SECRETARY'S REPORT. 



believe the savants in horticulture, many of them, at least, and 

 more from day to day, have come to the conclusion that they 

 are not hybrids at all ; and that is my opinion. I conclude so 

 for this reason. These hybrids were raised from a seedling 

 grape and the Hamburgh and other hot-house grapes. Now, 

 the seedling grape is itself an improvement on the native grape, 

 and these seedlings are in the second generation from the 

 original native stock, and hold the same relation, therefore, to 

 the native that my Concord holds. ' He has done just what I 

 have done : broken the habit of a wild grape, and improved it to 

 that stage that led him to think he had got a true hybrid. Let 

 us look at this matter a moment. The grape is perfect in its 

 flowers. Each flower contains the male and female organs, and 

 is covered by a calyx. When the stamen is elongated, this little 

 calyx is thrown off", under the stimulus of the sunshine, and in 

 that act the pollen, which is thoroughly ripe and effloresced, 

 impregnates the germ. Now, if you are going to hybridize, 

 how will you know whether that has happened or not ? Why, 

 you must sit and watch the blossom as it throws off" this little 

 calyx. You must have a large magnifier to see whether the 

 pollen was effloresced and has impregnated the germ, or whether 

 it is hard, close, and not ripe. If ripe, you cannot impregnate 

 that germ, although you have the pollen ready. But if you 

 find one, the pollen of which is not ripe, but where it is close 

 and hard, that germ you may touch with the prepared pol- 

 len, after cutting away all the weak parts, and you have a 

 true hybrid. It is not, you see, impossible, but it is very 

 difficult. 



I spent a fortnight in my hot-house, with my daughter, from 

 nine o'clock in the morning until four in the afternoon, impreg- 

 nating a Concord which I had there for that purpose. I had not 

 the least idea that it was a work of so much difficulty and so nearly 

 impossible as it proved to be. Hybridization, therefore, is not 

 impossible, but I do not believe it would be practicable. How- 

 ever, if I wanted to hybridize, I think I would do this : I would 

 take the very best hardy grape, which had the properties which 

 I wanted to get in the progeny, and impregnate it from another 

 grape which had other properties, a union of which would give me 

 just what I wanted. In other words, both being perfectly hardy, 

 I would go to all this trouble to hybridize, in order to get the 



