Pear pollen is good for several 
weeks if kept dry 
Stages in the opening of Kieffer pear blossom. If intended for crossing, the stamens shoulda Anther and two stigmas with 
be removed before the third stage—the later the better 
pollen clinging. From pear 
How New Fruits Can Be Made By Crossing—By 8. W. Fletcher, ti 
THE FIRST POPULAR PRESENTATION OF THE EXACT METHODS OF PRACTICE ADOPTED BY THE LEADING WORKERS IN 
THIS NEWEST SPECIAL BRANCH OF GARDENING WHICH OFFERS A LARGE FIELD OF POSSIBILITIES TO THE AMATEUR 
[Epiror’s Nore—The past ten years have witnessed a remarkable increase of interest in crossing and hybridizing among both professional and enthusiastic amateur horticul- 
turists. The number of persons now doing more or less of this fascinating work in the United States certainly runs into the thousands. There has been accumulating 
a body of new data on the methods of cross-pollination but it is widely scattered. 
who have worked in this field, and to present it in compact shape. 
The purpose of this article is to gather together the experience of a number of men 
It is a symposium of the experience of Professor S. A. Beach, Professor N. O. Booth, Professor F. W. Card, 
Professor C. P. Close, Professor John Craig, Professor C. S. Crandall, Mr. W. F. Fletcher, Mr. H. P. Gould, Professor S. B. Green, Professor N. E. Hansen, Mr. J. W. Kerr, 
Professor W. R. Lazenby, Mr. T. V. Munson, Dr. W. Van Fleet, Mr. M. B. Waite, Professor F. A. Waugh, Professor H. J. Webber, and Professor J. C. Whitten, all of whom have 
very kindly answered a set of questions that was sent to them. These men have been working on different kinds of fruit and under widely different conditions; hence there is often a 
great divergence of practice. The aim has been to present the opinions and practice of the majority. The scope of this article is restricted to the crossing of orchard fruits, but many 
of the methods described are applicable in the crossing of other plants. The detailed technique of crossing flowers is given in THe GARDEN Macazine for November, 1905, page 170.] 
AKING new varieties of plants, by 
crossing, is essentially a work 
fOL ties teal amare: mune lOveL On 
plants —to whom the development of 
something new, 
something differ- 
ent and some- 
thing better than 
what has been be- 
fore is a sufficient 
reward. As a 
money - making 
proposition it is 
hardly likely to 
pay the average 
man. It may pay 
certain specialists, 
but even they are 
few. 
s The principles 
of the procedure 
ee |) ~—aare not at all com- 
; plicated. On one 
hand we have the 
pollen of a given 
variety,and on the 
other hand we 
| have the fruit- 
~ bearing flower of 
another variety. 
Our object is per- 
haps to combine 
theessential quali- 
ties of both these varieties and to this end we 
make the cross by transferring the pollen of 
one to the pistil of the other. If this is done 
in both directions, what is called “reciprocal 
crosses” are produced. Usually these differ 
materially from each other; and more than 
ie 
@ 
Pollen in vial for use in 
the field. Unopened anthers 
are placed in the sun to dis- 
charge pollen 
that, in all probability out of a number of 
plants raised from any given cross, no two 
will be alike, some will be fairly intermediate, 
some will partake more strongly of one 
parent and some of the other parent. Out 
of all these once in a while there will appear 
one particular plant of decided merit. 
When such a plant is obtained, happy is 
the originator because he will have really 
added something of value to the world of 
horticulture and will have won for himself 
the right to occupy a small niche in the 
temple of fame. 
WHEN TO PREPARE THE FLOWER 
The flower that is to be the seed bearer 
must be so handled that no pollen other than 
that desired shall reach its pistils. Therefore 
the stamens are removed. The ideal time 
for this is as late as possible before the 
anthers burst. But where a large number 
of blossoms is to be pollinated, it is not 
practicable to wait until this time before 
beginning work. If warm weather is push- 
ing the buds into blossom very rapidly, 
the work may begin when the buds are still 
quite small. 
The disadvantages of early work are 
greater liability of injuring the pistils by 
the weight or chafing of the sack, if one is 
used; and still greater danger that some 
small stamens will be left in the blossoms, 
since they are much more difficult to re- 
move at this time. Furthermore, it is not 
so easy to operate quickly when the buds 
are four or five days from opening as when 
they are only one or two days from opening. 
In general the best way is to remove the 
stamens as late as possible before the anthers 
142 
mature and before the petals have unfolded 
enough to expose the pistil or permit the 
visits of insects. : 
When a hot day or warm rain has forced 
into full blossom in a few hours buds that 
the experimenter calculated would not be 
open for several days, he is strongly tempted 
to use slightly opened flowers in which no 
stamens have burst. No blossoms that 
have opened enough to permit the entrance 
Peach blossoms in right condition to prepare for 
crossing. Must be done before there is danger of self- 
pollination or cross-pollination by wind or insects 
