey strawberry, came long before him. Burbank was strongly influenced by Darwin’s The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication. His credo can be summed up in his state- ment “I shall be contented if, because of me, there shall be bet- ter fruits and fairer flowers.” Burbank did have a sense of humor, unlike some of his critics. The renowned horticulturist was working in his experimental garden one day when approached by an obnoxious neighbor: “Well, what on earth are you working on now?” the man asked. “I’m trying to cross an eggplant and milkweed,” Burbank replied. “What in heaven do you expect to get from that?” asked the neighbor. “Custard pie,” said Burbank calmly. The city of Burbank, California was named for the famous plant breeder. |
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