NATURAL HYBRIDS. 40o 



before the flower has blown. It is equally neces- 

 sary, as was shown by the experiments of Gaertner 

 and Herbert, that the flower be in a condition after 

 fecundation in which it will not be liable to be 

 afi'ected by the natural pollen grains. The flower 

 from which the dust is taken should be perfect, 

 and not withered in the least. 



When we consider how much greater is the 

 eff"ect of natural pollen upon its stigma than the 

 foreign, does it not appear that hybrids are seldom 

 produced in a state of nature ? Many practical men 

 have said that the pollen is conveyed so freely in 

 all directions, by insects and the wind, that a great 

 many of our accidental seedlings of merit are the 

 result of this natural hybridization. But, if the 

 anthers of the flower were present, their pollen 

 grains would assuredly gain the ascendency, even if 

 applied afterwards, which renders such a theory 

 exceedingly questionable. 



While the pollen of varieties remote in their re- 

 lationship acts less freely than that which is closely 

 allied, yet Herbert found that the production of 

 seed by hybrid varieties is often increased by the 

 use of the pollen from closely allied plants. In an 

 experiment by him to elucidate this point, he states 

 as a result, that " almost every flower that was 

 touched with pollen from another cross produced 

 seed abundantly; and those which were touched 

 with their own, either failed entirely, or formed 



