The fragrance of the flower was not put forth to please or displease man, but to please and attract the insect. In the case of the scented calla it was perfume that differentiated a particular individual from thousands of other individuals growing in the same plot.
At an early stage of Burbank's almost endless series of experiments in the hybridizing of plums, he chanced to hear of a so-called seedless plum that was said to grow in France, where it had been known for a long time as a curiosity. The fruit was by no means stoneless, but from the onset Burbank was convinced that by proper hybridizing and selective breeding it could be made valuable.
Species of plants in a state of nature are constantly crossing and new species are being developed under our eyes. Except by the accidental and most unusual transfer of a plant through the agency of a passing animal, there is hardly the remotest chance of effecting cross-fertilization between individual mosses or lichens or ferns growing in widely separated regions.
Luther Burbank was widely known as a botanist and scientist. His fame as an inventor of new fruits, plants and flowers inspired worldwide interest in plant breeding, for which he was recognized by an Act of Congress, among many other honors.