HISTORY OF THE APPLE. 39 



that the hybrid may be fertilized by pollen taken from 

 one of its parents, and that then the offspring assumes 

 the characters of that parent.* 



' Natural hybrids do not often occur, though in dioecious 

 plants, this seems to have been the case with willows 

 that present such an intricate puzzle to botanists in their 

 classification, so that it has become almost impossible to 

 eay what are the limits and bounds of some of the species. 

 Hybrids are, however, very frequently produced by art, 

 and particularly among our flowering plants, under the 

 hands of ingenious gardeners. Herbert thinks, from his 

 observations, " that the flowers and organs of reproduc- 

 tion partake of the characters of the female parent, while 

 the foliage and habit, or the organs of vegetation, re- 

 semble the male." 



Simply crossing different members of the same species, 

 like the crossing of races in animal life, is not always 

 easily accomplished ; but we here find much less difficulty, 

 and we do not produce a mule progeny. In these experi- 

 ments the same precautions mast be taken to avoid the 

 interference of natural agents in the transportation of 

 pollen from flower to flower ; but this process is now so 

 famili-ar to horticulturists, that it scarcely needs a mention. 

 In our efforts with the strawberry, some very curious re- 

 sults have occurred, and we have learned that some of the 

 recognized species appear under this severe test to be 

 well founded, as the results have been infertile. Where 

 the perfection of the fruit depends upon the development 

 of the seed, this is a very important matter to the fruit- 

 grower ; but fortunately this is not always the case, for 



* Balfour's Manual. 



