The Harvest of the Years

by Luther Burbank, Wilbur Hale

Luther Burbank was past sixty before he could find the time he desired for the making of exact records of his innumerable and unique experiments with plants; he was seventy before the itch that had always been on him to express on paper his thoughts, reactions, observations, and philosophies could be even in slight measure gratified.

Unquestionably if he had lived he would have poured forth his naturalist's soul, and the last years would have been productive of exhilarating, pungent, and enlightening essays and books that would have greatly enriched our literature of through and comment.

What is saved of all the treasure he had stored happens to be this volume.

Genres: Nature, Biography

Paperback

First published December 20, 1927

About the author

In 1849, Luther Burbank was born in Massachusetts. He found fame early, when he single-handedly saved U.S. potato crops from the deadly blight by cultivating russet potatoes. The inventor, who ran Burbank's Experimental Farms in Santa Rosa, Calif., produced more than 800 new varieties of fruits and plants, such as the Shasta daisy. He was recognized for his plant breeding by an Act of Congress. The beloved naturalist was one of Robert Ingersoll's greatest fans. Burbank believed, "Children are the greatest sufferers from outgrown theologies." Shaken by the Scopes trial, Burbank wrote: "And to think of this great country in danger of being dominated by people ignorant enough to take a few ancient Babylonian legends as the canons of modern culture. Our scientific men are paying for their failure to speak out earlier. There is no use now talking evolution to these people. Their ears are stuffed with Genesis." In 1926, an interview about his freethought views appeared in the San Francisco Bulletin, which headlined it: "I'm an Infidel, Declares Burbank, Casting Doubt on Soul Immortality Theory." The article was reprinted around the world, creating shockwaves. Burbank was inundated with mostly critical letters, which he felt he had to reply to personally. Friend and later biographer, Wilbur Hale, attributed Burbank's hastened death to the exertion of his replies: "He died, not a martyr to truth, but a victim of the fatuity of blasting dogged falsehood." A crowd estimated at 100,000 came to Luther's memorial, and heard the openly atheistic and ringing tribute by Judge Lindsay of Denver, Colorado. California still celebrates Luther Burbank's birthday as Arbor Day, planting trees in his memory. D. 1926.

More: https://ffrf.org/legacy/fttoday/back/...

http://www.lutherburbank.org/

http://www.invent.org/Hall_Of_Fame/21...

http://philosopedia.org/index.php/Lut...

http://inventors.about.com/od/bstarti...

http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/burbank...

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/t...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luther_B...

Reviews

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kind of obscure but there is a lot of wisdom in these pages.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Luther Burbank (1849-1926) was an exceptionally talented and industrious plant breeder and naturalist. He moved to Santa Rosa as a young man after selling the rights to a new russet potato he developed that became the most grown potato in the US. So I’ve read the book to honor one of Santa Rosa’s most famous people.
At one point in the book, he describes meeting Henry Ford and Thomas Edison, and the three of them were in a sense peers in the transformation of America into the 20th century juggernaut that it was. Truly, his methods and discernment were astonishing in their success.
But as with many geniuses, I found his self-awareness and the scope of his genius to be fairly limited. It’s unsurprising that he was enthusiastic about eugenics to the point of sounding like a Nazi (though he died before Hitler rose to power). The certainty of his prose is a bit tedious. I’m happy to have read the book, but can’t recommend it to you.