Desirability of Hermaphrodite Vines 



As has been stated, the vineyardist not understanding pollination prefers varieties with 

 hermaphrodite flowers, so that they will bear in solid vineyard of one kind. To produce such, 

 and yet maintain as much vigor as possible, the parentage mentioned under Laws 2 and 3 is 

 preferable, if possible to get varieties with erect stamens thereby. 



But under method 4, there is more certainty of getting perfect flower kinds, and if that is 

 used then the parents had better be of distinct species, or, if of same species, then entirely 

 distinct varieties in origin. 



With these hints the ingenious originator will find it easy to select parents to good advantage, 

 remembering that vigor, hardiness, healthiness and productiveness are always essentials every 

 variety must possess to retain position with practical vineyardists. 



Having now prepared the way we can venture into the details of 



Crossing and Hybridizing 



As the operation is the same in each after we have selected our parents, we can include 

 both under one description of method. Crossing is uniting varieties of the same species; 

 hybridizing is uniting varieties of different species. 



The common, old method has so often been given, of lifting the flower caps, removing the 

 anthers from the mother flowers, applying the pollen with a moist camel's hair pencil, enclosing 

 the cluster in gauze or tissue paper sack, etc., that more than the mere mention of it would be out 

 of place at this late date. 



Speedy Method 



As few hybrids, as well as simple seedlings, prove to be truly valuable, the hybridizer, to 

 make speedy progress, must have some way of more rapidly doing the work than by the common 

 method. 



It has been shown that the best mother, other things being the same, is a vine having short, 

 recurved stamens, incapable of self-impregnation, hence, in the operation of pollenizing, the 

 anthers need not be removed, and this permits a very speedy method. 



The writer has, by much practice, found the following to be very speedy and certain, when 

 the mother vine has reflexed stamens. (See Variety Tables, giving character of flowers and date 

 of flowering, at end of Chapter III.) Nearly all wild bearing vines have such flowers, and 

 that largely accounts for such endless variation among wild grapes. 



The selected mother vine should be in the best condition, and as soon as the flower-clusters 

 appear, the small and illy-shaped ones should be clipped off and the others noticed daily until 

 they begin to flower. Then clip off every flower that has opened. 



Enclose each cluster in a tissue paper sack so insects cannot enter. The next day, if warm, 

 still and sunny, visit the vine, and if found blooming within the sacks, collect a few clusters of 

 the variety or varieties to be used as male parents, seeing that many flowers on such clusters are 

 freshly opening. Remove the paper sacks, one at a time, from the clusters of the mother vine, 

 and brush each over gently with one of the pollenizing clusters. This will knock off all the caps, 

 exposing the stigmas and spilling pollen profusely in the air all through and about the cluster 

 and each exposed stigma will be almost certain to receive pollen from the cluster used as pollen- 

 izer. Then, if the clusters used for pollenizing are numerous enough, put one in each sack, above 

 and resting on the cluster being impregnated, enclosing both together until the next day, when, 

 with fresh clusters from the same pollenizing vines, the operation is repeated, the old pollen cluster 

 thrown out and a new one put in each day for three to five days in succession. After each opera- 

 tion other flowers on the enclosed clusters will open and the process of pollenization continues after 

 the operator has gone. The sacks are allowed to remain on several days longer, until all flowers 



1 OO 



xoo 



