DEVELOPMENT OF HARDY FRUITS 49 



yet to fruit. So far the one fact that has come out most promi- 

 nently is that if one desires to obtain a seecUing of high quality, it 

 is desirable to use two varieties with high quality. If one is high 

 quality and the other low the resulting cross will not, as a rule, be 

 high enough in quality. 



I could spend more time in describing the results of our work 

 with apples, but time will not permit. In the United States there 

 are a number of workers endeavoring to obtain apples specially 

 suited to the climatic conditions of ^eir particular parts of the 

 country. At the Agricultural Station at Geneva, New York, they 

 are working to obtain winter apples of high quality. In Missouri 

 combinations between Ben Davis and Jonathan have been ob- 

 tained and it is hoped some of these will be particularly suited to 

 the climatic conditions there. In Iowa they are seeking for apples 

 which will bloom late in the spring and thus escape the spring- frosts 

 which are often so injurious there. Thus each one is trying to solve 

 his own problem and develop apples for his special conditions. 



It will not be possible to discuss the other fruits in such great 

 detail as the apple and not so much work has been done in Canada 

 with other fruits. 



Hardy Plums. 



The plum offers a fine field for work. In Canada our greatest 

 effort so far is to obtain hardy varieties which will succeed in places 

 where few, if any, named ones have done well. Not only is it 

 necessary to obtain varieties which will be able to withstand the 

 cold of winter, but in many parts of the country extreme earliness 

 is necessary to ensure their maturing before the severe frosts of 

 autumn. At Ottawa the season is long enough to mature most 

 sorts of plums, but the winters are too severe for the trees. The 

 trees of some varieties of the European plums are hardy enough 

 but the fruit buds are destroyed, hence for satisfactory results we 

 have had to rely on the improved American plums. 



The European or Domestica plum may be crossed with some- 

 thing hardier that will ensure hardy trees knd good crops of fruit, 

 but seedlings of it do not show sufficient hardiness. If the American 

 plum could be crossed with the European, no doubt some very 



