BY JAMKS PINK, ESQ., F.R.H.S. 



163 



variety of grape by hybridising' or crossing the Isabel with the 

 Sweetwater, the former bein^- the mother and the Sweetwater 

 the father of the new variety. This was done as an experiment, 

 and no great result could have been expected of it. To have 

 raised a really improved and valuable hybrid I would have 

 sugfofested the crossinty of the Muscat of Alexandria with the 

 Isabel. This cross would probably result in a distinct break in 

 our varieties of grapes, and by such means we might obtain a 

 hybrid possessing the hardness and productiveness of the 

 Isabel with the large and delicious fruit of the Muscat. 



The art of practical hybridisation is very simple in itself, but 

 it is absolutely necessary for the operator to have a knowledge 

 of the various parts of the flower, and especially of the 

 functions of the organs of fructification. A typical perfectly 

 formed flower is composed of a calyx, corolla, stamens, and 

 pistil. It is with the two latter essential organs that the hybridist 

 has to deal. The pistil is the central organ of the flower and is 

 divided into three parts, the ovary, style, and stigma. The ovary 

 is that part of the pistil which is to contain the future seed. The 

 stigma is the moist, spungy surface destined to receive the 

 pollen-grains by which the ovules ai-e fertilised, and the style is 

 the column supporting the stigma, through which the pollen- 

 tubes pass to the ovary. A stamen consists of a stalk called a 

 filament and the anther containing the pollen-grains. It is by 

 conveying the pollen-grains from the anthei's of the flowers of 

 one distinct species or variety to the stigma of the flower of 

 another species or variety that the practical process of hybridi- 

 sation is effected. Hybridisation is one of the most interesting 

 departments in the whole field of horticulture, and one which 

 from its simplicity can be carried to a successful issue by 

 anyone especially aftei' having once seen the operation performed. 

 Morning and evening, in fine weather, are the best times for 

 effecting the process. 



It will be well to glance for a moment at what other countries 

 have effected by hybridisation. Take America as an example, 

 and where America has led surelv Australia can follow, and in 

 her turn raise hybrid fi-uit of her own, better adapted to her 

 climate than imported kinds. 



America in the early days of her history did exactly as we 

 are doing, that is, introduced all her fruits from the Old World, 

 with various results. The apple as introduced from p]urope would 

 not thrive, neither is it indigenous to America, and early writers 

 say that nearly all the varieties had degenerated to the normal 

 state of " crabs." As soon, however, as Knight had promulgated 

 his theory of crossing and hybridising, through the agency of the 



