The Strawberry Book. 43 



should be a pistillate variety, for in this case we can make 

 absolutely certain that it is not self-fertilized, and shall 

 not be plagued by lingering doubts as to whether we suc- 

 ceeded in removing every anther before its pollen ripened 

 or had a chance to do its work. 



The pistillate plants selected for experiment should be 

 isolated from all other kind?, and from each other ; and 

 this is best effected by covering them with a glass box or 

 frame. The staminate or male plant having been fixed 

 upon, its blossoms should be watched, and when they are 

 fully expanded, and the anthers shed abundant pollen on 

 being snapped or jarred, the whole flower may be cut 

 off, and its anthers shaken over the stigma of the pistillate 

 flower, or the anthers may be very gently rubbed upon 

 the stigma itself. It sometimes happens that we desire to 

 experiment with a new variety, whose flowers are too val- 

 uable to be totally sacrificed. In that case a few of the 

 anthers may be cut off with a fine-pointed pair of scissors, 

 and conveyed to the pistillate plant on a dry slip of smooth 

 paper. If both varieties on which we work have perfect 

 flowers, the task is more difficult. Every anther must be 

 removed with the utmost caution and delicacy from the 

 blossom of the plant we desire to fertilize before the pollen 

 has ripened or has had a chance to reach the pistil. 



It is best to watch the flowers with patient care, and, as 

 they show signs of expanding, to unfold the petals prema- 

 turely, and immediately remove the anthers. In no case 

 must the hybridist speak with any confidence of the 

 parentage of his seedlings, unless he has insured the ab- 

 sence of all foreign pollen by isolating his plants, or, better 

 still, by protecting them by glass. The operation of hy- 

 bridizing is best carried on in the middle of a warm, 

 sunny day, when every part of the flower is diy. 



If unhybridized seed is to be planted, the vines that 

 produce it should be the strongest and most vigorous of 

 their kind, and should be limited to one berry each gen- 



