seedlikct apples. 335 



mals or those plants generally produced by us. In breeding peren- 

 nials the first deviations from the original form are often of an al- 

 most unappreciable degree. By careful and intelligent breeding any 

 peculiarity may be made permanent, and there appears to be no 

 limit to the improvement of plants. Cultivation and care may help 

 plants temporarily, but by breeding plants may be produced which 

 will do better work in all places and for all places and for all times." 



Prof. Hays says : '"In any hybridization work a good foundation 

 stock must first be produced upon which to base the new varieties. 

 The importance of working with large numbers of individuals and 

 the value of correlated quaHties is recommended. As a rule crosses 

 should be made between individuals which closely approximate the 

 ideal and not between those which are dissimilar." 



The great distinguishing marks of excellence in the breeding of 

 apples should be firsf. hardiness ; second, productiveness : third, 

 size and color ; fourth, quality, if possible, but the other three dis- 

 tinguishing features should by all means be in the order above 

 named. 



In the papers read before the International Conference on Plant 

 Breeding and Hybridization, held in Xew York City last September, 

 there were some ven.^ interesting advanced ideas presented which are 

 very instructive and of great interest to every one who is at all in- 

 trested in the improvement of fruits, grains, vegetables or flowers. 

 A few extracts are here presented from specialists in plant breeding 

 and their ideas concerning ^Mendel's laws of heredit}'. 



Prof. \\'. Bateson. of Cambridge University. England, pointed 

 out some of the great advances which have been made since the 

 enunciation of that law. In general it is stated that while great dif- 

 ferences may exist in plants and animals, hybrids in their first gen- 

 eration represent the character of one parent and not of both^ The 

 author believed that the time would soon come when the fundamental 

 principles of plant and animal breeding would be known, so that 

 the breeder w-ould be able to control his work, instead of depending 

 upon chance results. For the practical man it is impossible always 

 to determine the characters which exist in the parent plants. For 

 instance, in the Perkins' seedling apples : The Malinda blossom was 

 fertilized by pollen from several varieties. Duchess. Wealthy, Perr\' 

 Russett. etc., some of which were more prepotent or, according to 

 the new Mandelian law. more prominent, than others, as shown in 

 the fruit of those trees that have already come into bearing. There 

 are several of the seedlings the fruit of which in form, color, quality 

 and general appearance are like Wealthy, while others show some 

 marked resemblance to the mother side, and others like Perr\- Rus- 

 sett. Duchess, etc., in color, markings and exterior form of fruit 

 are more like the father's side. All of which tends to complicate the 



