ON THE CHESTNUT 



development, and to observe the progress of cions 

 from several hundred seedlings on the same tree. 



This, of course, is precisely the method I used 

 with my plums and other orchard fruits. The 

 advantages already detailed in connection with the 

 orchard fruits were found to apply equally to the 

 chestnut. The engrafted cions were led to fruit 

 much earlier than they would have done on their 

 own roots; there was saving of space; and it was 

 easy to hybridize the many cions that were thus 

 collected on a single tree. 



Of course, I was carrying forward numerous 

 experiments with the chestnut at the same time 

 crossing each species with every other species, so 

 that in a single season there would be a large 

 number of hybrid forms of different parentage. So 

 when two of the hybrids were interbred, the 

 strains of four different species or varieties were 

 blended. Thus a hybrid of the second generation 

 might combine the ancestral strains of the Japa- 

 nese and European and American chestnuts and of 

 the little chinquapin. 



Moreover I had opportunity for wide selection 

 among hybrids that combined these various strains 

 in different ways. And for the next generation, I 

 could combine different hybrids or inbreed a given 

 strain or introduce the traits of a different variety 

 as I might choose. 



[101] 



