Breeding Grapes. 131 



I believe the place to do this work in breeding is at the experiment 

 stations. Work of this kind has been carried on at the Geneva, New 

 York station, since 1S92. About 225 grape seedlings at this station, 

 represented many thousands of vines. Still some things of value have 

 been produced. The main question in breeding grapes has not been 

 "how to breed good grapes," but it has been "how to breed grapes."' 

 If some one produces a good grape, maybe a still better one will ba 

 produced in ten years, but we want to know the principles of these 

 things. That is the work the experiment stations should take up. If 

 this work were taken up by the experiment stations throughout the 

 country, they would receive help from many sources. Let them work 

 for the common welfare of the country. (Applause). 



DISCUSSION. 



C. S. HARRISON: I stood by the old original Concord grape 

 down there in that New England town, and I said: You grand old 

 mother,, you don't know what you have been doing; you cannot know 

 the value that has gone forth from you. I was certainly inspired as T 

 stood there and thought of what that one grand old vine meant to the 

 world. 



MR. VAN HOUTEN: Everyone who has attempted to bree-i 

 plants, at least in years past, feels that he has wasted a large share of 

 effort simply because he did not know how. I am very glad that 

 Professor Beach, Mr. Patten and others have been investigating the 

 principles of plant breeding. I believe they have started on the right 

 track. Mr. Patten has been able to find out the principles, the "know- 

 how" and to discover the law^s of nature whereby things are brought 

 about. We are now marching along the lines wiiich the successful 

 stock breeders have in the years just passed. With Mr. Patten, Pro- 

 fessor Beach and other investigators following this work up, we have 

 now come to a time when we can announce successful methods and 

 principles. 



MR. KEYSER: I would like to ask Professor Beach if his experi- 

 ence has been the same as Mr. Camp's, — that is, in regard to pollen. 



PROF. BEACH: It is very easy to cross pistillate varieties, be- 

 cause you take one like tne Herbert and then the Concord and you wu'l 

 be sure to get a cross between the Herbert and Concord. It is quite 

 easy to cross grapes where you have the pistillate flower. You look 

 over the commercial vineyards of the country and you will find \evy 

 few of them that have grapes with European blood in them. In breed- 

 ing hardy grapes for the middle west I would be very careful about 

 using grapes which have European blood in them. In breeding grapps 

 for table use, however, go in for quality. 



