18 THE STRAWBERRY CULTUKIST. 



receptacle, embryo seed and all other parts are formed 

 and in progress towards perfection before any pollen is 

 seen, and yet, if the latter fails to do its work, or is im- 

 potent, the entire structure decays, and even the fruit 

 stems and their appendages wither away. In conduct- 

 ing some of my earlier experiments with the Strawberry,, 

 I noticed that the influence of the pollen did extend be= 

 yond the seed, for it not only caused the receptacle to 

 enlarge and reach maturity but often changed its form 

 and flavor. This was most readily observed when em- 

 ploying different staminate or perfect flowered varieties 

 for supplying pollen to the pistillates. But as in all 

 similar experiments in the fertilization of the ovaries, 

 the results were not uniform, showing that the female 

 plant often exercises such a powerful influence over its 

 own seed and seed-vessels as to effectually obscure that 

 of the pollen-bearing or male plant. It is not to be sup- 

 posed, however, that because an effect is not prominently 

 apparent that it does not exist. 



In the first edition of " The Small Fruit Culturist," 

 1867, I casually referred to this subject of the influence 

 of the pollen upon the character of the fruit, for I had 

 previously discovered that in raising the pistillate varie- 

 ties, the staminate employed for supplying their flowers 

 with pollen had more or less influence on the size and 

 form of the fruit of the former. It is probably unneces- 

 sary to state that this has been denied by many cultiva- 

 tors of the Strawberry up to the present time, while 

 others who have carefully experimented for the purpose 

 of determining the truth, admit that the influence of 

 the pollen does reach beyond the seed and is often read- 

 ily seen in the changed form of the f ruit. But as I have 

 discussed this subject quite fully in another work,* it is 

 *Propagation of Plants. 



