404 REPORT OF THE CONFERENCE ON GENETICS. 
of seedlings of this parentage so far produced, by design or as chance 
seedlings, in the United States, we have not secured the winter-keeping 
capacity which is so greatly desired. To illustrate this need, I may add 
that the Minnesota State Horticultural Society has offered one thousand 
dollars reward to anyone who will originate an apple equal in hardiness 
to the ‘ Duchess of Oldenburg,’ in size and quality to ‘ Wealthy,’ and in 
winter-keeping capacity to ‘Malinda.’ So far the prize has not been 
awarded. 
One of my favourite plants is the Western sand cherry (Prunus 
Besseyi); this bush form of the cherry is a native of the dry plains of 
the North-West, and is a favourite fruit of the Sioux Indians. In going 
over a patch of 25,000 plants of the third generation under cultivation 
last summer, some plants were found bearing fruit fully one inch in 
diameter, and of good quality ; this shows the cumulative effect of selection. 
Apart from its being a promising species from the fruit standpoint, it 
is of interest as a possible dwarf stock for peaches. I find that peaches 
upon this stock bear as potted trees when less than three feet in height. 
The converse of the law also appears true, that the southern limits of 
a species may be extended by crossing with a heat-resistant species. The 
best example I know is the Kieffer pear. This pear originated as a 
chance seedling near Philadelphia, and is a hybrid of the Chinese sand 
pear with the Bartlett or some other choice representative of the West 
European type. This variety has made possible the extension of the 
commercial pear belt several hundred miles southward in the United 
States. We hope now to obtain better quality by infusing a larger 
percentage of the European species in the Kieffer and its seedlings. 
In illustrating the work of plant-breeders in general, I have sometimes 
said that we are looking for the Shakespeare of the species, and that no 
minor authors will suffice. The light thrown upon plant heredity by 
Mendel and De Vries gives us great hope for the future. The De Vries 
mutation theory itself has been aptly termed a mutation of Darwinism. 
The modern plant-breeder rides an automobile upon the highway of 
evolution, and the theories of De Vries and of Mendel may be two of the 
wheels. It is a great and inspiriting thought that evolution is, so to 
speak, a kangaroo and not a snail, and that a new and valuable plant 
may appear suddenly, as Minerva sprang full-fledged from the head of 
Jupiter. 
We are thankful for all this new and recent light upon heredity, and 
are endeavouring to apply the principle in as many ways as possible. 
3ut we must deal in large numbers. From the ashes of millions of 
seedlings must arise, phcenix-like, the new creations which will dominate 
our prairie pomology. 
