Page:Famous Living Americans, with Portraits.djvu/98

LUTHER BUBBANK 79 a comfortable living, but some of the most important of his creations, more important from a money standpoint than the Burbank potato, have brought, and will bring him, nothing. The value of Mr, Burbank 's work to the youth of the world is inestimable. No set of figures can give an adequate idea of the worth to our youth of Mr. Burbank 's methods and dis- coveries and their practical application. During the past hun- dred years, and particularly the past two decades, we have been devoting all our energy toward bringing conveniences within the reach of all, toward making luxuries so cheap that none could afford to refuse them. Meanwhile the actual ne- cessities of life, the things we eat, the things we wear, and all those other things which depend upon the soil for their pro- duction, have grown dearer and dearer. It is this state of things that gives our young people of to-day the biggest op- portunity that young people have ever had. A hundred years ago it was the railroads which opened an opportunity to the young Vanderbilts. Fifty years ago it was steel — steel needed in other fast growing lines of indus- try—which opened an opportunity to the young Camegies. Forty years ago it was electricity which opened up its oppor- tunities to the young Edisons and Westinghouses. To-day ev- ery forty acre tract of land that will bear a crop is begging our youth to come and take their opportunity. To the boy who has a bent for the work it offers a thousand-fold more re- ward than has ever before been offered a genius. To the boy who has merely intelligence and persistence it opens up the way to escape from mediocrity. Mr. Burbank will live to see the day when his practical manual of plant breeding will be in the hands of every young gardener. It will bring him the sat- isfaction of knowing that a thousand young Burbanks are tak- ing up his work where he will leave off. Luther Burbank stands absolutely unique among men in his knowledge of nature and his manipulation and interpretation of her forces. He is a philosopher, scientist, plant-breeder, and horticulturist all in one. Guided by an adherence to sd- entific truth, he has aimed to give the widest possible service to the world. A friend of Mr. Burbank says, **He is pre-