CITRUS FRUITS AND THEIR CULTURE. 



years, it is almost certain that the desired end, held in view 

 from the first, may be attained in the ideal fruit. The 

 larger the number of crosses made the greater are the 

 assurances of success. If a desirable variety is not secured 

 in the first generations, it is best to continue the work by 

 crossing one of the parents on the cross or hybrid already 

 obtained. 



When seeds form as a result of cross-pollination and 

 plants are successfully raised, the offspring is termed either 

 a cross or a hybrid. It is a cross if the seedling is formed 

 as a result of the union of the elements of two varieties of 

 the same species, while a hybrid is the plant resulting from 

 the union of representatives of two distinct species. For 

 example, if the pollen of the Duncan pomelo is placed on 

 the stigma of the Triumph pomelo and following this 

 fecundation takes place, seed forms and a plant is raised, 

 this plant is a cross. But if the pollen of the Duncan 

 pomelo is placed on the stigma of a Lemon citron and as 

 a result a seedling is raised, it will be a hybrid. In the 

 first case, the two pomelos belong to the same species, 

 C. deoumana, while in the latter case we have representa- 

 tives of two species, C. decumana and C. Medica. By some 

 plant breeders these two terms, cross and hybrid, have been 

 discarded and the term hybrid used in the place of them, 

 but the usage as given above is the long established one 

 and the best to follow. 



The Parts of the Flower. A knowledge of the struc- 

 ture of the citrus flower on the part of the operator is in* 

 dispensable. On examining a flower the first part noticed 

 is the large, white, showy portion, usually composed of 

 five parts. This is the corolla, and each part or segment 

 is termed a petal. (Fig. 35 E.) Outside the corolla at 

 its base is a much smaller, yellowish or greenish, somewhat 



