New Creations in Fruits and Flowers. 



51 



Facts and Possibilities. 



There is no possible room for doubt that every form of plant life existing 

 on the earth is now being and has alwa3'S been modified, more or less, by its 

 surroundings, and often rapidly and permanently changed, never to return to 

 the same form. Wlien man takes advantage of these facts, and changes all 

 the conditions, giving abundance of room for expansion and growth, extra 

 cultivation and a superabundance of the various chemical elements in the most 

 assimilable form, with abundance of light and heat, great changes sooner or 

 later occur according to the susceptibility of the subject ; and when added to 

 all these combined governing forces we employ the other potent forces of com- 

 bination and selection of the best combinations, the power to improve our 

 useful and ornamental plants is limitless. But in crossing, as in budding or 

 grafting, the affinities can only be demonstrated by actual test, which often 

 involves long, tedious, and expensive experimenting. 



In budding or grafting, the nurseryman finds every conceivable stage of 

 congeniality between stock and bud or graft, from actual poisoning to a refusal 

 to unite ; or uniting and not growing ; or growing for a short time and dying ; 

 or separating where united ; or bearing one or two crops of fruit and then sud- 

 denly blighting ; or separating after years of growth up to complete conge- 

 niality. So in crossing, all grades of hybridity are to be found. Crossed plants 

 generally have the characteristics of both parents combined, yet, owing to 

 prepotency of the life- forces in certain directions or congeniality of surround- 

 ings sometimes show only their parentage on one side producing uncertain 

 results in the first generation, and these cross-bred seedlings often break away 

 into endless forms and combinations, sometimes even reverting to some strange 

 ancestral form which existed in the dim past ; or the break may not occur until 

 after many generations, but when once the old persistent type is broken up the 

 road is open for improvement and advance in any useful direction. Some 

 times hybridized or crossed seedlings show considerable or even great varia- 

 tions for weeks and then change at once to one or the other of the original 

 types ; or they may show no change in foliage or growth from one or the other 

 parent forms until nearly ready to bloom or bear fruit, when they suddenl}- 

 change in foliage, growth, character and general appearance. 



Tomatoes may be grown from seed pollenated from Potato pollen only, 

 and Juglans regia from nuts pollenated only from Juglans cinerea or J. nigra. 

 The common Calla has often been grown from seeds pollenated only b}- Calla 

 albo-maculata ; also pure Wtieat from Rye poUenations, and vice vosa ; pure 

 Blackberries, Raspberries and Dewberries from Apple, Rose, Quince or Moun- 

 tain Ash poUenations. 



Seedling Lilies very rareh^ show the effect of foreign pollenation, though 

 often producing seed much more abundantly than with pollen of the same 

 species. 



These facts have been observed by me so often, and have been worked on 

 so extensively, and can be proven so readily, that the common theory of par- 

 thenogenesis must, in these cases, be set aside. 



There is no barrier to obtaining fruits of an}- size, form or flavor desired, 

 and none to producing plants and flowers of any form, color or fragrance ; all 

 that is needed is a knowledge to guide our efforts in the right direction, 

 undeviating patience and cultivated eyes to detect variations of value. 



The descriptions in this list are necessarily short and incomplete, but in 

 all cases exaggeration has been studiously avoided. 



It is fair to suppose that one who has had extensi\"e experience in any 

 special line should be able to give judgment approximating impartiality. All 



