ON THE RASPBERRY 



as the seeds of any wild species of the family. 

 The offspring closely resembled the Primus, but 

 none of them quite equaled it in fruiting qualities. 



If found growing wild, the original Primus 

 plant and its progeny would be pronounced by 

 any botanist a distinct species. 



The explanation of the summary production 

 of a hybrid differing in this remarkable manner 

 from either parent and being so fixed in type as 

 to breed true to the new form thus suddenly de- 

 veloped would seem to be that the two parent 

 species were separated almost to the limits of af- 

 finity. The fact that most of the hybrids of the 

 same generation with the Primus were feeble and 

 degenerate creatures is corroborative. It ap- 

 peared, however, that there were elements in the 

 two types of germ plasm that if combined in just 

 the right way would produce a virile offspring. 



By chance the right combination was effected, 

 and the Primus berry was the result. 



The berry itself has not proved a great com- 

 mercial success, but that is a matter of small im- 

 portance. The real importance of the experiment 

 was in what it proved as to the possibility of the 

 production of new species through hybridization. 

 This was, in short, one of the first instances to 

 come under my observation of the production of 

 a hybrid that blends the characteristics of the 



[57] 



