112 THE SEED-GROWER. 
In such case where the plant selected has the stamens 
and pistils in the same flower, the stamens (the male 
organs) must be cut off with a small scissors before 
their pollen has ripened so as to prevent self-fertiliza- 
tion. The flower is then to be kept covered with a 
small bag until the pistil is ripe and ready to receive 
the pollen from the other flower selected. This is to 
protect it from the conveyance of foreign pollen by 
insects or the wind. 
As in selection, crossing is best secured by having a 
large field in which to work. For instance, Burbank 
in experimenting with peaches found only about one 
desirable variety in each one thousand seedlings tested, 
while in raspberries and blackberries he found only 
about one in twenty thousand that he considered 
worthy of acceptance. 
Hybrids, in the first generation, usually resemble 
each other. But they greatly vary in the second gen- 
eration, and it is in this that there may be found the 
types that are being bred for. 
When a desirable type is discovered, it must be fixed. 
This is done by continued careful selection. In other 
words, breeding is repeated for several more generations 
with its own pollen or pollen ot the same cross, until it 
indicates unvaried reproduction, that is, it shows that 
it will reproduce itself true. It will then be ready for 
introduction. 
Certain improvements may only be secured by cross- 
ing, such as the blending of color and producing a 
fragrant flower from an odorless one. 
In the crossing of plants possessing contrary qualities, 
such as hardy and tender, greater vigor is the result. 
Plant Breeding Among the Ancients.—‘“ Is there 
anything whereof it may be said—see this is new? It 
