PROPAGATION, BREEDING II5 



of plants rather than to the exhaustive work 

 of producing buds, flowers, pollen, and fruit. 



PEDIGREED OR THOROUGHBRED PLANTS 



What is meant by the word "pedigree" or 

 "thoroughbred" as applied to the plants of 

 the strawberry? The words signify that 

 the plant is of a particular strain, or ^at it 

 has a known "line of ancestors," sometimes 

 called plant genealogy. It may be the 

 result of breeding of two good parents and 

 the subsequent selections of the best off- 

 spring each year, until a constancy or fixed 

 characteristic or habit is maintained. An- 

 other method may be nothing but the selec- 

 tion of the best producing plants of some 

 variety for a long term of years. This may be 

 started in the home garden where the plant 

 is selected that produces: (i) The largest 

 number of berries; (2) the largest number 

 of well-shaped berries; (3) the largest 

 number of large-sized, uniform berries; (4) 

 the most vigorous, healthy plant, coupled 

 with the three other characteristics. 



This plant is removed from the bed after 

 fruiting and set in the well-prepared prop- 

 agating bed for the production of plants. 



