ON THE IMPROVEMENT OF SMALL FRUITS. 



355 



er in England. We have grown the Ce- 

 rise de Touri's one season, but cannot yet 

 speak of it with confidence. It is figured 

 in the " A?inales De More et de Pomo?ie,^^ 

 for February, 1844, and if correctly repre- 

 sented, is the largest Currant known. This 

 variety, with the Provence's, and the Large 

 French Whitej would make excellent breed- 

 ers ; and Currants as large as " small mar- 

 bles" may yet be produced. 



Now if amateurs, gardeners and nursery- 

 men, will but give the matter of the im- 

 provement of small fruits their earnest and 

 well directed attention, results of the most 

 gratifying character would soon be pro- 

 duced. " Many persons are deterred from 

 experiments of this kind, under the impres- 

 sion that it is a work of magnitude. This 

 is, to a great extent, erroneous. The idea 

 has indeed gone forth, and seems to be 

 widely dispersed, that the per-centage of 

 improvement among seedling plants is in- 

 finitessimally small, and that a very large 

 number must be grown to ofTer even a re- 

 mote chance of success ; but this idea, doubt- 

 less, oioes its origin to the too comraon prac- 

 tice of saving seeds promiscuously, without 

 regard to impregnation. From such a pro- 

 geny, little indeed viay he expected : it is a 

 waste of time and labor to act thus, with the 

 view of originating improved varieties of any 

 kind of fruit ; and one carefully fertilized 

 seed is worth a hundred so obtained. If, 

 however, the thing be attempted on princi- 

 ple, it becomes an easy task ; and not only 

 is the labor lightened, but the chances of a 

 satisfactory result are at the same time 

 greatly increased. Suppose one hundred 

 gardeners were each to fertilize one Straw- 

 berry blossom, according to their own ideas 

 of what blending of varieties would consti- 

 tute an improvement ; the trouble of doing 

 so would be so trifling as not to be worthy 

 of mention, while it is probable that even 



the first results would be important. But 

 in these matters we must not be satisfied 

 with first results ; a second or third cross of 

 the hybrid with the male parent, (if the lat- 

 ter be well chosen,) would most likely re- 

 sult in considerable further improvement." 

 " The practice under consideration may, 

 however, be perverted. The perversion we 

 refer to, is that of naming and distributing 

 seedling fruits that really do not possess any 

 property superior to those of older and well 

 known kinds. This must always be de- 

 precated. If those who raise seedlmg fruits 

 do not know their true worth, they should 

 submit them to competent judges. The 

 probability of varieties, perhaps good in 

 themselves, but not better than the older 

 sorts, being passed off as possessing superior 

 properties, is so great, that every raiser of 

 seedling fruits should set his face against 

 the practice. Our fruit lists are already 

 encumbered with too many such — all not a 

 jot better, and many actually worse, than 

 those whose place they would occup}-. In 

 cases where varieties are obtained that re- 

 ally do possess superior, though slightly im- 

 proved properties, it would be better to re- 

 tain such as breeders, than to propagate and 

 sell them for general cultivation. The hor- 

 ticultural world need not be troubled with 

 results iintil something decidedly good and 

 distinct has beenobtai7ied.'^ We go further, 

 and say — that these novelties should never 

 be sold, or in anyway disseminated, unless 

 proved to be better than the best varieties 

 now cultivated. A nurseryman has justly 

 remarked, in his Catalogue for 1847, that 

 " nothing can he more silly than for each one 

 who raises a seedling Strawberry, to forth- 

 with annmcnce it as ' superior to all others, 

 Sfc.'' when they have seen but few of the best 

 varieties.'''' We fear, however, that silly 

 though it be, some nurserj-men have done 

 the very thing so judiciously condemned. 



