420 



THE APPLE 



Fig. 184. The next step in pollinating 



Removing the stamens by the aid of scissors. 

 (Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station) 



Gathering pollen. An adequate supply of pollen must be 



secured ; and in regions where many of the leading varieties 



blossom together, it must be 

 gathered in sufficient quan- 

 tities beforehand. One of the 

 simplest ways of procuring 

 pollen is to cover with paper 

 sacks branches that are nearly 

 in flower, the ripened anthers 

 of these blossoms furnishing 

 the necessary pollen. Another 

 method, used in many cases 

 of emergency, is to put in 

 a warm room unripe anthers 

 from flowers about to open. 

 In a few hours the anthers 

 will dehisce. Perhaps the 



most popular way of collecting pollen is to pick off the unopened 



buds, remove the anthers, and leave them to dehisce. 

 Another method practiced 



in some sections is to select 



small twigs having from three 



to six clusters of flower buds. 



These twigs are placed in a 



forcing house or in a south 



window of the home a week 



or two before the trees come 



into blossom. If the weather 



is good the blossoms will open 



in three or four days. If it 



is desired to obtain quicker 



results, warm water may be 



used in place of cold and the 



stems of the twigs may be 



split. A gain of from one to 



two days can be realized by the use of warm water and the split- 

 ting of stems, a very important factor if pollen is desired at a 



certain time. 



Fin. 1S5. Tistils after removal of the 



stamens 



At left improperly emasculated ; at right prop- 

 erly emasculated, sepals intact. (Oregon Agri- 

 cultural Experiment Station) 



