IMPROVEMENT OF FRUIT BY CROSS-BREEDING. 



small pointed scissors, taking great care to leave the pilstil in the center of the flower un 

 injured; then, Avhen these flowers have expanded, perfect flowers of the variety intended 

 for the male parent, must be collected, and the pollen from them gently dusted on the 

 summit of the pistil. The best time to apply [with a small camel's-hair brush] the pol- 

 len, is in the middje of a dry sunny day, and for fear of failure it should be repeated three 

 or four days in succession. The petals of the flowers have been observed to foil soon after 

 the seeds were fertilised, and to retain their freshness for days longer, when this had not 

 taken place. 



Owing to the difference in the size of flowers, and the position of the stamens, the pear 

 will be found much easier for the learner to operate on, than the currant. 



There are one or two other points, which, if attended to, may contribute to the success 

 of the experimenter. Not only should much care be bestowed in selecting varieties to raise 

 seeds from, but they should be so managed as to ensure a healthy and vigorous growth, 

 and the finest fruit and most perfect seeds which the variety cultivated is capable of pro- 

 ducing. These objects may be attained by superior general culture, and by special expe- 

 dients. Perhaps I may best explain how, by stating the plan I intend to follow in en- 

 deavoring to improve our native Black Currant of this region, Hibes floridmn; it appears 

 to me a much finer species to begin with than the R. nigrum of Europe, the origin of the 

 garden varieties: it has a neat habit of growth, bears abundant crops of tolerably well 

 flavored fruit, and its blossoms are somewhat showy. My aim is to obtain a variety with 

 flowers approaching the color of those of the Missouri Currant, /?. aureum, and with fruit 

 equal or superior in size and quality to that of the Black Naples. In raising plants or 

 animals to be grown for profit, utility should never be sacrificed to mere show, but if we 

 can combine the beautiful with the useful, it is well. 



From several plants raised in the last year, I shall select three which have the cleanest 

 and strongest branches, and whose roots are well developed from the base of the cuttings. 

 This I have found a matter of some importance; why it is so, I shall endeavor to explain 

 in another letter on the Season for Transplanting. The next consideration is, where and 

 how the trees should be planted so that the organs of vegetation may perform their func- 

 tions in the most efficient manner. A soil moderately rich, and free from stagnant water, 

 should be selected, and a hole dug for each plant about six inches deep, and wide enough 

 to admit the roots being laid out their full length; the small lateral fibres, as well as the 

 main roots, should be spread, as the greater the space covered, the greater will be the 

 means of the plant for obtaining food from the soil. It may be well to cover the roots 

 slightly with earth, as contact with manure sometimes produces canker. The hole may 

 then be filled up with a compost formed of decayed turf, well rotted stable manure, and 

 charcoal, this being calculated to produce a steady and vigorous, but not over luxuriant 

 growth. Abundance of food will avail but little if the plant has not the means of digest- 

 ing it. By the action of light on leaves, the crude sap undergoes certain chemical changes 

 which fit it for the nourishment of new parts; the trees should not, therefore, be shaded 

 by others, but fully exposed to light. Circumstances which may tend to render the leaves 

 less efficient, should also be avoided or prevented — such as a situation exposed to boisterous 

 winds, and the attack of insects. If a favorable time should be chosen for transplanting, 

 the trees may attempt to bear fruit the first season; all the blossoms should, however, be 

 removed, so that the energies of the plant may be directed solely to the extension of its 

 feeding organs. The same sap, variously modified and combined, gives existence alike to 

 gans of vegetation and reproduction. By destroying the fruit of a young tree, a 



cater amount of sap is expended in the production of roots and branches; a greater 



