Talk:Luther Burbank

Luther Burbank is a former featured article candidate. Please view the links under Article milestones below to see why the nomination was archived. For older candidates, please check the archive.

Article milestones
Date	Process	Result
September 2, 2006	Featured article candidate	Not promoted

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Unitarian Universalist?

Most of my knowledge of Burbank comes from reading the Krafts' book, which was based mainly on interviews with people who knew him and on original documents. They did not give me the impression that he was a member of any religion, although he had spiritual beliefs. I'm not sure if I should take off this tag in case the Unitarian Universalists might feel that I am persecuting their religion. Steve Dufour 12:24, 8 July 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, LB was described as a "fellow Unitarian" in 1902 in the Pacific Unitarain magazine.

69.12.152.181 05:39, 24 July 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I recommend listing the following biography by Peter Dreyer: A Gardener Touched with Genius. The work by the Krafts is of dubious historical veracity.

I will check that out. The Krafts certainly had me fooled. :-) Steve Dufour 04:26, 9 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not sure how it fits in with the other information about his beliefs, but I recall reading years ago in an encyclopedia (Compton's I think) entry about the 'infidel' controversy that swirled around him late in his life. The atheist site infidels.com reproduces an article from a San Francisco paper where he described religion as, "But as a scientist I cannot help feeling that all religions are on a tottering foundation." Even allowing for the yellow journalism of the day sensationalizing his views and the bias of an atheist website, I cannot help but feel that this aspect of his life is being sidestepped. Though I do not know how it should be dealt with in text. http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/edgar_waite/luther_burbank_infidel.html 24.9.161.62 03:00, 30 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I don't know how to edit the article but there are some items that should be changed. LBH&G is always written with an & not "and".

The eight-volume set is a reprint of the 12 volume set from 1914 not a new work.The work was primarily a heavily edited "conversation" with several editors and took nearly 10 years to complete.

The Training of the Human Plant and My Beleifs were penned by Burbank. The fundamental principles of plant breeding was as well.

Many, if not all of the other "works" listed are chapters in Vol 1 of the 12 volume set. Heavily edited/written by others. The Motion Picture thing is a chapter in Vol 1 not a book, not written by Burbank.

Burbank died in 1926 at home in Santa Rosa.

He married Helen Coleman in 1890 not 1880.

Other "works" are monographs produced by the editors of the 12 volume set. Monographs not necessarily written by Burbank. Additional "works" below are simply plant catalogues, not literature.

+++++++++++++

I recommend that all of these be removed:

Other works include: The Training of the Human Plant Some Interesting Failures: The Petunia with the Tobacco Habit, and Others The Almond and Its Improvement: Can It Be Grown Inside of the Peach? Four Burbank Plums, and How They were Made: Methods Which Brought Unprecedented Success Corn: The King of America's Crops: Not Only Better Corn, But a Better Stalk and Why Twenty-three Potato Seeds and What They Taught A Glimpse at the Influence of Heredity Other Useful Plants Which Will Repay Experiment: Transformations and Improvements Waiting to Be Made How Plants Adapt Themselves to Conditions: The Influence of Environment The Tomato and an Interesting Experiment: A Plant which Bore Potatoes Below and Tomatoes Above The Rivalry of Plants To Please Us: On the Forward March of Adaptation How the Cactus Got Its Spines and How It Lost Them: A Sidelight on the Importance of Environment Some Plants which are Begging for Immediate Improvement: Some Plants which are Begging for Immediate Improvement Manufacturing Food for the Live Stock: Some Suggestions on Clover, Timothy and Alfalfa Plants Which Yield Useful Chemical Substances: Observations on Sugar Cane, Hops and Sugar Beets Short-Cuts into the Centuries to Come: Better Plants Secured by Hurrying Evolution What to Work for in Flowers: And How to Proceed No Two Living Things Exactly Alike: Infinite Ingenuity the Price of Variation Fixing Good Traits: How to Hold a Result Once Achieved How Far Can Plant Improvement Go?: The Crossroads Where Fact and Theory Seem to Part The Burbank Cherry: The Explanation of a Double Improvement My Life and Work with Fruits and Flowers Garden Culture Burbank's new creations and special new selections in seeds Proof book number 1 How nature makes plants to our order Luther Burbank, his methods and discoveries and their practical application: A synopsis Fundamental principles of plant breeding: Production of new trees, fruits and flowers : plants and children Another mode of species forming Advance offering of pedigreed Burbank novelties: Fruits and flowers direct from Burbank nurseries, season 1912-1913 New plants to feed the world: And other articles by and about Luther Burbank from Orchard and Farm The new Shasta daisies: "Alaska", "California", "Westralia" The fundamental principles of plant breeding Plant breeding (How his first plants are trained to work for man)

Luther Burbank around 1922

He also wrote two books unrelated to botany: Piecing the Fragments of a Motion Picture Film : We Stop to Take a Backward Glance and My Beliefs.

I will do this. One of the objections to the featured article candidacy was that the article was too "listy". Steve Dufour 08:00, 6 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Another booklet written by Luther Burbank

Austerlitz 88.72.6.86 11:30, 28 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I have removed the two links above, because they were places to buy the book, and Wikipedia is not an advertising site. Here is the text of Training of the Human Plant by Luther Burbank — Randall Bart 18:53, 29 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

There is the title only; is it not?

Austerlitz -- 88.72.6.58 09:59, 30 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The official site for LBH&G is best accessed through www.lutherburbank.org. This leads directly to the Burbank-related pages. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.191.195.234 (talk) 04:37, 16 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Luther Burbank's strains or varieties as urbal legends?

