STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 263 



Now, here lies the mystery: Which variety does control or 

 influence the new growing seed? It will be observed that the 

 fine dust of the pollen had settled on the tips of the pistils or 

 stigma, which had a little shiny liquid on the tips, which, adhering 

 to the pollen, dried it up, and the seed now forming, of which each 

 has a stigma or open tube that reaches from the pistil to the form- 

 ing seed in the core, ripens and contains the mixture of both 

 varieties. If all the pistils are equally supplied with pollen, all 

 the trees raised from these seeds would bear fruit alike, but as that 

 is not often the case, each individual seed will have the predom- 

 inance of either parent in a greater or lesser degree accordingly as 

 they were fertilized. An apple blossom has generally five pistils. 

 Each of them has from two to five stigmas, according to the pro- 

 pensity or vigor of the tree. Each stigma is formed from an 

 embryo seed, and if fertilized will produce a live seed or germ. A 

 germ has in itself the power to expand and grow and reproduce 

 again. Each seed is an independent individual, and capable of 

 varying from ever}' other one. Therefore it is necessary to guard 

 against having the blossoms exposed when they are opening if you 

 want to improve the variety by this process. As to varieties to 

 work with, I should use the Duchess or other Russians, or any of our 

 Minnesota seedlings that are hardy for the seed raising, and use 

 Wallbridge, Utter, or any next hardy sort of good quality for the 

 sort to pollenize with; or if hybrids are wanted, take the hardiest 

 of the crabs for the female and any of the other named apples for 

 the male. In this way an abundance of home-grown apples can 

 be raised. All there is required is time and a careful hand to do 

 the fertilizing, 



QUALITY OF APPLES. 



If we inquire at any commission house in Chicago or Milwaukee 

 for the best table or dessert apple, they invariably will say we have 

 Spitzenberg or Baldwin, if they get their supply from New York 

 state. 



Now the Spitzenberg, it is true, has the highest flavor, and the 

 Baldwin a little of the same, but the flesh is hard and tough and 

 indigestible. It is a mistake to call them dessert apples, as they 

 are lacking in juiciness and dissolving properties. In my estima- 

 tion, Jonathan, Wealthy, Northern Spy and Fameuse, are nearly 

 or quite equal to the Spitzenberg in flavor, but how far superior 

 they are as dessert varieties any one familiar with them well 



