NOTES ON FRUIT BREEDING FOR THE NORTHWEST. 345 



Mr. Ferris (Iowa) : I have a Grimes Golden top-grafted in a 

 Hibernal orchard. Would you discourage the growing of seeds 

 from these Grimes Golden? 



Prof. Hansen: No, I would not. I am just getting to the 

 question as to how to get hardiness bred into plants. The only 

 way is to breed from plants that are really hardy in the first place. 

 Desirable qualities as to size and quality of fruit must be secured 

 by crossing these with tame varieties. But there is one danger in 

 obtaining crosses with tender species, and that is the lessened de- 

 gree of hardiness. In that case it may be necessary to cross again 

 with the wild, thus getting a three-quarter wild and a one-quartel 

 tame plant. I have some plants of peculiar appearance coming on 

 in my "incubator." A man who hybridizes widely different plants 

 must be prepared for some queer results. It is like hatching duck 

 eggs under a hen ; some unexpected developments appear. My 

 hybrid of the sand cherry with Prunus Simoni, an apricot plum 

 from China, is now in its second season along with some hybrids 

 of the sand cherry with the peach. What these and a number of 

 other queer combinations will bear as to fruit I do not know. 



Mr. Elliot : Is there any difference as to selecting the male or 

 female for hardiness in producing hybrids, as they do with tender 

 species? 



Prof. Hansen : I think it would be unsafe with the present 

 knowledge to insist on either male or female parent giving hardi- 

 ness. I try to make the cross both ways so as to be surer of obtain- 

 ing what is wanted. In a general way I prefer to use the wild 

 plant as the female parent, as we know then there is a true hybrid if 

 there is any change in foliage and the plants prove hardy. 



Mr. Elliot : Would you select the wild variety as the female 

 in all cases? 



Prof. Hansen : The safer way is to make the cross both ways 

 whenever possible. This is called reciprocal crossing. My en- 

 deavor is to produce choice fruits and flowers that will be hardy 

 without winter protection in the prairie Northwest, especially Da- 

 kota. By securing native stock from both Dakotas, Assiniboia, 

 Manitoba and Minnesota I hope to breed a generalized type that 

 will be successful over a wide area. There are many interesting 

 side lines of investigation that present themselves in the course of 

 the work, but with the present working facilities — since I am work- 

 ing for practical results with the least possible waste of time — I 

 am forced to forego some of these purely scientific questions and 

 to raise a few thousand more seedlings instead. At all times, how- 

 ever, I endeavor to keep close to definite aims, and when once a 

 line is laid out that will take twenty-five years to complete never 

 to relinquish the effort even though the prospect for a successful 

 issue appears remote. Experiments undertaken fifteen years ago 

 are just now beginning to bear good results, and every spring I 

 start experiments that will take an equal length of time for suc- 

 cessful fruition, but such considerations as to the necessary time 

 required never keep me from my fixed purpose to get the work 

 done. If the experiment stations were not courageous enough to 



