HOW TO HYBRIDIZE APPLES. 



67 



be spread on sheets and dried, not to absolute dryness, but so that it will remain 

 in powderly form, rather than adhere in pellets. 



(2) Good, vigorous trees are selected. Strong blossom clusters are chosen. 

 The outside buds are rejected, and three to four of the strongest buds near the 

 center of the cluster are selected. In the case of large apples only two buds are 

 chosen in a cluster. The work of emasculating should begin when the buds have 

 fully expanded, but have not yet begun to open. The stamens may be removed 

 by the use of a small pair of sharp-pointed forceps; I prefer these to straight or 

 curved scissors. Care should be taken in doing this work that pollen from branches 

 above is not transferred to the stigma of the blossoms being Operated upon. The 

 emasculated blossoms are covered with brown paper sacks. In the Eastern States, 

 where more atmospheric humidity is present, and where there is a larger percent- 

 age of cloudy weather, it is desirable that paper sacks of a light weight should be 

 used. The sack is attached to the twig or branch by means of a string which is tied 

 to one edge of the sack, and is used to draw the mouth of the sack tightly together 

 about the branch. Each cluster is then labeled with an ordinary nursery tag 

 attached to the twig with a copper wire, 



(3) The work of pollinating may be very much expedited if a variety of pollen 

 is inclosed in a small homeopathic vial, and with it a small camel's-hair brush. 

 In working on a large scale I find that it is much more satisfactory to. in the first 

 place, collect an abundance of pollen and use it freely than to gather the pollen as 

 required and apply it with any other instrument than the camel's-hair brush. 

 Having a vial labeled and supplied with its own brush, all parts of the work can 

 be done by the same operator, namely, the work of removing sacks, applying the 

 pollen, and replacing the sacks. 



(4) The paper sacks, if tightly tied on (which is necessary in this locality on 

 account of the strong winds), will prevent the full development of the fruit if 

 allowed to remain on more than ten days or two weeks after pollination. They 

 should then be exchanged for sacks made of mosquito bar. These are cheaply 

 made, costing about 1 cent each. They are tied on by having a running string 

 around the mouth, which is closely drawn about the branch. The sacks protect 

 the fruit from bird attacks, and to some extent from insects; they also prevent 

 it from being lost if blown off by high winds. 



(5) The common copper wire nursery label is used. One label is placed on each 

 sack, and first records the name of the female and then that of the pollen-producing 

 parent, as, for instance, "Mercer-Ben Davis, '99."' The records of the seedlings 

 may be kept by prefixing a numeral in each case and using the initial letter of each 

 parent, as " 1 M.-B. D., 99; " " 3 M.-B. D., '99," etc. Each individual tree from 

 every crossed seed planted is recorded and numbered separately. 



As a rule, I do not plant the seeds of apples which are not crossbred. Occasion- 

 ally a considerable quantity of seed of a special variety is planted, and in this case 

 the trees are not recorded until they come into bearing. Then only those giving 

 special promise are numbered. 



Prof. J. L. Budd, of the Iowa A^n-icultural College, has made many 

 apple hybrids, using the Russian varieties freely, and many of these 

 are now coming into fruitage. Several of Professor IJudd's students, 

 having gained inspiration from him, are now breeding apples and 

 other i)lants on an extensive scale. 



Mr. C. G. Patton, of Iowa, the originator of Patton's Greening and 

 other good seedlings, has long api)reciated the po.ssibilities in apple 

 breeding, l.uther Burbank is said to have made progress in making 



