178 



THIRTY-FOURTH FRUIT-GROWERS ' CONVENTION. 



tile Coachella Valley about 6,000 two-year-old seedling- date trees last 

 year, as well as a large quantity of seeds of choice varieties. The plan 

 is to have the seedlings set in such a manner that with the elimination 

 of most of the male trees as soon as their character is shown \sy the 

 flowers and the discarding of the worthless fruiting varieties after a 

 sufficient test, there will still remain enough of fairly good sorts that 

 with a little shifting will occupy the ground at twenty to thirty feet 

 apart. 



There is a trade of considerable importance at Phoenix and Tempe 

 in fresh seedling dates grown in the neighborhood, with the demand 

 always beyond the supply. There can be but little doubt of the possi- 

 bility of such a trade in Southern California sufficient in volume to 

 justify the expense of seedling growing, while there remains over and 

 above the certainty of some choice native grown sorts that will add 

 greatly to the future resources of the community. 



PEDIGREED SEED. 



There still remains the fascinating problem of the production of 

 pedigreed date seed, b^^ the breeding of male treas of known parentage. 



It is well known that with seedling fruits not coming true to the 

 variety there is still a following of the type, a block of Winesap apple 

 seedlings, for instance, being strongly of the Winesap type. In the 

 case of dioecious types of plants, the seedlings of Deglet Noor dates, 

 for example, will have only half of Deglet Noor blood, the male parent 

 being a nondescript variety of unknown parentage, useful only to effect 

 the pollination of the female flowers. But let us select as a pollen 

 producer a vigorous Deglet Noor seedling and we have a known half 

 of Deglet Noor blood on the male side. Continue to pollinate in this 

 line the Deglet Noor flowers and we shall secure graded .up stock — 

 3-4, 7-8, 15-16 — according to the laAv of stock grading, till a male tree 

 of nearlj^ pure Deglet Noor blood, except for the tendency to variation, 

 is obtained. 



With such bred up male trees from the choice date varieties for pollen 

 bearers we shall be able to direct the tendencies of crosses and breed 

 seedlings for earliness, hardiness, or for fine flavor or characteristics 

 of fruit with some degree of precision. 



As the leading apple varieti^es grown in xVmerica to-day are of 

 American origin I am convinced that the American date gardens of 

 the future will, more and more, contain American bred varieties. 



PRESIDENT JEFFREY. The next paper will be on "Some Points 

 in the History of Caprification in the Life History of the Fig," by 

 Walter T. Swingle, also of the Department of Agriculture. 



SOME POINTS IN THE HISTORY OF CAPRIFICATION IN THE 



LIFE HISTORY OF THE FIG. 



By WALTER T. SWINGLE, Physiologist, Plant Lite History Ixyestigations, 

 Department of Agriculture. 



As some of my hearers may not be familiar with the figs of the 

 Smyrna type, I shall preface my remarks with a short account* of this 

 remarkable fruit tree. 



