INFLUENCE OF POLLEN. 17 



gans, but it may be very difficult or impossible to deter 

 mine what it is. 



At a very extensive exhibition of Strawberries held at 

 the American Agriculturist office, N. Y., on June 18th, 

 19th and 20th, 1863, I was awarded, among other prizes, 

 the one offered for the "best flavored variety/' This 

 was one of the many unnamed seedlings then growing 

 in my grounds, and, although a fine fruit in appearance 

 and flavor, it was utterly worthless owing to the unpro- 

 ductiveness of the plants, and for this reason it was never 

 distributed. The plants were hardy, blossomed freely, 

 and to all outward appearance the flowers were perfect ; 

 still neither their own pollen or that from other varieties 

 would fertilize the pistils except in rare instances. 

 Every one who has attempted to raise new varieties of 

 the Strawberry must have had a similar experience, some 

 being very productive and others almost barren, and yet 

 their sexual organs may have appeared to be perfect. 

 With a large majority of the bisexual or perfect flowered 

 varieties self-fertilization is the rule, but occasionally a 

 little outside aid in supplying pollen may be beneficial, 

 and in instances of this kind the raising of several varie- 

 ties in close proximity will largely increase the yield of 

 fruit. 



The pistils of each flower must be supplied with a 

 certain amount of pollen from some source, else no fruit 

 will be produced. If only a part of the pistils are fer- 

 tilized, a deformed fruit will be the result, because the 

 enlarging of the receptacle is for the sole purpose of sup- 

 porting the seeds resting upon its surface; therefore, we 

 may say, no seeds, no fruit. It has been claimed by many 

 Vegetable physiologists that the influence of the pollen 

 reaches no further than the seed, but upon a close in- 

 spection of the flower of a Strawberry we find that the 



