Nature in an age of invention -- The lucky spud -- The second gold rush -- Faster, better, sweeter -- A personal interlude -- Marketing the new creation -- The philosopher in the orchard, the scientist in the pea patch -- California boosters and the ivory tower -- The Carnegie Institution seal of approval -- The training of the human plant -- Learning from Luther Burbank -- The Corn Palace and the empire of the prickly pear -- The meeting of the masters -- The garden of beautiful thoughts -- Transplanting the legacy -- The creator's art -- The garden as intellectual property