CITRUS CULTURE IN CALIFORNIA — POLLINATION. 39 



unfruitfulness was attributed to this unsexed development of the 

 navel bloom. Professor Webber, of the United States Sub-Labo- 

 ratory, was led to believe that the Navel in California produced an 

 abundance of well-developed pollen, which was the cause of its 

 fruiting in this State. Professor Cook observed, some time since, 

 the absence of pollen in the navel bloom in California. This 

 discovery established the normal unsexed quality of the Navel, 

 in both the great areas of Florida and California. The staminate, 

 or male, impulse is aborted and fails to produce developed pol- 

 len grains, or if it occasionally appears, is a lingering impulse 

 belonging to an incidental floral leaf. The impulse still exists 

 to produce a weakened staminal bud development. As this 

 development is arrested in the stamens and is only feebly 

 present in the bud, just sufficient to cause the growth of the 

 floral whorl bearing an anther without pollen, it would seem 

 as though the staminal impulse was a quality pertaining to 

 the root and in nowise dependent on the vegetative processes 

 of the leaf, and in the Navel it is as though nature had almost 

 withdrawn this force from the Navel tree and dissipated it in a 

 vigorous root growth. 



When it was known that the Navel was not self-pollinated, 

 it was affirmed that it was fruitful from the action of pollen 

 from other varieties planted in close proximity. The proof of 

 this was asked by Professor Webber and the question was sub- 

 mitted to Mr. E. W. Holmes and Mr. J. H. Reed of Riverside, 

 where large areas were planted far from pollen varieties. These 

 able observers, aided by other horticulturists, have failed to 

 detect any difference in the fruitfulness of the Navel when 

 grown far from other varieties and outside the area of mixed 

 pollination. 



Mr. B. M. Lelong, along the same line of investigation, 

 says: "Cross-pollination only tends to the production of seeds, 

 and can not in any way increase the production of fruit." 

 Professor Webber says to the same effect: "That we should not 

 take means to secure the cross-pollination of our Navel trees, 

 hoping thereby to secure a larger crop of fruit. The effect of 

 the cross-pollination apparently being the production of seedy 

 fruit, but not necessarily more fruit." 



From these experiments and observations we may conclude 

 that in the two great areas of Florida and California, the Navel 



