X. 



EEROKS ABOUT CEOSSHSTG. 



CHOSS-FEETILIZATION, as a means of improv- 

 ing fruits and vegetables, is at present receiving 

 considerable attention. To many persons there is 

 a mystery about the process which has favored the 

 adoption of erroneous ideas concerning the opera- 

 tion of crossing and the advantages to be derived 

 from it. Below are some of the more prevalent of 

 these errors. 



1. That any unusual feature may be due to 

 crossing. Nothing is more common than to attribute 

 half- russet apples, striped or deformed oranges, etc., 

 to cross- fertilization. Many such cases are sports, 

 for which no cause is known; others are due to the 

 influence of soil, climate or heredity. 



2, That crossing is the principal cause of varia- 

 tion in fruits. Many suppose that crossing between 

 the different varieties of apples in an orchard is 

 the reason for their not coming true from seed. 

 Such is not the case; our cultivated apples are 

 mere varieties, and not races or species, and few of 

 them reproduce themselves closely from seed under 

 any circumstances. 



(85) 



