78 Maine Agricultural Experiment Station. 1920. 



Data on the size and number of seeds of the apples result- 

 ing from a cross are presented in summary form from appendix 

 table i. 



From the data contained in table 5 it is clear that the Bald- 

 win apples resulting from cross pollination were of as good 

 average size as were the apples which resulted from self fertili- 

 zation. Since the set of fruit from the cross fertilization was 

 larger than from the self fertilization it follows that the profit 

 to the grower was much greater for the blossoms where cross 

 pollination took place than where self pollination was resorted 

 to. 



The apples resulting from cross pollination of the Ben 

 Davis were likewise all of good size from the market stand- 

 point, as were also the apples from the other crosses. They 

 carried more good seeds than did the self fertilized apples. From 

 these facts we may conclude that the size of the fruit is favor- 

 ably affected rather than otherwise by cross pollination. 



The amount of this cross pollination affect appears to dif- 

 fer with different varieties. Alderman, W. H.* found that for 

 the Rome Beauty above mentioned the cross pollination by other 

 varieties increased the size (weight) 27.8 per cent over that of 

 the apples resulting from self fertilization. For York Imperial 

 the increased size for cross pollination was 42.7 per cent over 

 the size of the selfed apple. For Wagener the effect of cross 

 fertilization over self fertilization was in the direction of reduced 

 size the reduction being 17.3 per cent. The results of these ex- 

 periments would seem to show in general a beneficial effect of 

 cross fertilization on size. Some work of Wicks, W. H.f using 

 reciprocal crosses of the Ben Davis, Grimes, Jonathan and 

 Winesap varieties to determine the effect of crossing versus 

 selfing on the resulting color, size and quality of the fruit quite 

 clearly shows that for these items the characters of the Mother 

 parent varieties are found in the resulting fruit irrespective of 

 what pollen parent is used. 



*Alderman, W. H. 1917. Experimental Work on Self-Sterility of 

 the Apple. In Proc. Amer. Soc. for Hort. Sci. p. 94-101. 



tWicks, W. H., 1918. The Effect of Cross Pollination on Size, 

 Color, Shape, and Quality of the Apple. In Bui. 143. Arkansas Agr. 

 Expt. Station. 



