320 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



most important fact in nature's design for the perpetuation of species ? 

 In looking at nature we all can see the fruits or grains and seeds as 

 they are produced on the tree or plant, but few persons know why 

 these things come about, and how. 



It is sometimes amusing to hear persons express their astonish- 

 ment when told of the sexes in the flowers of the strawberry or other 

 fruits — they never heard of such things. To the student of botany all 

 these facts seem very simple and plain, and in order to fully under- 

 stand the meaning of fertilization, we have only to examine the various 

 blooms on trees and plants ; the most casual observer will see there 

 exists a difference in the construction or formation of the arrange- 

 ments of the blossoms. 



What is fertilization ? The reproductive function by which the 

 action of the pollen renders the ovule fertile. The essential organs of 

 the flowers, whether on fruit-trees, shrubs or plants, are the stamens 

 and the pistil, the latter containing the seeds or germs of young plants,. 

 and corresponding to the female, while the former produces a powder 

 necessary for fecundation, and is looked upon as performing the part of 

 the male. The presence of both is required in order that perfect seed 

 may be produced. A flower may have a calyx and corolla, but it will 

 be imperfect if the essential organs are not present. There are a num- 

 ber of plants that have both the sexual organs, and are called her- 

 maphrodites or bi-sexual, as some of the varieties of strawberry, while 

 some are purely staminate, or male, and others pistillate, or female ;; 

 and in order to obtain a crop of fruits they must be fertilized, which 

 operation is performed by the wind, bees or other insects. The rasp- 

 berry and blackberry belong to the same class of plants. Very often 

 one can see berries not fully developed or filled out. This is caused 

 by imperfect fertilization. 



Eruit- trees generally have an abundance of both sexual organs^ 

 and fertilization is performed by the wind blowing the pollen on the 

 pistil or female, or carried by the bees or other insects. If all climatic 

 conditions are favorable, then perfect fertilization takes place ; should 

 there be much rain at blooming time, or very severe wind-storms, the 

 fertilization is prevented, the pollen washed away, or bees and other 

 insects fail to aid us. Our almost total loss of an apple crop for ihe 

 last two years was mainly due to too much rain at the time of blooming. 

 Some one made the remark, whether it would not be better to plant 

 the different varieties of apples in alternate rows, in order to secure 

 more perfect fertilization, than to plant large orchards of one variety ;^ 

 but I doubt whether any good would result, as both sexes or repro- 

 ductive organs are abundantly provided for on the same tree. It would 



