In today's world, most people have safe jobs. Things
were not always that way. It used to be very different.
Much about the world was not known, and even a job as a
gardener might lead to big adventure. This story is about
someone that most people have never heard of. But what
he did made America a better place. Some of the food
and flowers that we have today came because of the work
Frank Meyer was born in 1875 in the Netherlands, a
country in Europe. He was interested in plants at a young
age. He also liked hiking in extreme places. No one was
surprised when Frank became a "plant explorer." He
worked hard to earn enough money to come to the United
Eventually, Frank found the perfect job. He worked
for the United States Department of Agriculture, the
government agency that focuses on plants. Frank's job
was to go around the world to find and collect plants of
Frank went back and forth from China a number of
times. He went to other places in Asia, too. This travel
was slow and exhausting. For fifteen years, Frank
explored, and he even had to escape from bandits to
People were amazed with the amazing things that Frank
brought home. Many new plants were seen here for the
first time because of his efforts. He took pictures on his
travels, too. Frank loved sharing what he saw and learned.
His job was not just an adventure, it was a chance to
bring the world together and make it a better place for