REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR AND ACTING AGRICULTURIST. 



63 



Fig. 5. — Flowers of Gooseberry. 



but of a dull reddish colour 



Flowers of Hybrid. 



All the hybrids have 



floM-ered freely every season 



for several years past, and 



although no imperfection 



can be detected in the floral 



organs, no fruit could be 



found on any of them until 



last year, when two berries 



were found on one bush and 



one on another. These were 



borne singly, like the goose- 

 berry, and were about the 



size of a large black currant, 

 The seeds these contained 

 were carefully saved and sown, but none of them have yet 

 germinated. This season only one specimen of fruit was 

 found and this dropped before it was fully matured. With the view of inducing the 

 fruit to set more freely, clusters of the flowers have been artificially fertilized with pollen 

 from adjacent flowers on the same bush, also from flowers of the black currant and the 

 gooseberry ; but none of these experiments have been successful. 



The several differences and resemblances 

 noticed seem to establish the true hybrid 

 character of the progeny, a point further 

 confirmed by the fact that the gooseberry 

 and white currant characteristics in these 

 hybrids are recognized by insects and par- 

 sitic plants The gooseberry saw-fly {Neirva- 

 tus ribesii), which is not known to touch 

 the foliage of the black currant, consumes, 

 with great avidity, the leaves of the goose- 

 berry and white currant ; it also feeds freely on the hybrids, which, although raised from 

 seed of the black currant, are thus recognized by this insect as partaking of the nature 

 of the male parent. The gooseberry mildew, also Sphaerotheca mors-uvae, B. & C, which 

 is not known to affect the black currant, attacks the hybrids freely, showing that the 

 gooseberry characteristics which they possess are recognized also by this fungus enemy 

 of the gooseberry. 



Another group of experiments with shrubs in this genus has been the crossing of 

 the cultivated black currant, Rihes nigrum, with the wild black currant of the western 

 plains, Rihes Jioridum. From this cross a number of seedlings have been produced, 

 partaking more or less of the characteristics of both parents, some of which promise to 

 be worthy of cultivation for their fruit. During the past season a number of additional 

 crosses in this genus have been successfully made, from which some further results of 

 interest are looked for. 



The Grape. 



From 1868 to 1875 a large number of hybrids were produced by fertilizing prepared 

 flowers of the native or improved native grapes with pollen of the European varieties. 

 During this time more than 3,000 grape flowers were operated on, from which about 

 400 seedlings were obtained. No winter protection was given to any of these young 

 seedlings, and a large proportion of the new introductions from year to year perished 

 during the winter following. Many others were discarded for the reason that they 

 produced staminate flowers only, and some on account of lack of vigour in the vines or the 

 poor quality of the fruit. Only a few of these seedlings have survived to the present 

 time, and of these two only are specially worthy of mention, viz.. Emerald and Kensing- 

 ton. These are both yellowish green grapes and Kensington is specially productive. 



