378 Bulletin 181. 



Kieffer with LeConte, Garber; Coe Golden Drop witli French 

 Prune, Green Gage, Italian Prune (Fellenburg); Satsuma with 

 Abundance, Burbank, Red June ; Miner with DeSoto, Forest Rose, 

 Wild Goose ; Wild Goose with DeSoto, Newman, Miner, 



Does Crossing Change the Appeakance of the Fruit? 



In connection with the mutual affinity of varieties which are 

 selected for cross-pollination, there comes the question of the 

 " immediate influence " of pollen. For instance, if Seckel pollen 

 is put on Kieffer pistils, will it impart the Seckel flavor, color and 

 characteristic shape to the resulting fruit ? Of course the charac- 

 ters of both mav be united in the seeds, and the trees which come 

 from these seeds may be expected to be intermediates ; but is the 

 flesh of the fruit ever changed by foreign pollen ? 



The increase in size which often follows crossing cannot be called 

 a true immediate influence, for the foreign pollen generally stimu- 

 lates the fruit to a better growth because it is more acceptable to 

 the pistils, not because it carries over the size-character of the variety 

 from which it came. In 1899, Ilyslop Crab pistils which were 

 fertilized with pollen from the great Tompkins County King, grew 

 into fruits of the usual crab size. An immediate influence in size 

 may be possible, for the size of the fruit is nearly as constant a 

 varietal character as is the shape ; but most of the increased size in 

 crosses of orchard fruits probably arises from the fact that the pollen 

 is more acceptable. 



Setting aside the usual gain in size resulting from crossing, we 

 wish to know whether there will be any change in the shape, color, 

 quality and seasoning of ripening of the fruit. A few undoubted 

 instances of this influence have been noticed with some plants in 

 which the seed is the principal part of the fruit, as the mixing of 

 sweet corn and field corn ; also perhaps in various peas and beans. 

 When the seed is surrounded by a fleshy pulp, however, as in our 

 common orchard fruits, it is still in dispute whether this pulp is 

 influenced, however much the seeds themselves may be. Most men 

 have formed their convictions about the immediate influence of 

 pollen from observation, rather than from experimental proof. It 

 does not necessarily follow that "sweet and sour" apples are due to 