Dear colleagues, please help find last scientific data about numbers of Burbank's strains or varieties. How many from his strains are really use in the beginnings of 1900-, in the middle of XX century (1940-1970), and today?

In long discussions (look Editing Talk:Luther Burbank for an article in ru-wiki proect branch) and on the process for nomination for Good article (look discussions for nomination, in russian) we see such comments as: (many Burbank's strains/varieties) - "urbal legends" or "activity of this doubtful (or litigions) figure" (in russian: "деятельности этой спорной фигуры"). Some doubts were expressed in operations in the article (such as this).

Is it the correct or withstand modern point of view?

Did we really can said today: "Luther Burbank - doubtful figure", and "his 800-1200 strains and varieties - only some kinds of urbal legends"?

Your comment is important for the correct estimation of Burbank person, and for the estimation of context quality of the Russian article ru:Бёрбанк, Лютер on the process for nomination of one for Good article.

With kind regards, Alexandrov (talk) 13:35, 29 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

A question except for Burbank Potato are there any Burbank "creations" ?

Hi except for Burbank Potato are there any of Burbank's "creations" still on market? Wasn't Burbank a friend of great author Jack London? Thanks!Andreisme (talk) 04:15, 11 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

There is a list of the 800 to 1000 items which Burbank created in the 1941 list put together by the University of California. It is available in recent printings of A Gardener Touched with Genius. Some original Burbank items are available (Shasta Daisy, Santa Rosa Plum, Plumcot, etc.). The Burbank Russet potato is a slight mutation of what Burbank found. In many cases, it is newer versions of his creations which you will find. Yes, Burbank was a friend of London. Visit the Luther Burbank Home & Gardens to learn more.MikeVdP (talk) 06:31, 7 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

There is another namesake in Mercer Island Washington (near Seattle)

There is a Luther Burbank Park on Mercer Island Washington just to the east of Seattle. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 54.240.196.185 (talk) 17:23, 20 January 2014 (UTC)[reply]

== this bit looks like spam to me and I'll remove ==========

"Burbank's continued legacy is revealed in the thousands of Sonoma County citizens who are cursed to suffer annually from allergies because of his sick fascination with interbreeding flowers. To this day he is known as "Lex" Luther Burbank and it is common to hear Sonoma County residents cursing his name between April and July. He will live in infamy as a "very bad man."[5]" — Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.58.154.70 (talk) 17:26, 13 June 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Assessment comment

The comment(s) below were originally left at Talk:Luther Burbank/Comments, and are posted here for posterity. Following several discussions in past years, these subpages are now deprecated. The comments may be irrelevant or outdated; if so, please feel free to remove this section.

Acceptable presentation of extensive information with furnished references. The appearance of multiple red links and images seem to add clutter to the article, though. --Aarktica 12:34, 27 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Last edited at 12:34, 27 April 2007 (UTC). Substituted at 22:38, 29 April 2016 (UTC)

Maybe I missed it in article Burbank also was a suppoetr of Inharited Charistics!

Didnt see a mention of Luther Burbanks favoring INHARIETED CHARISTICS" IN THE ARTICLE THANKS!Eddson storms (talk)

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Atheism

@DeusNovo00: For a while the article has identified and categorized Burbank as an atheist based on a cursory description in a government report. The actual quote and its context are much more nuanced. I've corrected the categorization, and included the direct quote, along with other interesting information. Tapered (talk) 07:00, 17 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Eugenics

There is no mention that he was an advocate of Negative Eugenics. ^[1], ^[2], ^[3], ^[4], ^[5] Hardyplants (talk) 09:48, 6 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

References

^ Henry Smith Williams (1915). Luther Burbank, His Life and Work. Hearst's international library Company. pp. 310–.
^ Luther Burbank Society (1914). Monographs on the Improvement of the Human Plant. pp. 7–.
^ Daniel J. Kevles (1995). In the Name of Eugenics: Genetics and the Uses of Human Heredity. University of California Press. pp. 59–. ISBN 978-0-520-05763-0.
^ American Journal of Eugenics. M. Harman. 1907. pp. 68–.
^ Jonathan Spiro (15 December 2009). Defending the Master Race: Conservation, Eugenics, and the Legacy of Madison Grant. UPNE. pp. 182–. ISBN 978-1-58465-810-8.

potato discussion

"The Russet Burbank potato was in fact invented to help with the devastating situation in Ireland following the Great Famine. This particular potato variety was created by Burbank to help "revive the country's leading crop" as it is slightly late blight-resistant. Late blight is a disease that spread and destroyed potatoes all across Europe, but caused extreme chaos in Ireland due to the high dependency on potatoes as a crop by the Irish.[2]"

This section has problems. The Burbank Seedling was "found" not hybridized, created or invented.

The Great Famine ended before the discovery of the Burbank Seedling.

Where does the "revive..." quote come from?

The Burbank Russet seems to be an early 20th century mutation -- a good one! https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12230-014-9397-5 MikeVdP (talk) 06:26, 7 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

[Williams1915-1] Henry Smith Williams (1915). Luther Burbank, His Life and Work. Hearst's international library Company. pp. 310–.

[Society1914-2] Luther Burbank Society (1914). Monographs on the Improvement of the Human Plant. pp. 7–.

[Kevles1995-3] Daniel J. Kevles (1995). In the Name of Eugenics: Genetics and the Uses of Human Heredity. University of California Press. pp. 59–. ISBN 978-0-520-05763-0.

[4] American Journal of Eugenics. M. Harman. 1907. pp. 68–.

[Spiro2009-5] Jonathan Spiro (15 December 2009). Defending the Master Race: Conservation, Eugenics, and the Legacy of Madison Grant. UPNE. pp. 182–. ISBN 978-1-58465-810-8.

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