JVotcs and Gleanings, 165 



son, of Winsboro, S. C, a gentleman of high respectabihty and intclHgence, who 

 was famihar with the use of a microscope of high power, to examine for me 

 the various kinds of grape pollen. He writes thus : ' I have examined every 

 variety within my reach, — native, foreign, wild, tame, winter, summer, and all, 

 — and had come to the conclusion that grape pollen was grape pollen, and 

 nothing more, the world over, and that there was no difference whatever in the 

 size, shape, color, etc., of the pollen grains ; but when I came to the Scupper- 

 nong (the very one you seem most solicitous about), I did find a difference. In 

 this the pollen grains are smaller and more spherical than any of the others. 

 The rest (which all look alike) are more oblong, with a greater longitudinal diam- 

 eter than the Scuppernong. The transverse diameter, I think, is about the 

 same in all. If there is any difference, the Scuppernong is a shade less ; and 

 this may account for the result of your experiments ; that is, the ability to im- 

 pregnate other species with the pollen of the Scuppernong, and the inability to 

 do the reverse. 



" ' I believe the theory is, that the pollen grains must pass through the style 

 of the pistil, and come in contact with the ovule at its base, to effect its fecunda- 

 tion. Now, if the pollen grains are smaller in the Scuppernong, the inference is, 

 that the canal through which they have to pass is also smaller than that of the 

 other varieties ; and thus may be explained the result of your experiments. 

 The smaller grains may pass through the larger tubes ; but the larger grains 

 cannot pass through the smaller tubes.' 



" Some time after this I sent him some hybrid Scuppernong pollen to exam- 

 ine. He writes thus : ' Dear Sir, I have examined the pollen, and think I 

 could have diagnosed it as a hybrid or mixed specimen. The difference between 

 the Scuppernong and all other varieties that I have examined is very distinct, 

 and so much so that I believe I could detect a single grain of it in any speci- 

 men that might come in the field of view. 



" ' The specimen sent contains a very large proportion of grains resembling 

 the Scuppernong, and a much smaller proportion resembling those of all other 

 varieties that I have examined. I send you a rude sketch of the appearance, 

 in outline, of the various kinds ; that is, the Scuppernong, all other varieties, 

 and the hybrid Scuppernong. You will perceive that the Scuppernong grains 

 are more spherical, and less uniform in shape, than the others. The long diame- 

 ter is considerably less ; the short diameter about the same, or probably a shade 

 less. I have no micrometer, and therefore cannot give you the dimensions ; can 

 only judge from the eye. The pollen grains appear, in outline, to be oblong, 

 elliptical, or oval. If I were anything of a botanist I could probably write more 

 intelligibly upon this subject.' 



" Still, notwithstanding my failures and the revelations of the microscope, I 

 have broken the barrier which separates the Scuppernong from the other species 

 of grapes, and produced one prolific plant, with well-formed berries — fine, high 

 tntisk flavored fruit, and perfect seed ; the bunch containing from twenty to 

 twenty-five berries, and ripening in succession as the Scuppernong ; and who 

 can predict the fine varieties that may be acquired in future by producing hy- 

 brids of this species and planting their seed ? for I find that there is no end to 



