Pollination 135 



if seedlings are raised, the influence of the male parent 

 will be observed in them, but the seeds are a very small 

 part of a ripe strawberry, usually less than two per cent. 

 Is the influence of the pollen parent exerted on the pulp 

 also, modifying the size, shape, color and quality of the 

 berry? This has been the theme of many heated dis- 

 cussions at horticultural meetings. It was first brought 

 prominently before the public in 4883 by J. L. Budd, who 

 said : "Observations and experiments have fully convinced 

 me that this influence is so marked and positive as to ren- 

 der an entirely pistillate variety, like the Crescent, so 

 totally different when fertilized by two sorts of widely 

 different characteristics that it would not be recognized as 

 the same strawberry." This conclusion was supported by 

 A. S. Fuller. On the other hand, Matthew Crawford, T. J. 

 Burrill, T. T. Lyon and many others, found no immedi- 

 ate influence of pollen. Later and fuller observations 

 have supported this conclusion. It cannot be denied 

 that, occasionally, the character of the fruit may be influ- 

 enced very slightly by the kind of pollen used, but these 

 instances are so rare that they are not worth considering 

 as a cultural factor. 



Distributing the poUinizer. 



In planting, the proportion of the pollinizer to the pis- 

 tillate sort will depend chiefly on the comparative market 

 value of the two varieties and the ability of the former 

 to produce pollen ; also, to some extent, on local climate. 

 The proportion has steadily increased. When the use 

 of pollinizers was first urged, about 1845, it was suggested 

 that one be planted to each ten pistillate plants, following 

 the advice of Michael Keens, of England. In 1845 S. S. 

 Jackson, a nurseryman of Cincinnati, sold plants in 



