53G EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. [Vol.43 



Althoufrh certain hybrids liave been secured between cultivated blackberries 

 and dewberries tliroufrh the F- generation, further progress has been unsuccess- 

 ful either from complete or partial sterility or because the hybrids showed 

 confused characters and no promise of improvement for economic purposes. By 

 hybridizing seedlings of the liOuisiana dewberry {Ri(bns f-tihisctus) with the 

 Brilliant and I-oudon red raspberries as male parenrs, almost complete sterility 

 in Fi was ovei-come to some extent in F; by the occiu'rence anrong the raspberry 

 domiiiants of 5 plants setting perfect fruits and promising a good crop on each 

 plant. The Fi mother plants were not screened from foreign pollen, hence their 

 true origin is in doubt, but in general appearance the Fs descendants vary no 

 more from each other or from their Fa mother plants than the expected varia- 

 tion in the descendants of a true species. Four p'ants of Fs finally selected 

 as elites produced fruit from the middle of May to the middle of August. The 

 fruit differs from both the blackberry and the raspberry in the mode of dis- 

 jointing from the pedicel. Dis.iointing takes place at the base of the calyx, 

 which is attached to the fruit, there being no definite node. No positive varia- 

 tion in this character has given opportunity for selection. 



The most important fact developed by this work is that the fertility appear- 

 ing in these few raspberry dominant plants in F2 has become hereditary and 

 has made it possible to extend the hybridization work. Both the F2 and Fa 

 generations have been crossed with foreign pollen with excellent results. 



The author has grown F2 hybrids of Qncrcus lyrataXvirginiana (E. S. II., 40, 

 p. 47), has secured Fi seedlings of Q. McolorXvirginiana, and has thus far 

 succeeded in germinating acorns from post oak X live oak, and water oakX 

 live oak crosses. An important fact brought out in this work is that the various 

 individuals of a species vary widely in their affinity for foreign pollen. Indi- 

 viduals selected for desirable characters may prove steri'.e, whereas individuals 

 that would ordinarily be discarded may show good affinity for foreign pollen. 



Results of bud selection inA'estigations at the Missouri and Oregon Ex- 

 periment Stations, and their interpretation, V. R. Gardner (Proc. Amer. 

 Soc. Hort. ScL, 16 (1919), pp. 66-70). — Continuous bud selection of high and low [ 

 yielding strains of the Ben Davis apple and of strawberries at the Missouri 

 Experiment Station has confirmed previous results as to the failure to transnrit 

 high yield through bud selection (E^S. R., 33, p. 230). 



Most of the bud selection work with strawberries at the Oregon Experiment 

 Station has given similar results. In one case, however, light and heavy runner 

 productiveness was transmitted. In another case, although the offspring of 

 the high-yielding plant did not attain the high yield of the parent, they did 

 maintain a normal average yield for the variety, whereas the yield from the 

 offspring of the low-yielding parent averaged less than half of the normal yield 

 for the entire stock of plants of this variety. This indicates that bud selection 

 may prove of value in eliminating infertile or semibarren strains. 



Observations made on sonrre of the station seedlings indicate that certain 

 promising variations may run out or degenerate quickly through bud cr 

 runner pi-opagation, whereas other varieties under the same conditions show 

 no tendency to undergo such changes. 



Important lessons from [vegetable] experiments completed or in prog- 

 ress, M. G. Kains {Pennsylvania SI a. Rpt. 1916, p. 63). — Brief statements of 

 facts brought out in the vegetable studies at the station are presented. 



The variety tests of cabbage and vegrtables have shown that many so-called 

 varieties are synonymous, and are in many instances old varieties renamed. 

 A study of the root development of cabbage seedings has shown that a large 

 amount of sand is desirable in the seed bed, as it promotes the development 



