18 HYBRIDISING AND FERTILISING THE VINE. 



Fig. 7 a represents a longitudinal section of the flower of the 

 Grape Vine, showing the pistil and stamens as they are situate just 

 previous to its expansion or opening. It will be observed that the 

 whole is at this time shut in by a sort of sheath or " cap," as it is 

 called, formed by the united petals, which are here of a greenish 

 colour. Fig. 7b represents the flower a stage further advanced, that 

 is to say, where it shows the first signs of opening. When seen in 

 this condition in bright sunshine, it is only a question of an hour or 

 two for it to fully expand, for the "cap" to be thrown off, and for 

 it to appear as in fig. 7c, so rapidly do the changes take place. 



The act of fertilisation is effected at this period. The various 

 segments of the sheath or " cap " roll up one after the other, until at 

 last it rests on the point of the stamens and pistil. By a sudden jerk 

 it is then thrown off, the stamens suddenly relieved from the pressure 

 of the cap fly apart and at the same time the pollen is projected on 

 to the pistil, and fertilisation is effected. 



To cross-fertilise one variety with another, it is necessary to take 

 measures in advance of the natural development, so that self-fertilisa- 

 tion may not be effected. To accomplish this, select, some days 

 previously to the opening of the first flowers, the bunch which is to 

 be operated on as the female or seed-bearing parent ; cut away all the 

 flowers, with the exception of ten or a dozen, and have these enclosed 

 in a thin muslin bag, which must be sufficiently close in texture to 

 keep out all insects bearing foreign pollen. It is necessary to watch and 

 examine these flowers minutely until they appear as in fig. 75 ; then, 

 being provided with a pair of finely-pointed scissors or pincers, pull off 

 the cap by force, and immediately cut away the stamens, as shown in 

 fig. Id. This is rather a delicate operation, and requires the greatest 

 care and patience to execute without injury to the pistil or ovary, all 

 the parts being so small, and frequently awkwardly situated. 



As soon as the stamens are all cut off from those flowers which 

 may be fit, the pollen of the sort selected for the male parent 

 may be applied. This is best applied to the stigma surmounting 

 the ovary of the prepared flower by means of a small camel-hair 

 pencil. After the application, enclose the fertilised cluster in the 

 muslin bag again, and the operation is complete. The same process 

 will, however, have to be gone through daily, or twice a day, as the 

 flowers may become fit, until they have all been manipulated. If a 

 single flower be allowed to expand naturally it may ruin the whole 

 experiment. 



The choice or selection of stocks, or parents from which to raise 

 seedlings, must be mainly determined by fancy. A tolerably safe 

 rule to abide by is to have a good constitution in the female parent, 

 in order to secure a good-constitutioned progeny, and to trust to the 

 male parent for whatever peculiarity it is intended to introduce. 



It has been observed that the result of the first cross has verv 



