Seeds for the Garden 



127 



FIG. 78. Two squashes grown from the same 

 packet of seed purchased for summer crook- 

 neck. Both have the characteristic color of 

 the crookneck, but the one on the left is en- 

 tirely distinct from the crookneck in shape. 

 A variation such as this may be the result 

 of crossing or of sporting and may give rise 

 to new varieties. 



To prevent pollina- 

 tion by insects, the 

 pistillate flowers are 

 bagged shortly before 

 they open. As the 

 stems of squash flowers 

 are tender and brittle, 

 special care must be 

 used to prevent injury 

 to them. 



Keeping varieties 

 true to kind. After 

 valuable kinds of 

 plants have been pro- 

 duced, the seedsman 

 still has the problem of keeping them true to type. 

 Even the best varieties of vegetables produce some 

 worthless plants and plants not like the parent 

 stock ; also many varieties of garden plants cross- 

 fertilize easily. Therefore the well-known and stand- 

 ard varieties must be kept true to kind in seed 

 breeding by preventing accidental cross-pollination 

 between varieties and by discarding, either as seed 

 or pollen parents, the plants that are not true to the 

 variety. 



The different varieties of the same species nearly 

 always cross readily. If grown close together, they 

 may bloom at the same time, and insects or the wind are 

 likely to bring about cross-pollination. Different kinds 

 of beets, of radishes, of corn, and of many other plants 

 may be grown at a distance from each other, or the seed 



