HYBRIDISM BY GRAFTING AND BUDDING. l6l 



seedless. Here, then, was a decided change and influence of 

 the stock on the Satsuma, both in hardiness and the putting 

 of seed into the fruit, where few were ever seen before. 

 While I had paid no attention to this subject, these facts sug- 

 gested the probability of obtaining a genuine hybrid thus, so 

 some of the seeds were saved and planted. When they were 

 up a foot or so high, I had a visit from a scientific and prom- 

 inent fruit grower of Texas, and on taking him, with great 

 pride, to see my pets, and explaining the facts, he laughed 

 heartily at my enthusiasm, and said the whole idea of their 

 being hybrids was absurd. I then pointed out, that while alt 

 were plainly sweet oranges, from the peculiarities of the 

 leaves, yet nearly all were more or less thorny, some as much 

 so as the Trifoliata, while the Satsuma has no thorns at all. 

 Moreover, a sign of the Trifoliata leaf was plainly visible on 

 several trees. But all to no purpose ; and in answer to my 

 direct question, What sort of fruit I would get, he replied 

 confidently, "Satsuma." Having sold my place shortly 

 after, these seedlings were moved, and last year stood a tem- 

 perature of ten degrees, all other sweet orange trees being 

 killed, and I feel confident, unless the trees happened to be 

 in a peculiarly dormant condition, that they will prove hardy 

 here, and perhaps over the whole lower part of Texas, show- 

 ing plainly that they are true hybrids of the Satsuma and the 

 entirely hardy Trifoliata. Just what the fruit will be, of 

 course, nothing can be known yet, but there is no reason why 

 some of the oranges will not be sweet. Of course, if they 

 are, and they continue to prove hardy, it will work a revolu- 

 tion in orange growing ; for by the same method hybrids can 

 be obtained between any of the finer and larger sweet 

 oranges and the Trifoliata, and thus many new and hardy 

 varieties can be grown with perfect success all through the 

 Gulf States generally; and by repeated crosses on Trifoliata 

 the hardiness in the end can be increased, until varieties may 

 be originated that will stand the climate even of the whole 

 South. 



The accompanying illustrations (see page 163) will demon- 

 strate the truth of all I claim. The first shows a branch of 



II HORT. 



