Why Carnegie pulled funding from this magical California garden

Carnegie Institution’s Failed Partnership with Luther Burbank

In 1904, Luther Burbank got a huge break. The Carnegie Institution handed him $10,000 yearly to study plant breeding.

Yet money couldn’t fix a clash of styles. Burbank worked from memory and gut feelings, while scientist George Harrison Shull wanted clear methods he could write down.

During one nine-day visit, Burbank gave Shull just two hours of time. Andrew Carnegie stuck by Burbank even as critics called him a “faker.” Still, after five years, the money stopped when Shull ruled Burbank’s work was “more art than science.”

The tension between these men lives on at Burbank’s House and Garden in California, where visitors can see his original greenhouse and breeding tools.

Carnegie Backed Burbank Despite Scientific Doubts

Andrew Carnegie started the Carnegie Institution in 1902 to push knowledge forward.

When advisors warned against funding Luther Burbank because his plant breeding wasn’t scientific enough, Carnegie stuck with his gut.

He saw something special in Burbank’s hands-on plant work and thought it could help people through better crops.

In 1904, Carnegie put his money down, backing Burbank with cash despite complaints from academics who wanted more careful methods.

The $10,000 Yearly Grant Had Strings Attached

The Carnegie Institution gave Luther Burbank $10,000 yearly in December 1904, set to run for five years. This wasn’t free money.

Burbank had to let the Institution send someone to watch him work and record his methods. President Woodward wanted a full report of Burbank’s techniques and results.

For Burbank, this money meant the big shots finally noticed his work. The grant put him on the map as someone whose plant breeding skills mattered.

Young Scientist Got The Hardest Job In Science

George Harrison Shull got the job of figuring out Burbank’s methods in December 1905.

At just 31, with a fresh PhD from Chicago, Shull tracked plant changes using numbers. His job was to turn Burbank’s feelings about plants into something scientists could copy.

Starting in March 1906, Shull split time between Burbank’s gardens in Santa Rosa and his lab at Cold Spring Harbor, trying to connect two very different worlds.

Burbank’s Memory-Based Methods Confused The Scientist

Shull showed up in Santa Rosa in March 1906 ready to work but hit a wall right away. Burbank answered questions but didn’t go out of his way to help.

The bigger problem? Burbank kept most of his work in his head. Shull struggled to make this look like science to his bosses.

After decades with plants, he just “knew” which ones to cross without writing much down. He made choices based on feel and memory, not charts or data.

The Plant Wizard Gave His Watcher The Cold Shoulder

By October 1907, things got chilly between them. During Shull’s nine-day visit that month, Burbank gave him just two hours.

While Shull wanted to record scientific steps, Burbank focused on making new plants he could sell. The gap between Burbank’s hands-on style and the Institution’s need for proof grew wider each day.

Shull watched and noted that Burbank mostly crossed plants and picked the best babies without tracking details or setting up test groups.

Board Meetings Got Heated About The Burbank Problem

Through 1907 and 1908, Carnegie Institution board members argued about what to do with Burbank. Shull sent reports showing he couldn’t get full access to Burbank’s thinking.

Making things worse, Burbank started talks with publishers about his own books, possibly competing with the Institution’s planned work.

Scientists began asking if Burbank’s famous plant creations came from luck rather than method, since he kept such poor records.

People Called Burbank A Faker To Carnegie’s Face

By 1908, Andrew Carnegie faced awkward questions at parties.

People asked him straight out why his Institution was “paying a faker.” Despite this talk, Carnegie stood firm in his belief that Burbank’s work might still help people.

The trustees grew more doubtful about the partnership. At a key 1908 meeting, even Carnegie’s board admitted they probably wouldn’t get anything useful.

The Money Stopped After Five Years Of Frustration

The Carnegie Institution cut off Burbank’s funding in 1909, five years after it started.

Their final report mentioned that Shull “kept working with hopes of finishing by year end,” but everyone knew the project had failed.

The Institution decided nothing scientifically useful came from the five-year, $50,000 investment. Burbank lost a major income source but gained freedom from having someone questioning his methods.

Burbank Published A Book Using Shull’s Unpublished Work

The story got ugly in 1914 when the Luther Burbank Press put out “Luther Burbank: His Methods and Discoveries.”

Shull was shocked to find whole sections that matched his unpublished writing almost word for word. The work Shull had done somehow ended up in Burbank’s book.

This copying concern, plus years of poor teamwork, meant Shull never published his official findings about Burbank’s methods.

The Failed Partnership Changed American Agriculture Forever

Burbank barely mentioned the Carnegie drama in his 12-volume set published in 1915, giving it just five paragraphs.

For all his fame, only one Burbank creation truly changed the world: the russet potato he stumbled upon by chance in the 1870s. Meanwhile, Shull’s hybrid corn methods transformed global food production.

The clash between Burbank and Shull showed the growing gap between old-school plant breeding based on experience and the new scientific approach that would dominate agriculture in the coming decades.

Visiting Burbank, Luther, House and Garden, California

You can visit Luther Burbank’s home and gardens at 204 Santa Rosa Avenue in Santa Rosa to learn about his clash with Carnegie Institution scientists.

The gardens are free daily from 8am to dusk, with a free cell phone tour covering 28 historical stops.

From April-October, guided tours of his home and greenhouse cost $7 and run Tuesday-Sunday. The Carriage House Museum has rotating exhibits about Burbank’s controversial plant breeding methods.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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