Page 32 



BETTER FRUIT 



March 



PLATE IV— CONTRASTS IN INTERNAL QUALITIES. NO. 2— PERFECT TYPE 



disease resistance are of prime considera- 

 tion, as well as a thick, fine flesh of rich 

 flavor, with no disagreeable consistency 

 or after tastes, which are all qualities 

 that should be embodied in a perfect 

 cantaloupe. 



Doubtless the acme of perfection may 

 never be realized, for some of the points 

 may be antagonistic attributes, and the 

 laws of plant breeding are not so well 

 defined as to enable one to outline a 

 scheme for seed selection that will insure 

 the desired results in a given time. 



The object of this article is with a view 

 of outlining the methods and results of 

 a definite investigation along this line, 

 presenting the facts that have grown out 

 of this work in such a way as to serve the 

 future efforts in cantaloupe breeding. 



The Colorado Experiment Station, in 

 1903, instituted an investigation for the 

 purpose of developing, if possible, a can- 

 taloupe that would be immune to the 

 attacks of the fungus disease commonly 

 known as "melon rust" or "blight," which 

 is a serious menace to the melon indus- 

 try. The first efifort was a study of the 

 cantaloupe fields to ascertain if any 

 resistant tendency existed in the various 

 strains of the Rocky Ford cantaloupes. 



Owing to the different soil and the cul- 

 tural conditions of the different farms, it 

 was impossible to draw conclusions, as 

 all fields were affected to some extent, 

 and eventually all succumb to the disease. 



It was evident that a comparative test 

 under more uniform conditions would be 

 necessary to determine the point in ques- 

 tion. Accordingly the following season 

 the principal strains of the Rocky Ford 

 cantaloupes were tested in comparison 

 on a piece of ground that had been seri- 

 ously affected with the fungus. The plat 

 was uniform in condition and had the 

 same care in all respects, yet the results 

 of the test revealed that one of the 

 strains had marked disease resistant qual- 



ities, for when the balance of the plat 

 was practically dead and dried up with 

 the disease the rows of this variety had 

 a number of plants only slightly affected. 



The seed of these resistant individuals 

 was secured, and the following season, 

 1905, the same plat of ground was again 

 used in order that the rust-resistant fea- 

 ture could be developed in as adverse 

 conditions as possible. It chanced this 

 season that one of the rows in the plat 

 was planted with the seed of one can- 

 taloupe, and the product of this row was 

 so uniform in all of its qualities that it 

 was evident that individual selection was 

 an essential point to consider; also the 

 increased per cent of the resistant plants 

 gave evidence that the quality was trans- 

 mitted and could be developed by seed 

 selection. 



The seed of the most resistant plants 

 were again saved, but this time each one 

 was kept separate; the next year, 1906, 

 the same plat was again used. The test 

 demonstrated that the product of some 

 plants reproduced quite uniformly and in 

 others there was a tendency to vary. 

 This seemed to emphasize the impor- 

 tance of selecting individual melons as 

 well as the plant, and isolating the breed- 

 ing plats as far as possible to prevent 

 undesirable crosses. One row in the plat 

 was planted as a check row with the 

 seed of a very choice melon, but which 

 had not been selected for disease-resist- 

 ant quality. This row was destroyed 

 with the rust at least two weeks before 

 the balance of the plat gave signs of the 

 disease to any extent. (Plat I.) 



As the disease began to develop in the 

 plat a careful study was made and the 

 most resistant plants were numbered by 

 a stake, and as the melons ripened the 

 most desirable were selected and the 

 seed saved separately, with a descriptive 

 record made of each. Near the close of 

 the season the plat was gone over again 



and noted as to which plants had been 

 the most resistant during the summer. 

 This revealed the fact that a few had 

 been more enduring than all the rest. 

 The seed of these could be easily identi- 

 fied, and those that scored the highest 

 in points of quality were selected for the 

 work in 1907. The seeds were planted 

 in separate adjacent blocks of fifty hills 

 each on the same old plat that for five 

 consecutive years had been devoted to 

 cantaloupes, which is enough to insure 

 a failure, on account of the disease, with 

 any of the ordinary strains of seed after 

 it has grown on the same soil so long, 

 but since the begining of the resistant 

 selection the plat has shown a decrease 

 in the presence of the disease, while in 

 adjacent fields the fungus has been 

 as prevalent as ever, and even more 

 destructive. Except for a few individual 

 plants, the plat during the past season 

 has been practically free from the disease. 



Several tests of the rust-resistant strain 

 were made by commercial growers in 

 the vicinity of Rocky Ford, and all the 

 reports have been of a flattering nature. 

 Similar tests were also made in Illinois 

 and Indiana through the co-operation of 

 the experiment stations in those states, 

 and the following copies of letters are 

 the reports sent in. 



From C. G. Woodbury, assistant horti- 

 culturist of the Agricultural Experiment 

 Station, Purdue University, Lafayette, 

 Indiana, under date of August 30, 1907: 



"You remember that you forwarded 

 me some seed early last spring of your 

 new strain of the rust-resistant Rocky 

 Ford melon. I placed this out in several 

 localities in Southern Indiana, where the 

 rust is usually prevalent, and am very 

 pleased to report that your strain has 

 proven to be nearly immune. In one 

 place where there was a small patch 

 directly across the road from a field 

 which the rust ruined entirely the vines 

 from your seed showed no effects of the 

 disease whatever. To test the matter 

 as severely as possible I had badly 

 affected runners from the field that was 

 dying of the rust cut off and scattered 

 among the plants of the rust-resistant 

 strain; even then they became affected 

 only slightly. 



"No doubt before this you have had 

 a visit with Professor Orton of the 

 department of agriculture, and he is able 

 to corroborate my statements, since I 

 had the pleasure of visiting some of the 



CURRANT AND GOOSEBERRY 

 FRUIT MAGGOT 



a, Section through a gooseberry, showing egg and 

 puncture at e; b, Two gooseberries on a stem, 

 showing egg puncture or sting at a. Original. 

 Drawings by Miss M. A. Pahner 

 Colorado Experiment Station 



