The Strawberry Book. 4^ 



It has been supposed that mixed pollen, i. e., the pollen 

 of two different species or varieties mingled, can act con- 

 jointly ; and experimenters have fancied that they saw in 

 a hybrid resemblances to three progenitors ; but Darwin 

 says, " We now know conclusively, from Gartner [a most 

 eminent German hybridist], that two kinds of pollen never 

 act conjointly on a third species ; the only effect of min- 

 gling two kinds of pollen being the production in the same 

 capsule of seeds which yield plants some taking after the 

 one and some after the other parent." 



I instance this to show the experimenter the uselessness 

 of mixing two or three kinds of pollen, as some have 

 advised. 



That the large-fruited scarlet strawberries can be crossed 

 with the Alpines seems to be well settled, and there is no 

 reason to suppose that further experiments will not demon- 

 strate the possibility of making some other crosses here- 

 tofore looked upon as unlikely. 



For planting without hybridizing, any choice kind may 

 be used. It has just been remarked that seedlings from 

 the Agriculturist repeat the parent plant ; and it may be 

 added that seedlings from Downer's Prolific, and all 

 strawberries of native origin, show their parentage very 

 strongly. 



It is safe to advise amateurs to sow seeds of the very 

 best kinds, such as Hovey, the parent of many good 

 strawberries, La Constante, or, better still, President 

 Wilder. 



These will give a sufficient variety, and out of a large 

 number of seedlings from these some must prove very 

 fine. 



Perhaps this is the place to inquire what are the qual- 

 ities requisite in a first-class strawberry. Of course we 

 do not expect yet to find all the excellences of every 

 strawberry united in one, but must be satisfied with as 

 close an approximation to our ideal fruit as we can 



