Fertilizing Self-Sterile Grapes. 



By. Prof. S. A. Beach. 



Not long ago a letter was received at the Geneva Experiment 

 Station from a grape grower near Seneca Lake, in which the 

 writer says: 



" I have some Wyomings and they don't bear well, and I have 

 been grafting some of them with other varieties. Thoy make 

 good, strong, healthy stock to graft on. I want to gcr a few of 

 some good early varieties. Is the Croton a good bearer? Does 

 it cluster well? Do you know anything of the Alexander Win- 

 ter, its color, quality or any other particulars? " 



Such inquiries serve as a very good introduction to the sub- 

 ject — " Fertilizing Self-Sterile Grapes." 



Similar questions in one form or another may rise in any com- 

 munity where American grapes are cultivated. Although they 

 may vary in detail, sometimes one variety causing disappoint- 

 ment and sometimes another, they are frequently similar in their 

 primary significance in that the fundamental cause of their 

 trouble lies in the inability of the variety properly to fertilize 

 itself. Such is the case with the Wyoming, which this corres- 

 pondent is grafting over to other kinds. The Wyoming usually 

 fails to set any fruit, unless it is fertilized by some other va.- 

 riety, as does also the Alexander Winter referred to. These are 

 in this particular, representative of a large class of American 

 grapes, many of which rank very high in flavor and quality, and 

 when well-formed clusters can be produced are remarkably at- 

 tractive in appearance, but unable to fertilize themselves they 

 are unreliable croppers, unless cross-fertilized with some other 

 variety. The Croton, to which our correspondent refers, on the 

 other hand, produces well-filled clusters without the aid of any 

 other variety. In this respect it is representative of another 

 large class, including many of the varieties which have proved 

 most generally successful in commercial vineyards. 



