184 THE MAGAZINE O-F HORTICULTURE. 



to answer every purpose, especially for heavy flowers, such 

 as those of the cucurbitaceous plants. And the pistils may 

 be readily fertilized from the pollen of the opened anthers by 

 means of a camel's hair brush. 



With these precautions, and in this way, it is perfectly 

 feasible for every one to raise seeds of any variety which he 

 wishes to propagate. The peach, pear, apple and cherry, 

 with all the vegetable tribes of our gardens, will be found to 

 own one law of reproduction. 



My own experiments, Mr. Editor, to which you have al- 

 luded; have not been very general. But I think I have tried 

 these suggestions far enough to discern their value, and to 

 test, in some measure, their truthfulness. I applied them 

 last year, and the year before, to the raising of squash seeds ; 

 and, if the experiments partly conducted by my direction 

 during my absence, were as thorough as in the year before, 

 I shall be able to furnish a few seeds of each one of more 

 than thirty distinct varieties of squash, all grown together on 

 a small patch of ground without admixture ! 



I accomplished this result very easily. When I found a 

 pistillate blossom about to open, I covered it with a lace bag ; 

 I caused it to " take the veil," for the same reason that a 

 young damsel is sometimes persuaded to do the same thing, 

 to save the budding life in all its freshness from the contami- 

 nation of the world. In due time, or early the next morning, 

 I brought the pollen from a staminate blossom of the same 

 vine, similarly covered the day before, on a camel's hair 

 brush or a soft feather, to the pistil, and then replaced the 

 lace bag. And when the pistillate flower closed, as it did 

 during the day, the work was considered complete, the bag 

 was taken off", to be used again on another blossom, and a 

 numbered stake fixed in the ground by the side of the young 

 squash kept the necessary record. 



Some persons will say that such experiments will require 

 too much time and trouble. My first answer to such a state- 

 ment would be, that he who counts his time and trouble so 

 much above fidelity to a great science, which blesses the 

 world continually even in unscientific hands, is not the person 

 for whom these words were prepared ! 



