38 Wisconsin State Horticultural Society. 



Mrs. Smith — "When plants are set in that way are all the 

 plants coming from one strawberry alike? 



Mr. Loudon — No. Yow see my seedlings Nos, 15, 12, 30 

 and 33; they all came from one strawberry and every one 

 of them is distinct in its habits. They have different foli- 

 age. 



Mr. Graves — Did I understand you to say that you 

 used the Sharpless and that it was the mother of the Jessie? 



Mr. Loudon — I crossed the last crosses with that seed. 

 In 1880 I used Miner's Prolific. It is hard to tell where 

 Miner's Prolific or the Jessie leaves off and the other com- 

 mences. That shows that the Miner's Prolific has the blood 

 of the Jessie. The Jessie was originated in 1880; I used 

 Miner's Prolific in '78 or '9 and used the seed of the Sharp- 

 less and raised some plants, but the Jessie is the only one 

 that shows any of the blood of the Miner's Prolific. I did 

 not fertilize with Miner's Prolific at the last, but I have for- 

 gotten just what I did use, I certainly don't use Boyden's 

 Seedling for the strawberry would show a white tip. I 

 used the Sharpless in the '8:2 seedlings. You see: I have 

 some seedlings there that are ahead of the Jessie in point 

 of size. I used the Triumph because of its fine color. The 

 crossing of strawberries requires skill, but I could not ex- 

 plain that to you very readily any further than I have said 

 here, I have said it requires a long while; and you have to 

 make many experiments and it takes quite a number of 

 years, and requires a person when he sees strawberry plants 

 to recognize the blood of every one of them. Often by some 

 feature of the plant I discover whether I have succeeded in 

 my experiment. I can tell exactly as soon as a plant has 

 three or four leaves whether the plant is going to rust, I 

 know it from observation, I am just as certain as I can be. 

 For instance, there is a class of plants like the Wilson and 

 Cumberland Triumph, most all of which show traces of 

 rust in the seedlings. I shun all that class of plants. I 

 never saw the least trace in Miner's Prolific of rust, that is 

 one reason I use them in the crosses. The Green's Prolific 

 was used on account of the peculiar quality of its leaf. That 

 never rusts but the progeny of it does very badly. I can tell 



