Improving Plants by Selection or Breeding. 555 



tions are simply selected bud variations from the Mrs. Thomas W.Lawson 

 carnation, which is a Cerise Pink. It will thus be seen that in plants 

 which are propagated by cuttings, suckers, etc., such as carnations, 

 strawberries and roses, it is important to carefully observe the difference 

 between plants grown from cuttings of the same individual. 



While this type of bud variation and this method of producing new 

 varieties by selecting bud sports is familiar to gardeners and horticul- 

 turists, it may not be so well recognized that there are smaller bud vari- 

 ations in practically all of our standard varieticfi of apples, peaches, etc., 

 with particular reference to productiveness and qualitj^ and that it is 

 probably here that is presented the most practical opportunity for 

 gardeners and horticulturists to utilize methods of bud selection. It is 

 a common observation, for instance, that in an orchard of Baldwin 

 apples, all of which are propagated, by grafting from one original tree, 

 that there are nevertheless individual differences between the trees. 

 Growers frequently observe that certain trees in the orchard of the 

 same variety, produce more highly colored fruit, or fruit of possibly 

 slightly better quality, or that certain trees are more highly productive 

 than others. These differences are general and are commonly observed, 

 yet they are rarely or never utilized in propagating an orchard. Almost 

 every horticulturist recognizes that it is important that buds or scions 

 used for propagation, should be taken from such good productive trees 

 which give fruits of superior quality. Buds taken from such trees are 

 likely to reproduce these good qualities; while if buds are taken from 

 trees of the same variety which are rather unproductive, or of poor 

 quality, these detrimental qualities are likely to be reproduced. Yet, 

 with this fact recognized generally, there is scarcely an orchard in the 

 state in which trees have been grown from such selected buds, and 

 nurserymen at the present time do not pretend to furnish trees grown 

 from buds taken from good selected trees. Selection of buds for propaga- 

 tion, from good plants is clearly important in 'the apple, peach, pear, 

 grape, and practically all of the fruits we commonly grow. It would 

 seem that farmers who contemplate increasing their acreage of orchard 

 could easily order unbudded nursery trees, which could be planted in 

 the orchard, and then grafted, or budded with scions taken from selected 

 trees of the varieties desired. By such methods the trees could be 

 secured at more reasonable rates, and the grafting would cost but little 

 if done by the farmer himself, the process being very simple. 



Messrs. Galloway and Dorsett, of the United States Department 

 of Agriculture carried on selections with violets for a number of years, 

 taking cuttings for propagation from plants of known flower produc 



