ThK Joi'RXAL OF HeRKDITV 



FRlHIiN(; BKANCII OF SIANG. 



This variety (S. P. I. No. 21910) produces flowers of both sexes, and the persimmons here 

 shown are from pistillate flowers pollinated from staminate blossoms on the same tree. 

 So heavily fruited was the whole tree, that the fruit would have been much improved by 

 thinning. (Figure 16.) 



were i^rcsent in goodly numbers each 

 season can now be explained by the 

 fact that there are certain horticultural 

 varieties of D. Kaki which produce 

 staminate flowers at irregular intervals. 

 They may be found on certain trees one 

 season and not the next. Many seasons 

 may elapse before they appear again. 

 It may even haj^pen that never again 

 are they i:)roduced, or they may be \)vo- 

 duced every other season. Many com- 

 binations of intervals or skips in the 

 ]jroduction of staminate flowers are 

 jjossible and probable. A number of 

 them have been observed and noted 

 with reference to ])articular trees. The 

 staminate flowers, when they occur on 

 these trees, are abundantly supi)lied 

 with pollen and fertilize not only the 

 ])istillate flowers on the same trees, but 

 through the agency of insects the 

 flowers of many trees surrounding them. 

 Careful examination of manv hun- 



dreds of blossoms of the i)istillate type 

 showed that the stamens of these 

 flowers arc always abortive, and no 

 pollen is produced in them. It was also 

 learned that the flowers which contain 

 ]:)ollen-bearing stamens are always dif- 

 ferent in structure from these pistillate 

 flowers, so different indeed as to hQ 

 readily distinguished from them. 



THE SE.\RCH FOR I'OLLIXIZERS. 



Having then arrived at the large 

 general cause of the unfruitfulness of 

 D. Kaki and having determined that 

 ]K)llination would cause the trees to 

 hold their fruit, our diniculty was to 

 find dependable staminate flowering 

 sorts. So far as any one in America 

 knew, these did not exist, but it was 

 believed that there were such trees. By 

 accident one tree of unknown name and 

 origin was found near Eagle Lake, 

 I'lorida. It is dependable. One other 



