852 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



obtained having the habit of growth of the wild sort but with fruit 

 improved in size and quality. 



Hybrids between the white currant (B„ rubrum) and the black currant 

 (B. nigrum), and between the latter and the cultivated gooseberry (B. 

 grossularia), were obtained. Of the latter, 28 are still under trial. In 

 all these hybrids the black currant was used as the pistillate parent. 

 The hybrids have the thornless branches of the black currant, but as 

 regards the leaves, flower clusters, and pistils are intermediate between 

 the 2 parent forms. Hybrids of the cultivated black currant and the 

 western wild black currant (R. florid um) have characters more or less 

 intermediate between the 2 parents, and some of them appear worthy 

 of cultivation for their fruit. 



About 400 hybrids of native and improved American grapes from 

 pollen of European grapes were secured. Many of them were not 

 hardy; some lacked in vigor, some in quality of fruit, and many others 

 bore only staminate flowers. Only a few of these are worthy of culti- 

 vation. One of them, the Kensington, is especially productive, has 

 the vigor of growth, character of foliage, and hardiness of the American 

 grape Clinton, and its fruit is intermediate between the Clinton and the 

 European Bucklaud Sweetwater. Hybrids of the American grape 

 Concord from pollen of European sorts have the long, leathery, downy 

 leaves of the former, with fruit very variable in appearance and quality. 



Crosses of red raspberries were all tender and unhealthy. Twenty- 

 four hybrids of the black raspberries (Bubus occ Idenialis) with pollen 

 of the red raspberry (B. strigostis) were obtained. All the seedlings 

 rooted from the tips, though less freely than the black raspberries, and 

 a few produced an occasional sucker similar to the red raspberry. The 

 fruit was larger than either parent, of a dark purple color, and com- 

 bined the flavor of the 2 parents. Most of the efforts to cross the red 

 raspberry with the blackberry (B. villosus) were unsuccessful. In sev- 

 eral cases seeds were produced, but only part of them germinated and 

 the seedlings were very weak. 



Attempts to hybridize apples and pears were unsuccessful. The 

 same was true of attempts to cross the plum with the peach and the 

 plum with the cherry. Crosses of differeut classes of cherries were 

 only partially successful. Attempts to cross the sand cherry (Prunus 

 pumita) with various varieties of the cultivated cherries failed, but a 

 single cross of the sand cherry and the wild plum (Prunus americana) 

 was successful. In foliage the hybrid is intermediate, resembling most 

 the plum. A number of crosses have been secured between the more 

 hardy cultivated apples and crab apples and the small Siberian crabs 

 (Pyrns baccata and P. baccata prunifolia). The hybrids vary consider- 

 ably, some resembling one parent and some another. None have yet 

 fruited. 



Hybrids of the Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii) and the 

 purple barberry (B. vulgaris purpurea) were intermediate between the 

 parents in character of thorns, leaves, flowers, and time of blossoming. 



