DIYISION OF nORTICVLTVRE 549 



S'ESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



It might be of scientific interest to state that iu the crosses made with the variety 

 Kurskaya as the female parent, fruit was obtained on each of the trees worked upon, 

 but only in the cross Kurskaya X Clapp's Favourite was seed obtained. 



The means employed in securing pollen prevented any possibility of contamina- 

 tion. The flowers used for hyl)ridizing purposes were covered with bags before opening, 

 and just prior to the opening they were emasculated and rebagged. It would seem 

 from the above results that the pollen from the Lemon Pear, which was nearly eight 

 weeks old and had been secured from branches of a dormant tree, forced under arti- 

 ficial conditions, had produced fruit containing seeds. 



PLUMS. 



A large number of seedling plums of the americana type have begun to fruit, and 

 during the i)ast season notes were taken on the qualities of the fruit of over two hun- 

 dred of these young trees. Several of the Caro, Gloria, and Brackett seedlings are 

 very promising, and are being propogated in limited quantities so that stock may be 

 available if they prove to be consistently as good during the next three or four years 

 as in the past. 



Several crosses were made with plums, but only three fruits resulted, and these 

 failed to reach maturity. 



GEAPES. 



With regard to grapes, a quantity of seed was obtained in the autumn of 1912 of 

 the varieties Moore's Early, Campbell's Early, Concord, Worden, Vergennes, Brighton, 

 Champion, Niagara, Salem, and Daisy. Half this seed was sown in the fall, the 

 remainder in the following spring. The autumn-sown seed germinated most satisfac- 

 torily, but the other gave poor results. These seedlings will be grown for another sea- 

 son in the nursery row and then planted in permanent positions in the vinery. The 

 object in view being to secure, if possible, an early-maturing, firm, edible grape, that 

 may be grown as far north as the Ottawa valley, with a reasonable chance of com- 

 mercial success. 



The above-mentioned varieties of grapes spring from two origins, the Vinifera and 

 the Labrusca. The following five varieties are considered to be of purely Labrusean 

 origin, namely : Moore's Early, Concord, Worden, Vergennes and Champion. Wheren? 

 the varieties Campbell's Early, Brighton, Niagara, Salem and Daisy are of hybrid 

 composition, consisting of Labrusca and Yinifera origins. It has been considered that 

 these grapes of directly hybrid origin afford a most promising field for further improve- 

 ment among their seedlings, which may be expected to segregate into series nf 

 noticeably distinct forms, from which it is hoped may be secured one or two grapes of 

 particular value. The seedlings of purely Labrusean origin are being grown upon tlie 

 assumption that the origin of such excellent commercial varieties as Concord, Worden, 

 and Moore's Early may be capable of prodvicing even better grapes than these. 



VEGETABLES. 



The work with vegetables has consisted very largely in selecting and isolating the 

 earliest maturing strains of Malakoff sweet corn and Earliana toma.toes, having at the- 

 same time a due regard for the qualities of heaA^?^ yield, uniformity, and disease resis- 

 tance. 



During the summer of 1912, a carefully detailed record was secured of the merits 

 of the several strains of Earliana tomato and Malakoff sweet corn grown on tlie 

 Experimental Farm. In 1913, the best of these strains were selected and planted ii> 

 isolation, to determine as far as possible their individual merits. 



Ottawa. 



