140 Plant-Breeding 



the squash could stand any amount of rough-handling, 

 and was not even injured by ten degrees of frost. All 

 this was an acquisition, and, as the squash was handsome 

 and exceedingly productive, nothing more seemed to be 

 desired. But it still remained to have a squash for dinner. 

 The cook complained of the hard shell, but, once inside, 

 the flesh was thick and attractive, and it cooked nicely. 

 But the flavor ! Dregs of quinine, gall, and boneset ! 

 The gourd was still there ! " l 



Uncertainties of pollination. We have now seen that 

 uncertainty follows hybridization, as well as the mere act 

 of pollination. Between some species which are closely 

 allied and which have large and strong flowers, four- 

 fifths of the attempts towards cross-pollination may be 

 successful; but such a large proportion of successes is 

 not common, and it may be infrequent even in pollination 

 between plants of the same species or variety. Some of 

 the failure is due in many cases to unskillful operation, but 

 even the most expert operators fail as often as they suc- 

 ceed in promiscuous pollinating. There is good reason to 

 believe, as Darwin has shown, that the failure may be due 

 to some selective power of individual plants, by which 

 they refuse pollen which is, in many instances, acceptable 

 to other plants even of the same variety or stock. The 

 lesson to be drawn from these facts is that operations 

 should be as many as possible, and that discouragement 

 should not come from failure. 



"Two hundred and thirty-four pollinations of gourds, 

 pumpkins, and squashes, mostly between varieties of one 

 species (Cucurbita Pepo), and including some individual 



1 Bailey, earlier editions of "Plant-Breeding." 



