LUTHER BURBANK 



not likely to prove fruitful and satisfactory. 

 But of course grafting is only an incidental 

 adjunct of the work of the plant developer. The 

 impulse to progress must come through hybridiza- 

 tion and selection. Here, it appears to me, there 

 are great possibilities. I have hybridized the pear 

 and the apple; also the pear and the quince. The 

 seedlings from these unions have sometimes 

 seemed thrifty, but were always infertile. They 

 were highly interesting none the less. 



The most successful cross was obtained by us- 

 ing the pollen of the Bartlett pear upon the 

 Gravenstein apple. 



The seedlings from this cross were divergent in 

 appearance, and variable as to growth. One of 

 the seedlings grew fully as fast as the ordinary 

 apple seedling, but most of them had a sickly, 

 dwarfed appearance, and some died after having 

 made a foot of growth. Three or four of those that 

 lived were grafted on an apple tree. They main- 

 tained moderate growth for several years, but 

 were never healthy or vigorous, and never gave 

 any intimation of blooming. 



The results of the crosses between the pear 

 and quince were closely similar. From these hy- 

 brids also I failed to secure fruit. Some grew with 

 great vigor for years, while others almost refused 

 to grow at all. In general appearance, and espe- 



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