174 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



know. We put it to the test. We propagate it. If it holds 

 true under sexual propagation then we call it a mutation, that is 

 the scientific word for a permanent sport. Whether what you 

 have is an ordinary sport affecting the body of the plant only or 

 whether it is a more deep-seated change which will affect the 

 sexual reproduction and can be reproduced from seed, in other 

 words, whether it is a mutation or not, can be told only from the 

 subsequent history of its pure bred seedlings. What it is that 

 causes that mutation we do not know. For instance: there has 

 been some scientific work done along that line by Dr. MacDougall 

 of the Carnegie Desert Laboratory, Tucson, Arizona. Dr. Mac- 

 Dougall injected some weak solutions of certain chemicals into 

 the seed cavities of certain plants, at the time when the ovules 

 were being fertilized from the pollen tubes. The result was 

 that he got some mutations. He got certain changes, and those 

 changes perpetuated themselves by seed. However, he couldn't 

 tell beforehand what changes he was going to get. All he knows 

 is that he did, by putting in certain disturbing factors, cause 

 changes to occur in the seed and in the plants grown from such 

 seed. Just what it is that has acted as a disturbing factor in 

 changing the colors of these flowers you mention we don't know. 



Mr. Arrowood: We had a hollyhock that grew up so high 

 (indicating) and the center was of a light yellow. All the 

 sprouts around it from the ground up bore black flowers. There 

 were ten of them, and every one had black flowers and the center 

 was yellow. If you can explain that I would like you to. 



Mr. S. A. Beach : That is of the same nature as where you 

 find a certain branch coming out from a peach tree, growing out 

 of a bud, of course, in which a change has taken place in the bud. 

 As that branch comes out and bears fruit you may find that it 

 bears nectarines, and the other branches bear the ordinary 

 peaches. In other words, what you have there is a bud sport. 

 We can't tell what caused it. 



Mr. Arrowood : If we save seed from this plant next year, 

 will it produce the same thing or will they be different? 



Mr. S. A. Beach : That can be determined by testing. Care 

 must be taken to make the test sure. You must be sure that the 

 flower is protected from any outside pollen. In other words, it 

 must be self -fertilized. Then plant the seed, and it may repro- 

 duce this new type. If it does, you have what we call a muta- 

 tion. The only way I know of to determine that is by actual 

 trial. 



Mr. Kellogg: I wish to object to the Wolf River being 

 called a Russian. There may be a little Alexander blood in it, 

 but it has more of the Wisconsin blood in it than Russian. 

 (Applause) . 



Mr. S. A. Beach: I stand corrected, but it establishes a 

 point I wish to make, that the variety was developed in this 

 region. 



Professor N. E. Hansen : It is a seedling of the Alexander, 

 which was named after Emperor Alexander of Russia. 



