Notes and Gleanings. 365 



NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 



Hints on hybridizing Fruits. —The following notes, published a few 

 years since by Mr. John Standish, the well-known nursery-man and florist, in the 

 Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society, may be of interest at a time when 

 hybridization is exciting so much attention. Though the experiments were con- 

 fined to greenhouse grapes and fruits, there is no reason to doubt their general 

 application; the experience of hybridists generally confirming the principle there 

 laid down, that no constancy can be expected in seedlings. 



The rules of variance, however, are by no means understood ; the raising of 

 seedlings being one of the strongest arguments for the doctrine of chance. The 

 whole field is one offering every inducement to both the gardener and amateur ; 

 and, with the interest already awakened, the next few years cannot fail to show 

 great advance. 



" Having been occupied for many years in hybridizing plants, and being very 

 fond of it, I at length turned my attention to fruits. I commenced with grapes. 



" My object was to make the Muscat easier to cultivate, and increase the size 

 of the Frontignan ; also to make the large coarse kinds of a better flavor, and 

 to improve the early ones. 



" I began, in the first instance, with the Muscat of Alexandria, one of the 

 most difficult grapes to cultivate ; and the Troveren Muscat, a remarkably free 

 grower, but a long time in coming to maturity. It is a most delicious grape, 

 though not so highly musked as the former. I expected to obtain grapes less 

 difficult to cultivate, and was partly right ; but I was rather astonished at the 

 final results. It should be premised that the Troveren is a round grape, the 

 Muscat of Alexandria an oval one. The latter I made the female parent ; and, 

 out of thirty seedlings, no two were alike. The first three that fruited were 

 black, one being a large early grape, in shape an oval, with a fruit-stalk like a 

 piece of wire : it was of a very fine flavor, with the slightest possible taste of 

 Muscat, and hung well. This was a great success, and well worth all my trouble. 

 The other two were late ones, with large round berries, but nothing else remark- 

 able about them. In the following year, I fruited ten or twelve more from the 

 same lot. One of these was of a beautiful white or golden color, and ripened 

 quite as soon as the Hamburg : its fine vinous flavor was exquisite, mingled as 

 it was with a Muscat taste about half as strong as that of its parents. This 

 also had very stiff fruit-stalks, and kept a very long time. Another, and this 

 astonished me more than any thing else, was a perfect miniature of the Muscat 

 of Alexandria, perfectly oval, and with the strongest Muscat flavor that I ever 

 tasted ; but it was no larger than a red currant ! I have not as yet discovered 

 any thing very remarkable amongthe others. The next experiment I tried was 

 with General Marmora (no doubt a white seedling variety of the Hamburg), 

 crossed by Burchardt's Amber Cluster (early white Malvasia). My object was 

 to obtain a very early grape ; and in this I succeeded beyond my expectations, 

 as I got a very fine white transparent grape like the Amber Cluster, but as 



