I 



EXPERIMENTS WITH TOMATO BLOSSOMS. 29 



unopened and in the same condition as those described in the preceding experiments. 

 In bagging, two blossoms were placed in each bag. 



May 9. An examination showed two small fruits, the other flowers having fallen 

 without setting fruits. 



Results of the experiment: Two small fruits. 



As it was not known at this time that the tomato sometimes sets 

 fruit without the flowers having received pollen, no further attention 

 was given to these small fruits. A> shown by later work, however, 

 it is possible that these fruits set without receiving any pollen and, of 

 course, if such was the case they were without seeds. No definite 

 conclusions can he drawn from this experiment, since the two fruits 

 may have set without their flowers having been pollinated at all. or by 

 means of self-fertilization, or by one flower becoming pollinated with 

 pollen from the other flower in the same bag. 



Experiment 11.— This experiment was performed at the same time and is a repeti- 

 tion of experiment Id, except that it is on the variety Atlantic Prize. The experi- 

 ment resulted in the falling of nine of the blossoms without setting fruit, while the 

 tenth remained green, with a thick green stem and calyx, but failed to develop a fruit. 



Results of the experiment: No fruits. 



The results thus far having definitely shown that good results could 

 not be obtained by the immediate pollination of the immature pistils, 

 the question arose as to the cause of the failure— whether the pistils 

 were injured by the premature application of pollen, or whether the 

 pollen had lost its vitality before the pistils became mature. In order 

 to test this point some further experiments were undertaken, begin- 

 ning with experiment 12. If the pistils were uninjured by the appli- 

 cation of pollen at the time the flowers were decapitated, it is evident 

 that another pollination when the pistils became receptive would give 

 as good results as in those experiments in which the flowers received 

 but the one pollination — that at the time when the pistils were receptive. 



Experiment 12. — (Compare with experiment 14 and contrast with 13.) March 19, 

 10 a. m. Ten flowers of Sutton's Best of All were decapitated and at once pollinated 

 with fresh pollen of Lorillard. Other similar flower buds were labeled at the same 

 time in order to show the time when the pistils became receptive. 



March 27, 9 a. m. These 10 flowers were again pollinated with fresh pollen of 

 Lorillard. The decapitated calyx lobes were reflexed and the pollen of the previous 

 pollination could still be seen upon the stigmas. 



April 3. An examination of several of these flowers showed that about half had 

 fallen, while the others seemed to be setting fruit. 



May 9. Seven fine fruits were found growing. 



Results of the experiment: Seven good fruits. 



This experiment indicates that the immature pistils were uninjured 

 by the first pollination, and the failure to obtain fruits in the preced- 

 ing experiments in which the pistils were prematurely pollinated must 

 be accounted for in some other way, perhaps by the loss of vitality in 

 the pollen. 



