148 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



ture of the original tree ttian you could 

 effect a change in the limb of the origi- 

 nal tree which you have not detached. 

 If it were possible to effect such change 

 all nature would be in a chaotic con- 

 dition." 



If. however, bud variations do occur 

 these varieties may be continued and ex- 

 tended by budding from the variant 

 stock. 



The Breeder's Analogy 



Another prolific source of misconcep- 

 tion arises out of the use of analogy 

 from the breeder's experience and apply- 

 ing it to the propagation of, trees by buds 

 and grafts. A brief statement of the 

 breeder's problems is all that can be given 

 here, but enough to indicate that the 

 two methods of propagation are not 

 analogous. 



Xew Laws of Breedinpr 



(9) The work of Gregor Johann Men- 

 del established the fact that some of the 

 characters, of both plants and animals, 

 are inherited unchanged, passing down 

 through each subsequent generation. 

 Many of them may be hidden in the first 

 generation of progeny and in a fraction of 

 the descendants of each subsequent gen- 

 eration by the "dominance" of stronger, 

 opposed, or differing, characteristics of 

 the same group. But both the "dominant" 

 and the "recessive" (weaker or hidden) 

 character of a Mendelian pair reappear 

 in pure form in part of each generation 

 after the first; so that the descendants 

 of two parents, both showing the same 

 one of these pure characters, will always 

 be like their parents in respect to this 

 character. 



Now, the problem of the breeder is to 

 ascertain what characters follow this law 

 — for not all do — and to secure the ones 

 desired in pure form and in suitable com- 

 binations. When once secured as desired 

 in two parents, the descendants may be 

 depended on to show the same characters 

 and not to "revert" to some form not 

 wanted. But, even simplified as it is, the 

 problem is still very complex : for the 

 features or characteristics we think of 

 as separating one plant or animal from 



another may each be made up of two or 

 more heritable characters; and the pos- 

 sible combination, in any individual, of 

 these varied "unit characters" are ex- 

 ceedingly numerous and varied. All 

 these variations must be secured and 

 checked by growing multitudes of seed- 

 lings, of at least two generations, before 

 we can be positive of our ground on more 

 than a few cnaracters. 



In the case of the bud or scion you 

 are not dealing with "inheritance" at all, 

 but with a single individual which you 

 wish to multiply in such a way as to 

 preserve the qualities which it now pos- 

 sesses. Stability then, so far as those 

 qualities are concerned, is what is wanted 

 and not variation. 



For the benefit of those who may wish 

 to make a further study of the problem 

 the following references are appended: 



References 



1900- 



(0) Geneva Bull. 3,50, Popular Edition. 



-Hitchcock, A. S., Plant Breeding 

 Bud Selection ( Amer. Card. 21 

 (1900) No. 266, P. 57.) 



1902— Kellog, R. M., Bud Variation in 

 Strawberry Plant ( Internal. Con- 

 ference Pit. Breeding and Hibridiza- 

 tion, N. Y., Sept. 30-Oct. 2, 1902). 

 -Powell, G. T. Value of Improved 

 Methods in Propagation of Fruit 

 Trees. (N. J. Hort. So. 27 11902] 

 P. 125-35. Fig. 2.) 

 -Corbett, L. C. Improvement of 

 Roses by Bud Selection. ( Internat. 

 Conference on Pit. Breeding. N. Y., 

 1902.1 



-Jordan, A. T. Improving Fruits by 

 Bud Selection. (American Agr. 74 

 [19041, No. 9, P. 160.) 

 1905— Blackwell, O. W. Bud Variation, 

 Facts That Prove Its Occurrence. 

 (Country Gent. 70 [1905], No. 2717, 

 P. 197.) 



W. T. Individuality of 



(Rep. Can. Exp. Farms, 



105-6.) 



-Symposium, Apple Scions from 



Bearing Trees. Influence of Stock. 



(Rural New Yorker, 64 [1905], No. 



2907, P. 741.) 



1902- 



1902- 



1904- 



1905 — Macoun, 

 Fruits. 

 1905, P. 



1905- 



