280 MANUAL OF AMERICAN GRAPE-GROWING 



the stigma of the flowers to be crossed. The simpest is to crush 

 the anthers, thus squeezing out the pollen, after which, with a 

 brush, scalpel or other instrument, it may be placed upon the 

 stigma. A brush is very wasteful of pollen and often becomes a 

 source of contamination to future crosses, so that the scalpel 

 is the better implement of the two. When pollen is plentiful, 

 as will usually be the case when a man is working with vines in 

 his own vineyard, by far the best method is to take the cluster 

 from the male vine and apply the pollen directly to the stigma 

 of the flower to be crossed, thereby making certain of fresh 

 pollen and an abundance of it. The stigma, if pollen suffice, 

 should be covered with pollen. 



Grape pollen does not keep well and an effort should be made 

 to have it as fresh as possible. The work of pollination is best 

 performed in bright, sunny weather when the pollen is very 

 dry. As may be seen from the foregoing statements, tools 

 and methods are of less importance than care in doing the work. 

 The only tool absolutely necessary is a pair of forceps, although 

 a hand-lens is often helpful. Bags for covering the flowers 

 should be just large enough and no larger. A bag to cover the 

 pollen-producing flower may well be an ordinary manilla bag 

 sufficiently large to amply cover the flower-cluster. It is 

 helpful, however, to have a light transparent oiled bag through 

 which one can see the condition of the anthers. It is desirable 

 that the bag for the female flower be permitted to remain until 

 the fruits ripen as a protection against birds and fungi. It 

 must, therefore, be of larger size. While the bags are still 

 flat, a hole is made near the opening through which a string is 

 passed which can be tied when the upper end of the bag is 

 squeezed about the cluster. 



Choosing the parents. 



Very much depends on the immediate parentage in hybrid- 

 izing grapes. Some varieties when crossed produce much 



