XXVII.] ATTENUATED HYBRIDS. 435 



due to the selection of weak parents, such as the 

 Delaware and lona. His Golden Gem, which is a 

 union of these two varieties, is of unusually high 

 quality, but very difficult to grow ; and this weak- 

 ness is to be expected from parents which are them- 

 selves more or less weak. 



Perhaps the most signal successes which have yet 

 come from the introduction of dilute vinifera blood 

 appear in Moore's Diamond, a product of Concord 

 fertilized by lona, and in the Brighton, also one of 

 Moore's grapes, a cross between Concord and Diana - 

 Hamburg. T. V. Munson, of Texas, whose experi- 

 ments in American grapes are full of promise, both in 

 extent and importance, is following this method with 

 apparent success. In union with other grapes he has 

 used one of Rogers' hybrids — the Lindley — with most 

 gratifying results. But hybridizing is not to be 

 looked upon as the only, if even as the chief, means 

 of improving our grapes. It is well known that 

 nature discourages hybridization or violent crossing, 

 while she encourages crosses of a mild type, as be- 

 tween different strains or varieties of the same spe- 

 cies. These minor crosses impart new vigor and 

 virility to the offspring, and they often afford a 

 sure but very gradual means of directly improving the 

 salient characters of a variety. I should look for 

 good results if a cross were made between Concords 

 from widely separated localities, even if the offspring 

 should itself prove to be true Concord, for such 

 unions usually give plants that outdo the parents 

 in growth and productivenes. Crossing between 

 varieties of one species should give a fair propor- 

 tion of profitable results. This is well shown in 



