312 TRANSACTIONS OP THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 



apples in an upper room with much better success than previously 

 in the cellar. They will stand pretty hard freezing weather, if 

 well packed in barrels. 



HYBRIDIZATION. 



This question, adopted at the last meeting, was now called up, 

 and Mr. Carpenter gave his views upon the subject, and urged 

 that all persons engaged in fruit culture should grow seedlings, 

 and practice, as far as possible, the hybridization of fruits of all 

 kinds. 



R. G. Pardee. — We never should give up the chance of getting 

 something still better than anything we have yet from seedlings. 

 Hybridization is a great art, and its results are wonderful. Look 

 at our superior flowers, all produced by this process. Then by 

 taking pains with all our choice fruits and flowers, we may 

 achieve wonders. Don't wait for chance seedlings, but practice 

 hybridization in a scientific manner. One man can do but little. 

 We need a great many men engaged in this work. The chance 

 of seedling apples is that nearly all will be too poor to cultivate. 

 The result will be very different if care is taken to hybridize the 

 very best sort of apples. 



Dr. Trimble asked the Chairman to give his views on the sub- 

 ject of hybridization. 



Mr. Fuller submitted the following paper : 

 The word hybrid, when correctly used is only applied to the 

 offspring of a mixture of two species. For instance, if we should 

 take the native strawberry (Fragaria Virginiana) and the Eng- 

 lish strawberry (Fragaria Vesca), and by fertilizing one with 

 the other produce a plant with the characteristics of both parents 

 •combined, we would then have a proper hybrid. But if we take 

 the Hovey strawberry and fertilize it with the Wilson, the result 

 would only be a cross between two varieties of the same species. 

 This we hold to be the correct view of the case, but custom, 

 which sometimes becomes law, has broken down the barrier, and 

 we now call a seedling plant a hybrid, whether it be the mixture 

 ■of two varieties or two species. This is to be regretted, as true 

 hybrids are forced productions, and not natural ; consequently 

 they are very rare, so much so that we have often thought that 

 it could be said with propriety that species do not intermingle ; 

 •and the few cases that we have on record of their having done 

 so might be called exceptions, which are said to be necessary to 

 every rule. 



