﻿19 
  

  

  now 
  — 
  I 
  had 
  no 
  explanation 
  last 
  year, 
  but 
  it 
  occurs 
  to 
  me 
  now, 
  

   knowing 
  of 
  Loeb's 
  experiments 
  — 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  possible 
  that 
  one 
  of 
  

   the 
  parents, 
  the 
  parent 
  CaHfornia 
  oak 
  tree 
  carrying 
  the 
  female 
  

   flowers, 
  might 
  have 
  had 
  its 
  sex 
  cells 
  subjected 
  to 
  some 
  peculiar 
  

   influence 
  like 
  acid, 
  sulphurous 
  acid, 
  for 
  instance, 
  from 
  some 
  

   nearby 
  chimney. 
  Sulphurous 
  acid 
  perhaps 
  from 
  someone 
  merely 
  

   lighting 
  a 
  match 
  to 
  light 
  a 
  cigar 
  under 
  the 
  tree; 
  he 
  might 
  have 
  

   so 
  sensitized 
  a 
  few 
  female 
  flowers, 
  may 
  have 
  so 
  injured 
  the 
  cell 
  

   membrane 
  of 
  a 
  few 
  female 
  germ 
  cells 
  that 
  cross 
  pollinization 
  

   then 
  took 
  place 
  from 
  a 
  walnut 
  tree. 
  It 
  is 
  only 
  on 
  some 
  such 
  

   ground 
  as 
  the 
  findings 
  of 
  Loeb 
  that 
  we 
  can 
  explain 
  such 
  a 
  very 
  

   unusual 
  hybridization 
  as 
  that, 
  which 
  appeared 
  to 
  me 
  a 
  valid 
  

   one, 
  of 
  a 
  cross 
  between 
  an 
  oak 
  and 
  a 
  walnut. 
  

  

  (Secretary 
  Deming 
  then 
  called 
  attention 
  to 
  hybrids 
  in 
  the 
  

   various 
  exhibits.) 
  

  

  Professor 
  Smith: 
  I 
  should 
  like 
  to 
  ask 
  why, 
  if 
  this 
  free 
  hy- 
  

   bridization 
  takes 
  place 
  in 
  nature 
  among 
  the 
  hickories, 
  you 
  do 
  

   not 
  have 
  a 
  perfect 
  complex 
  of 
  trees 
  showing 
  all 
  possible 
  varia- 
  

   tions 
  in 
  the 
  forest. 
  

  

  The 
  Chairman: 
  In 
  answer 
  to 
  Professor 
  Smith's 
  question 
  

   I 
  will 
  start 
  from 
  his 
  premises 
  and 
  remark 
  that 
  we 
  do 
  have 
  such 
  

   complexities. 
  The 
  hickories 
  are 
  so 
  crossed 
  at 
  the 
  present 
  time, 
  

   like 
  our 
  apples, 
  that 
  even 
  crossing 
  the 
  pollen 
  of 
  various 
  hickory 
  

   trees 
  of 
  any 
  one 
  species 
  does 
  not 
  promise 
  interesting 
  results 
  

   unless 
  we 
  cross 
  an 
  enormous 
  number. 
  They 
  are 
  already 
  so 
  

   widely 
  crossed 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  very 
  difficult 
  sometimes 
  to 
  determine 
  

   if 
  a 
  certain 
  tree 
  is 
  shagbark 
  or 
  pignut 
  or 
  shellbark 
  or 
  mocker- 
  

   nut. 
  For 
  the 
  most 
  part 
  the 
  various 
  species 
  and 
  varieties 
  of 
  hick- 
  

   ories 
  retain 
  their 
  identity 
  because 
  their 
  own 
  pollen 
  is 
  handiest, 
  

   and 
  different 
  species 
  do 
  not 
  all 
  flower 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  time. 
  Their 
  

   own 
  pollen 
  from 
  the 
  male 
  flowers 
  is 
  apt 
  to 
  fall 
  at 
  the 
  time 
  when 
  

   their 
  own 
  female 
  flowers 
  are 
  ripe 
  and 
  under 
  these 
  circumstances 
  

   the 
  chances 
  are 
  very 
  much 
  in 
  favor 
  of 
  the 
  tree 
  pollinizing 
  its 
  

   female 
  flowers 
  with 
  its 
  own 
  pollen. 
  On 
  the 
  other 
  hand, 
  there 
  

   is 
  hardly 
  one 
  chance 
  in 
  many 
  hundred 
  thousand 
  for 
  any 
  crossed 
  

   nut 
  to 
  grow, 
  for 
  the 
  reason 
  that 
  most 
  nuts 
  are 
  destroyed 
  by 
  

   mice, 
  squirrels, 
  rats 
  and 
  boys. 
  If 
  you 
  have 
  a 
  hickory 
  nut 
  tree 
  

   growing 
  in 
  a 
  lot, 
  and 
  which 
  has 
  produced 
  a 
  bushel 
  of 
  hickory 
  

   nuts 
  year 
  after 
  year, 
  do 
  you 
  know 
  of 
  one 
  single 
  nut 
  from 
  that 
  

   tree 
  which 
  has 
  grown 
  ? 
  In 
  this 
  plan 
  of 
  Nature, 
  this 
  plan 
  of 
  enor- 
  

   mous 
  waste 
  of 
  Nature 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  get 
  one 
  seed 
  to 
  grow, 
  the 
  

   chance 
  for 
  a 
  hybridized 
  hickory 
  nut 
  to 
  grow 
  under 
  normal 
  con- 
  

  

  