324 



POMOLOGY 



286. Chance seedlings. — It is well known that the larger 

 number of varieties of the tree-fruits originated as chance 

 seedlings and were discovered and introduced into cultiva- 

 tion by some observer and admirer of them. Hedrick and 

 Wellington ^ review this matter in regard to the apple and 

 say that "of the 3000 or more varieties which have been 

 described, nearly all, as their histories show, have come from 

 chance seedlings." Beach describes 698 varieties in "The 

 Apples of New York" and of these "no case is recorded of a 

 variety known to have come from a self-fertilized seed." 

 Even the seed parent is given for only thirty-nine varieties 

 in all, while the seed and pollen parent is known certainly 

 for only one (Ontario). Both parents are named for the 

 Pewaukee and Gideon, but in each case one of the parents 

 is guessed. Seventy-one are listed as coming from chance 

 seedlings, i. e., from seed sown without knowledge of either 

 parent or from natural seedlings. The origin of 517 of the 

 698 varieties is unknown. However, progress is being made 

 and several new varieties, produced by breeding, are about 

 to be introduced from some of the experiment stations. 



Table XC 

 origin of the common fruits 



Neither parent 

 known 



Originated as 

 bud sport 



Total 



Apple . 

 Cherry 

 Grape . 

 Plum. . 

 Peach . 



588 (?) 

 1064 

 72 



542 

 1765 



4 

 

 



1 



K?) 



4031 



633 

 1145 

 203 

 700 

 2181 



4862 



1 Hedrick, U. P., and Wellington, R. An experiment in breeding 

 apples. N. Y. (Geneva) State Exp. Sta. Bull. 350. 1912. 



