■474: Report of tiik Department of Horticulture of the 



Ben Davis X Mother gives eight sweets, eleven subacids and 

 one sour. If the sours and subacid fruits can not be definitely 

 separated, then we have a ratio of 3:2 instead of 3:1 — sweet- 

 ness being the recessive. Mother, according to this interpreta- 

 tion, must carrv sweet as well as Ben Davis. 



The four seedlings produced from Sutton X Xorthern Spy, 

 and the one from Rome X Xorthern Spy are all subacid. These 

 numbers are too few to hazard an explanation. 



Ben Davis X Esopus gave four individuals, all of which are 

 subacid and its reciprocal cross gave a total of seven sweets, 

 twentv-one subacids and one sour. Assuming that the sour 

 individual would have lost its acidity if the season had been 

 more prolonged, we would have practically a 3:1 ratio in this 

 reciprocal cross. The proportions are, however, worthy of note, 

 even though they may be incorrectly interpreted. If the inter- 

 pretation is correct, Esopus as well as Ben Davis must carry 

 sweetness as a recessive character. 



Ben Davis X Mcintosh gives two sweets to nine subacids, and 

 Ben Davis X Green Newtown, the same classes but in the pro- 

 portion of 3 to 10. Both of these crosses are explainable by the 

 3:1 ratio, and this interpretation must make sweet a recessive in 

 both parents. 



Ralls X Xorthern Spy gave nine subacids and no sweets. In 

 this case, we have two subacids giving no sweets, and therefore, 

 it is doubtful whether one or both varieties carry a recessive 

 sweet. If this be the case, subacid varieties are not necessarily 

 hybrids between sweets and acids. These results are at least 

 valuable from the practical side for it shows that sweet apples 

 can be secured from subacid apples. 



Ripening period. — Date of ripening is another character that 

 is undoubtedly inherited, as from all of these crosses of late- 

 ripening apples, only late varieties have been produced — the 

 range of variation not extending on the average much more than 

 a month on either side of the average mean of the parents. It 

 is to be regretted that we have no crosses with parents differing 

 widely in the date of maturity. However, as no early varieties 

 have been obtained from these crosses, it is safe to say that earli- 

 ness is probably not a recessive character. Season, like size and 



