154 



The Garden Magazine, November, 1921 



between them would be alike. To my knowledge no extensive 

 use of this principle is made in this particular way. 



The Way New Varieties Appear 



NEW varieties of plants usually result either from " sports," 

 known to the scientist as "mutations," or as a result of 

 hybridization. 



The mutations may occur in the seeds, in which case they in- 

 volve the entire plant and will usually come true to seed; or in 

 the vegetative parts of the plant, as a bud on the roots, branches, 

 or twigs. 



In the latter case they form only a part of the plant and do 

 not always come true to seed, but may be propagated indefi- 

 nitely by buds, grafts, or cuttings. Varieties which originate 

 in this way differ from their parent race in having an entirely 

 new character — one which has not appeared in that variety 

 before, at least to any extent. 



Examples of new varieties originating from sports are plenty. 

 The Nectarine, a variation from the Peach, is a noted example, 

 although some people have erroneously believed it to be a hy- 

 brid of some sort. 



Mutations have been recorded in Pears, Cherries, Plums, Ap- 

 ples, Grapes, Currants, Gooseberries, and other fruits which 

 have produced distinct changes in size, color, texture, and flavor 

 of the fruit. Mutations are of rather frequent occurrence in 

 Citrus fruits. By the selection of bud sports Shamel has dis- 

 tinguished seven or more definite types of the Washington Navel 

 Orange in the California orchards. 



A number of years ago a French Prune tree in a California 

 orchard was noticed to have one branch bearing fruits much 

 larger than the fruits on the adjacent branches of the same 

 tree. A few grafts taken from this limb produced the same kind 

 of large plums. Later crops from a ten acre orchard which had 

 been planted with budded trees of this mutant stock more than 

 fulfilled the expectations as a heavy producing variety, in yield- 

 ing about double the amount produced by the parent variety. 

 This variety is now known as the Coates No. 141 8 French 

 Prune. Mr. Coates has said: "1 consider the introduction of 

 this French Prune sport the most important event in the annals 

 of commercial fruit growing in California." Such is the popu- 

 larity of this mutant where it is known that he now receives 

 very few orders for the small French Prune from which the mu- 

 tant sprang and the orders are booked ahead for trees of the 

 new large Prune. 



An Unsolved Mystery 



NO ONE has yet been able either to determine or to explain 

 the cause of "sports'" or "mutations"; but because of 

 the importance of possible new desirable strains having origin 

 in this way it behooves all plant growers and gardeners, to 



be on the alert to discover such changes in the plants under 

 their care. 



The careful selection of buds for propagation has been seri- 

 ously considered by practical growers on the Pacific Coast at 

 least, and the California Fruit Growers' Exchange, a coopera- 

 tive organization of about 10,000 members, has established a 

 department of bud selection under the charge of a trained 

 plant breeder thoroughly familiar with the pioneering work 

 done by the Bureau of Plant Industry and other institutions. 

 This department makes a survey of all the citrus orchards be- 

 longing to members of the organization, selecting those trees 

 best fitted to become the parents of the next generation of 

 orchards. Bud wood is taken from these trees, and members 

 of the association secure them at five cents per bud, non- 

 members paying six cents. 



At a recent meeting of the Avocado Grower's Association a 

 similar department of bud selection was formed for the purpose 

 of improving varieties and production. 



Positive Breeding is for Specialists 



HYBRIDIZATION as a method of producing better and 

 new fruits, though of much interest to the practical grower, 

 will have to be left largely to the practical and scientific plant 

 breeders because of the time and careful attention it requires. 

 By hybridization the breeder attempts to bring about more de- 

 sirable combinations of characters that already exist in the plants 

 at hand. It does not involve the production of new characters. 



Thus Orton of the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture was able to unite 

 in a hybrid the blight resistance of the Citron, a non-edible 

 kind of Water-melon, with the good qualities of an edible Water- 

 melon which itself was not resistant to the blight. The resul- 

 ting hybrid was both edible and blight resistant. 



A number of very promising hybrid Strawberries have made 

 their appearance during the last few years. Mr. Albert Etter, 

 of Ettersburg, California, a pioneer in this work, has produced 

 several varieties, some of which have found a ready market. One 

 of these is the Trebla which has a very much mixed hybrid an- 

 cestry. It is marked in its vigor, productiveness, and — especi- 

 ally — its ability to hold the berries above the ground thus pre- 

 venting them from becoming sand covered, a thing the consumer 

 will appreciate. The berries are of a medium size, deep red, and 

 so solid that they do not break down when cooked for canning. 

 They pick without the hull, and with scarcely any abrasion. On 

 the originator's place it produced at the rate of 20 tons to the 

 acre. This and other of his hybrids have been distributed over 

 the West and in some places of the East and have everywhere 

 made a record for themselves. [Who in the East has had ex- 

 perience? We would welcome a report on this berry, for if it 

 gives a good account of itself in the East, people should know 

 more of it. — Editor.] 





