CONDITIONS OF PLANT LIFE 



Indian corn. We know, of course, that 

 all wind-fertilized plants are very prolific 

 in pollen, and that this condition is 

 necessitated by the great waste involved 

 in the process of wind-fertilization. But 

 it has recently been shown to be pro- 

 bable that in the case of corn grown 

 as we grow it, with plants in regular 

 order in large masses, the amount of 

 pollen produced is at least twice as 

 much as is necessary for full fertiliza- 

 tion. Now, the production of pollen 

 is an exceedingly e.xhaustive process, 

 and it would seem reasonable to sup- 

 pose that the crop of grain might be 

 increased if this waste of plant resource 

 could be stopped. This has actually 

 been shown to be true in some cases 

 at least. In a series of experiments 

 carried on at Cornell University dur- 

 ing the past four years, the tassels or 

 staminate flower clusters were removed 

 from every alternate row at the earliest 

 stage possible, with the remarkable 

 result that there was an increase in the 

 total crop on an average of the four 

 years of over twenty per cent. The 

 increased yield of the whole crop was 

 entirely due to the increase on the 

 detasselled rows, and this is readily 

 explained by the fact that the plants 

 here being relieved from pollen pro- 

 ducing, all their energy was applied 

 in the direction of seed-development. 



Darwin discovered long ago that 

 atrophy of seeds was frequently accom- 

 panied by a gain in size and quality 

 of fruit. It is now an object of am- 

 bition among scientific fruit-growers 

 to obtain by selection and cultivation 

 varieties with small seeds or none. 

 Recent triumphs in this direction are 

 the California Navel Seedless orange, 

 and the Lincoln Coreless pear. Great 

 efforts are being made to reduce the 

 size of the seeds in raspberries. In 

 tomatoes the pulpy placent;\; and out- 



side walls have been developed and 

 the seeding quality discouraged until 

 now two varieties have been produced, 

 the Ponderosa and the Crimson Cush- 

 ion, in which the quantity of seed is 

 said to be less than one-third of that 

 produced by the varieties in cultivation 

 but a few years ago. We have long 

 had in the market the seedless fruits 

 of the Grecian grape currant and the 

 Sultana raisin, and we know that as 

 the result of being continually repro. 

 duced from cuttings alone the banana 

 has lost the power of producing seeds. 

 But our chief hope of improvement 

 in this as in other directions is from 

 natural variations shown either in seed- 

 lings or branches. Florists are always 

 on the lookout for " sport " branches 

 on their old standard sorts of roses 

 for instance, and as a result we find 

 distinct varieties being introduced 

 nearly every year. Our young botan- 

 ists ought to be instructed in such a 

 way on these points that they could 

 be on the lookout for useful variations 

 and know them when they see them. 

 Much good would result in the future 

 if all young people could be so edu 

 cated, and much good has been missed 

 in the past because we and our fathers 

 were not so educated. As a simple 

 instance I may refer to the story of a 

 neighbor of mine who says that when 

 he was a boy, forty years ago, there 

 grew on his father's farm a seedling 

 apple of good quality that was almost 

 coreless Like the great majority of 

 people he did not know the value of 

 such a variation, but if he had that tree 

 now it might be worth a good sum to 

 him. 



By continuous selection of favorable 

 variations, by propagation from these, 

 followed again and again and again by 

 selection and propagation under favor- 

 able conditions of cultuie, mankind has 



