Breeding 73 



Either method should be used during the early 

 part of a bright sunny day before the flower feels 

 the heat too much. 



If the weather following should be damp, the 

 bag must be removed and risk taken as to un- 

 desirable pollen. This is especially necessary if 

 the flower has many petals and is liable to hold 

 much moisture. Seeds will otherwise rot rather 

 than ripen and it is better to risk a few undesir- 

 able seeds rather than complete loss. 



Of all types to grow from seed, the most diffi- 

 cult is the incurved cactus. A letter received a 

 short time ago from one of the largest breeders 

 of this type in England stated that out of nearly 

 nine hundred seed pods fertilized during the 

 previous season, only 350 seeds germinated. 

 They are so inbred that they cannot reproduce. 



The anemone-flowered types are practically 

 impossible to pollinate. The long tubes are too 

 slender for us to reach with an instrument the 

 tiny stigma. Some people have tried cutting 

 them off, but the stigma seems to resent this 

 from me and refuses to accept the pollen. It 

 takes a long-tongued insect to reach in there, 

 and even then they are not very successful. 



Seeds from flowers pollinated late in the season 

 are the more satisfactory. They germinate 

 better. The resulting plants are of finer con- 



