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THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



September, 1909 



seldom equals the western product in 

 color. The package and packing scores 

 are very comprehensive, however, and 

 well worth adoption elsewhere. 



Other important winnings were ten 

 boxes Jonathan ; one of the items in this 

 prize was a $2,000 fruit farm at Eden- 

 dale, Wash. Best four-tier box Jonathan. 

 This variety is very widely grown west 

 of the Rockies, there was consequently 

 great competition. First for ten boxes 

 Northern .Spy and first for plate of same" 

 variety. The prize for best ten boxes in- 

 cluded a $1,200 fruit farm in the state of 

 Washington, so that this "orchard city" 

 of British Columbia has now added to her 

 qualifications the distinction of being a 

 United States landlord. 



As several of Kelowna's prizes have 

 been mentioned in the columns of The 

 Canadian Horticulturist before, I will 

 touch on but one more of them, — the 

 second prize for the exhibitor winning 

 greatest number of first prizes. As we 

 missed first prize by but three points, we 

 are justly proud of our second place. 



A Part of the Kelowna, BritUh Columbia, Display at the Spokane Apple Show 



In this class eacli exhibitor was allowed VZ x 18 feet of space. Kelowna lost first place to the Wenatchee 

 Valley, Wash., by three points. Mr. DeHart stands on the left and Mr. Gibbs on the right. 



To Mr. F. R. E. De Hart the utmost 

 credit is due for his untiring efforts in 

 collecting the exhibit in so short a time 

 and his splendid staging 

 of the fruit at Spokane. 

 So public spirited a man 



is a valuable adjunct to a fruit section. 

 Mr. James Gibb, an expert from Stir- 

 ling and Pitcairn's packing house, accom- 

 panied Mr. De Hart and his faultless 

 packing helped to place this city in the 

 lime-light as a fruit-growing centre. 



Principles of Plant Breeding' 



Prof. W. Lochhead, Macdonald College 



First Prize Collection of Apples at Spokane Show last December 



Display of Mr. F. R. K. DeHart, Kelowna, B.C. 



A GREAT deal of 

 attention is now 

 being given to the 

 improvement of plants 

 by the separation of mu- 

 tations. The recent 

 studies of De Vries of 

 Holland, of Nilsson of 

 Sweden, of Burbank of 

 California, and of oth- 

 ers, have revealed the 

 importance in breeding 

 of variations that appear 

 suddenly, sometimes of 

 such magnitude that 

 they are designated as 

 "sports." As a rule, 

 this kind of variation or 

 mutation is not of fre- 

 quent occurrence, al- 

 though the work of Nils- 

 son with cereal crops 

 would lead us to believe 

 that such varieties are to 

 be found in considerable 

 number in every field of 

 grain. 



We do not know the 

 causes that bring about 

 these mutations, nor can 

 we produce them at will. 

 A practical difficulty lies 

 in being able to distin- 

 guish them from varia- 

 tions of the ordinary 

 sort. The only test is 

 to breed them. Muta- 



tions come true to type and do not show 

 any tendency to revert to the normal or 

 parental type. 



It will be gathered, therefore, that 

 "ordinary variations are of value mainly 

 in the production of improved strains of 

 a race which differ only in such charac- 

 ters as high yielding capacity, which are 

 soon lost when the selection is discontin- 

 ued. Mutations or sports, on the con- 

 trary, are of value in the production of 

 distinctly new races and varieties which 

 maintain their new characters without 

 continued selection. ' ' — (Webber. ) 



It must not be inferred, however, that 

 mutations remain absolutely constant and 

 without variation. They, too, are liable 

 to vary within definite limits, so that 

 when a mutation is chosen on account of 

 its desirable and superior qualities, it is 

 necessary for a breeder to keep up a se- 

 lective process if he wishes to get the 

 best possible plants of the mutation. 



"Mutations are found in wild as well 

 as cultivated plants, and their occur- 

 rence reasonably accounts for the numer- 

 ous 'elementary species', or sub-divisions 

 of Linnaeus' species that are found in 

 Nature." 



EXAMPLES OF MUTATIONS 



Well known examples are the weeping 

 willow and the nectarine, but many other 

 plants are now classed as mutations. 

 Some of the most popular and most high- 



•In the June issue of The Canadian Horticul- 

 turist, the improvement of plants by selection 

 was discussed. Mutations, herewith dealt with, 

 will be followed by an article on hybridization. 



