Mar. II, 1918 



Sterility in the Strawberry 



621 



of our cultivated varieties. It will be seen that there is a very direct 

 relationship between flower position and number of flower parts. In 

 these same varieties the relationship between calyx-lobe number and 

 size of berries was studied. The results are shown in Table I. These 

 results indicate that there is a high correlation between flower-part number 

 and fruit size, and as a definite relationship has been pointed out between 

 flower position and flower-part number, it follows that the larger fruits 

 will be developed on the early blooming primary flowers and that, as the 

 season progresses, there will be a decrease in fruit size due to their being 

 borne on later-blooming flowers of a higher order. 



Table I. — Relation of fruit size to calyx-lobe number in strawberries 



Even a casual observation of normal large and small berries of any 

 variety will indicate that there must be a relationship between berry size 

 and carpel number. Table II shows the direct relationship which exists 

 between fruit position, size of fruit and achene or carpel number in all of 

 the fruits produced on the inflorescences studied. The fact that there is 

 such a definite relationship between size of berry and flower position 

 should be constantly kept in mind in the selection of breeding stock. 

 This is apparently the point that Mr. Hubach, a southern strawberry 

 breeder, has in mind in selecting for stalks which bear only one fruit 

 per inflorescence {see Darrow, 9). 



Table II. — Relationship between fruit position, number of achenes, and size of fruit 



in the strawberry 



