178 LUTHER BURBANK 



flesh that have hitherto made the fruit popular, 

 and with the added property of keeping over 

 winter. 



Other possibilities of pear development lying 

 a little further in the future and therefore some- 

 what more vaguely outlined, have to do with the 

 hybridization of the pear with the allied fruits of 

 related species. It is well known that the pear 

 shows, in this regard, a strong disinclination for 

 entering into such an alliance. The pear may be 

 grafted on the quince, but it is usually considered 

 impossible to graft it on the apple. 



I have successfully carried out such a grafting 

 experiment, however, when I was a boy in Massa- 

 chusetts, the cion being a Seckel pear. But al- 

 though this grafted cion bore very superior large, 

 highly colored fruit for two seasons, it then died, 

 probably because of the uncongeniality of the 

 alliance. 



This experiment shows that there is not com- 

 plete antagonism between the two species; and 

 the same thing is further demonstrated by the 

 well-known fact that the apple may be grafted on 

 the pear stock; although here also the alliance is 

 not likely to prove fruitful and satisfactory. But 

 of course grafting is only an incidental adjunct 

 to the work of the plant developer. The im- 

 pulse to progress must come through hybridiza- 



