New York Agkicultueal Esperimext Station. 363 



cross-fertilized. This brought up the question whether some 

 grapes are better than others for fertilizing the self -sterile kinds or 

 whether any variety other than the one to be fertilized will answer 

 the purpose if it blooms at the same time. Similar questions, in 

 one form or another, are apt to arise wherever American grapes 

 are cultivated. 



Scarcely any definite information on this subject could be 

 found. Being a subject of considerable practical importance to 

 viticulturists, arrangements were made to begin the investigation 

 of it in 1899. The results of the first season's work in this line 

 are set forth in the following preliminary report of the investiga- 

 tion. 



WOEK FOR 1899. 



PLAN. 



Twelve varieties which were selected because they are nearly 

 or quite self-sterile, were artificially cross-pollinated in the manner 

 hereafter described. Twenty-four kinds of grapes were tried as 

 fertilizers for these varieties. Most of them were self-sterile or 

 nearly so, others fully self-fertile, and still others intermediate 

 between these two extremes. The twelve varieties which were ar- 

 tificially cross-pollinated were not emasculated. For the purpose 

 of preventing accidental cross-pollination by means of insects or 

 otherwise, the clusters to be tested were enclosed in paper bags 

 before the blossoms opened, and were kept thus covered during 

 the entire blooming season except the few minutes when the bags 

 were opened to introduce the clusters which furnished the pollen 

 for the test. The clusters which were selected to furnish the pol- 

 len were likewise covered before they came into blossom and were 

 kept covered, even after they were removed from the vine which 

 bore them, until they were applied to the self-sterile variety upon 

 which their pollen was to be tried. The bagging of the clusters 

 was done after the manner illustrated and described in Bulletin 

 157. By thus protecting all of the blossoms which were used in 



