174 



The Canadian Horticulturist. 



HYBRIDISING. 



-^g^ AVING received some inquiries on this subject, the 

 following remarks by Prof. Budd in Popular Gardening 

 will be opportune : 



Pollen Gathering.— This is first in order. If the 

 dry pollen is at hand we can touch the stigmas at the 

 nick of time when the nectar is secreted, even if the 

 weather be quite unfavorable. Our plan of gathering 

 pollen of apple, pear, plum, peach, etc., is rapid, and so 

 far has been successful. When the blossoms are fully 

 expanded, and before many of the anthers have matured 

 and burst, the stamens are plucked with thumb and finger 

 and dropped into a clean, bright tin cup. While not 

 attempting to pluck the pistils, no special care is taken 

 to avoid it, as they do no harm. In a dry, warm room the anthers in. the cup 

 soon ripen, and when stirred with a moistened pencil brush it will take on pollen 

 enough to fertilize several blossoms. 



Removing Anthers. — When the blossoms of the varieties to be fertilized 

 are beginning to open, select one or two of the strong central ones of a cluster 

 and pinch off the others. With small botanist's shears nip off the anthers of the 

 selected blossoms, which an assistant at once covers with a small sack — widest 

 at the lower end — made of light white muslin. 



Applying the Pollen. — In from 20 to 36 hours after removing the 

 anthers, if the weather is fairly warm, the stigmas have secreted the nectar which 

 causes the pollen to adhere. With an assistant to take off and replace the sacks, 

 the work of touching the stigmas with the pollen brush is quite rapid. In 

 practice, we find the use of pins in fastening the sack to place is far more rapid 

 and convenient than strings. 



After Care. — A label should state the cross made, and a week after the 

 sacks should be taken off, and in all cases where the fruit has formed it should 

 be covered loosely with musquito bar, which is kept in place until fruits mature 

 to show the successful crosses, to protect from birds, and to give boys a hint 

 that it is valuable property. 



Mailing of Pollen. — The pollen of our orchard fruite, and some of our 

 small fruits, is not an evanescent and perishable as is usually supposed. Apple 

 pollen, mingled with dried stamens and pistils in an open tin cup, was germinated 

 last spring by Dr.' Halsted fully two weeks after it was gathered, and we know 

 it can safely be sent by mail long distances. In some cases this will specially 

 aid us in our work. For instance, Mr. Peter M. Gideon can send south for his 

 pollen of choice winter apples, instead of sending, as he proposes, his hardy 

 seedlings south to be operated upon. 



