HORTICULTURE AND PLANT IMPROVEMENT 11 



ceiving much attention. Throughout the country the experi- 

 ment stations are working on the problem. They are con- 

 ducting investigations with old varieties, in attempts to im- 

 prove them: and they are working for new varieties, with the 

 expectation of making contributions of value to growers. 

 Nurserymen recognize the importance of the work. The 

 researches of Mendel, de Vries, and others have indicated the 

 path which the plant-breeder who is to achieve success must 

 follow. 



18. Hybridization. When plants are crossed, new forms 

 may result. The seed carries the characteristics of two 

 parent plants, that which furnished the pollen, and that 

 which bore the seed. The parents may have been unlike in 

 one or more particulars, and the new seed may be dissimilar 

 from either of them. The different characters may compose 

 or blend in varying ways. 



19. One effect of hybridization. The crossing of plants 

 has the effect of disturbing the type, with the result that new 

 forms are likely to appear. These may be desirable to man, 

 or of no importance. If desirable, the new form may be 

 propagated at once by budding, grafting, cuttings, or other 

 asexual means. If the plant is propagated by seed, the 

 progeny must be selected, year after year, until the form comes 

 true to type. This may require many generations of plants 

 and hundreds or even thousands of individuals. The process 

 is slow, laborious, and expensive; but it is one of the essen- 

 tials in good plant-breeding. 



20. Bud-selection. The method of plant improvement 

 known as bud-selection has received much attention in recent 

 years. The term indicates the process of choosing buds for 

 propagation from trees of known character. Its effectiveness 

 in the case of all varieties of fruits is a matter of question at 

 present. Results with apples, for example, have been both 

 negative and positive. Other fruits, such as the Washington 

 Navel orange, are much more given to the formation of bud 



