Hybridization 101 



numerous plants which propagate usually by means of 

 runners and suckers, a very low degree of productiveness, 

 that is, infertility. 



For the production of useful hybrids, do not have the 

 parents too diverse. Now, if this reasoning is sound, 

 it leads us to conclusions quite the reverse of those held 

 by the advocates of the swamping effects of inter-crossing, 

 and these conclusions are of the most vital importance 

 to every man who tills the soil. The logical result is 

 simply this : the best results of crossing are obtained, 

 as a rule, when the cross is made between different in- 

 dividuals of the same variety, or at farthest, between 

 different individuals of the same species. In other words, 

 crosses between species are very rarely useful in nature, 

 and it follows that the more unlike the species, the less 

 useful will be the hybrids. This is counter to the notions 

 of most horticulturists, and, if true, must entirely over- 

 throw our common thinking upon this subject. But we 

 shall be able to show that observation and experiment 

 lead to the same conclusion to which our philosophy 

 has brought us. 



Function of the cross. At this point, we must ask 

 ourselves what we mean by "best results." This phrase 

 may be taken to refer to those plants that are best fitted to 

 survive in the struggle for existence, those that are most 

 vigorous or most productive or most hardy, or that 

 possess any well-marked character or characters which 

 distinguish them in virility from their fellows. We 

 commonly associate the term more particularly with 

 marked vigor and productiveness ; these are the char- 

 acters most useful in nature and also in cultivation, the 



