Choosing the Varieties. 



227 



4. Choose with reference to the local environment 

 One must consider t,l?e adaptation of the variety to 

 his particular climate, to the probable length of his 

 season, to his distance from market, 



and to his system of husbandry. 

 The adaptation of varieties to soils 

 is an important consideration, and 

 one which demands closer attention 

 as cultivation becomes more intense 

 and perfect. As a rule, the finer 

 the variety in quality, the less able 

 it is to thrive equally well under 

 diverse methods of treatment. It- 

 is partly for this reason that des- 

 sert fruits are commonly regarded 

 as unreliable and difficult to grow. Fig. 22. strawberry 

 One can scarcely hope for success in " e e s r moA * 

 the best horticulture unless he gives 

 particular study to the adaptations of species and 

 varieties to soils. 



5. Choose with reference to inter- pollination. It is 

 known that some varieties of fruits are self -sterile, 

 that is, they are not iruitful when planted alone. This 

 sterility may be due, as in the case of the straw- 

 berry, to imperfect (or unisexual) flowers, or, more 

 commonly, to pollen which is impotent upon the 

 pistils of the same flower.* This infertility or self- 

 sterility is largely a varietal characteristic, yet it is 

 no doubt greatly modified by seasonal and enviroii- 



*For a discussion of the philosophy of this self -sterility, see the essay oil 

 "Sex in Fruits," in "Survival of the Unlike," p. 347. 



