278 



PLANT BREEDING. 



speak, at the production of hybrids, the curious and experimenting 

 gardener has cahnly plodded on, mixing one species with another, 

 oftentimes hap-hazard, and quite regardless of the confusion he 

 was creating. One after another long cherished ideas of the 

 botanist were shattered by the results of "crossing," and now a 

 stage has been reached when it is impossible for anyone to say 

 what may not happen. The partitions between what are termed 

 varieties, species, and genera have all been broken down by the 

 hybridist, and although the botanical world may have been thrown 

 into confusion thereby, gardeners feel rather proud of their achieve- 

 ments — at the way in which they have as it were marked out 

 certain courses for nature to follow blindly. 



Of course, as Prof. Bailey points out, the hybridist must have 

 some knowledge of the affinities of plants before he can hope to 

 produce any results by transferring the pollen from one flower to 

 the stigma of another. It would never do, for instance, for him to 

 attempt to produce a hybrid between a grass and rose. "The 

 notion," says Prof. Bailey, " is somehow firmly rooted in the 

 popular mind that new varieties can be produced with the greatest 

 ease by crossing parents of given attributes. There is something 

 captivating about the notion. It smacks of a somewhat magic 

 power which man evokes as he passes his wand over the untamed 

 forces of nature. . . . Man must not only practice a judicious 

 selection of parents, but he must constantly select the best from 

 among the crosses in order to maintain a high degree of usefulness 

 and to make any advancement." There is the art of raising new 

 plants in a nutshell, but it comprises a great deal more knowledge 

 on the part of the gardener than appears on the face of it. 



The various circumstances which tend to the production of 

 good hybrids are fully and lucidly discussed by Prof. Bailey, and 

 his advice as to what to aim at and what to avoid is good, in- 

 asmuch as it will save the gardener who reads his book a great 

 deal of time and disappointment. It would, for instance, be sheer 

 waste of time and energy for one to attempt to raise hybrids from 

 parents which have been crossed over and over again by other 

 operators without result, in the vain hope that somethinij would be 

 produced. In the case of Solanums, Prof. Bailey points out that 

 some naturally produce tubers, and others are more adapted for 

 fruit. It would be unwise to breed between tuber and fruit-bearing 

 varieties. "Those ambitious persons who are always looking for 

 a tuber-bearing tomato, therefore, might better concentrate their 

 energies on the potato, for the tomato is not developing in that 

 direction ; and even if the tomato could be made to produce tubers, 

 it would thereby lessen its fruit production, for plants cannot 

 maintain two diverse and profitable crops at the same time." 



These few extracts will give a faint outline of the information 

 contained in Prof. Bailey's book, which is essentially one for the 

 gardener. The copious index shows what a large number of plants 

 have been brought under the control of the hybridist, and will 

 serve as a valuable guide to would-be operators in this interesting 

 department of plant development. 



J. Weathers. 



