Secretary's Budget. 383 



support trees in health and fniitfulness, and in another soil, not so 

 well supplied with the mineral elements, but in a state so constantly 

 moist that there is always an abundance of mineral food in solution 

 to support the trees in health. 



INFLUENCE OF POLLEN ON STEAWBERRIES. 



There has been considerable discussion of late regarding stam- 

 inate and pistillate varieties of strawberries. A paper was read 

 by Prof. Lazenb3% of the Ohio Experiment Station before the late 

 meeting of the American Association for the advancement of 

 science, giving results of recent experiments. The Rural Neiu 

 Yorker summarizes them thus : 



"These experiments seem very decidedly to show that the 

 shape, color, firmness, and quality of the so-called pistillate straw- 

 berries are influenced by the pollen which fertilizes tliem. Boxes 

 covered with glass were placed over the different pistillate varie- 

 ties, and the pollen was applied by hand. Although somewhat 

 imperfect, in every instance there was a marked resemblance in 

 shade, size, color, and general appearance to the fruit of the male 

 parent. All of the duplicate tests showed exactly the same re- 

 sults. Owing to an early and long protracted drouth, strawberries 

 grown in Central Ohio the past season were not nearly as large or 

 perfect as they usually are. The same cause affected the cross- 

 bred berries. Yet despite this, the characteristics of the male 

 parent were plainly evident in each case. So strongly did they 

 predominate that there was little or no resemblance to the fruit of 

 the female parent. No one would have named any of the four 

 cross-bred samples as Crescents, while every one acquainted with 

 the varieties from which .the pollen was taken could readily iden- 

 tify the fruit it had fertilized as the same variety. 



When the pollen of the Cumberland Triumph was used the 

 color was very light and the berries exceedingly soft. Those fertil- 

 ized with the pollen of the James Vick were small but very firm 

 and remarkably perfect in outline. The cross with the Charles 

 Downing showed a marked resemblance in shape, color and con- 

 sistency to this well-known variety. It showed, also, the characteristic 

 gloss of this fruit. Where the Sharpless was used as the male 

 parent the berries were large and irregular. The fruit of this cross 

 was much more imperfect than that of any other. Thus far we 

 have only spoken of the effect produced by cross-fertilizing one 

 well-known pistillate variety of the strawberr3% the Crescent. A 

 further test was made in the same manner by pollenating a com- 



