delight like a flower. They noticed, too, that he never
crushed a flower, and once, when a petal fell off a flower he was
holding, he tried for hours with his tiny fingers to put it back in
place. And when he was big enough to run about the house and yard,
instead of carrying a toy or a dog or cat in his arms, he was usually
hugging a potted plant of some kind, for as people saw his great love
for such things, they were on the lookout for cunning plants for the
dear little Burbank boy.

One day Luther was trudging across the yard, clasping a small
lobster-cactus in an earthen pot, when he stumbled and fell, breaking
the pot and plant. He cried for days over the accident.

At school, Luther was a delight to his teachers. There were few black
marks against his name. He liked all his lessons, but the books that
told him about birds, trees, and flowers pleased him most.

When Luther was old enough to go to Leicester Academy, he had for his
dearest chum a boy cousin who knew Agassiz, and who through him became
interested in science. This boy wanted to study about rocks and caves,
rivers and fish, while Luther watched the birds that perched on the
rocks and the trees that grew near the rivers. But the two spent many
weeks tramping over the country together.

Luther worked several summers in a factory near his home. He was quick
to understand machinery and invented a machine that saved the manager of
the factory a great deal of money, for it would do the work of six men.
Luther's family and friends were sure he would be an inventor. But he
himself wanted to raise flowers.

Luther saved a little money and started a vegetable garden. He tried
experiments with the potato plants until he raised an entirely
different kind than had ever grown before. Of course this made him want
to experiment with other plants, and he stayed in the hot sun so much
looking after them that he had a bad sunstroke. This led to his going to
a climate where he might live outdoors during more months of the year,
and where he would not be apt to have such attacks.

When Luther reached California, he had only a few dollars, rather poor
health, and was among strangers. He tried to get work on farms or
orchards, because he wanted to experiment with vines and vegetables. But
if he got work, it was usually for only a few days at a time. Finally he
was obliged to work on a chicken ranch, where the only place for him to
sleep was in one of the chicken coops.