CROSSING RASPBERRIES AND CUCURBITS. 



349 



mens of fruit sent to their offices, giving prizes at their 

 local show 



Next to the show system would be the plan of send- 

 ing well instructed men on lecturing tours through the 

 various states to teach what may be considered the most 

 essential points. These men could call at the various 

 houses that came in their way. If this is considered 

 impracticable, the ne.xt best step would be to try to get 

 the gardeners in the different districts to hold, say 

 monthly, meetings when papers could be read on the 

 different subjects. During the winter months an effort 

 should be made to form a class composed of the young 

 men and women of the village for the study of rural 

 economy. In the spring an examination could be held 

 when a certificate, or other suitable prize, might be 

 given by the society who had the working of the system, 

 to those who had proved themselves diligent. The off- 

 ering of prizes for written articles would not succeed, 

 as too few would enter for the prize, and unless some 

 expense was incurred to print and distribute these arti- 

 cles, no good would be done. The experimental stations 

 might also do much for this cause in various ways. In 



the village schools the seniors might receive a course of 

 lessons in the principles of fruit growing before leaving 

 school. If the teacher was incompetent to give these 

 lessons, some fruit grower or gardener in the neighbor- 

 hood might be found who would undertake the task. 

 When the simple methods of culture became understood, 

 and it was found that a year or two only was spent in 

 waiting for the trees to become fruitful, and that the 

 worms might be dealt with in a variety of ways, interest 

 would be awakened and every country urchin would be 

 seen regaling himself with rare ripe fruit. 



Every cottager should have attached to his home at 

 least half an acre of ground, A quarter of this could 

 be set apart for the small fruits, and the spaces between 

 the trees might be planted to some crop during the first 

 year or two. Apples and pears should be on dwarfing 

 stocks, and raspberries, blackberries and vines should 

 be trained to a permanent trellis. A portion of the gar- 

 den should be set apart for a strawberry patch, and all 

 pruning should be of the simplest kind. This could not 

 fail to be of vast benefit in many ways. 



Lotiiiiana . H. W. Smith. 



CROSSING RASPBERRIES AND CUCURBITS. 



HERE is, perhaps, nothing 

 connected with fruits and 

 flowers which yields a 

 keener enjoyment to young 

 or old, than the art of 

 crossing and hybridizing. 

 The uncertainties and pos- 

 sibilities of results lend an 

 attraction which leads 

 those engaged in it steadily onward toward new at- 

 tempts. Although it is a field surrounded with mys- 

 tery on all sides, its operations are perfectly simple 

 and easily performed by anyone willing to be patient 

 and careful. The inethod must be varied, of course, 

 according to the structure of the flower worked 

 upon ; but the principle is the same everywhere, 

 namely, to securely guard the stigma from every 

 particle of pollen except that which 

 it is proposed to use. This in- 

 volves removing the stamens from 

 the flower to be crossed while the 

 anthers are yet so green that they 

 cannot burst and scatter any of 

 their pollen ; also carefully cover- 

 ing the flower in such a way as to 

 prevent other pollen from being 

 brought to it by the wind or in- 

 sects. This covering should be done just before the 

 flower opens. The one from which the pollen is to 

 be taken must be covered in the same way, to pre- 



FlG. 



Fig. 



vent the possibility of the pollen becoming mixed 

 with that from other plants. 



The method of procedure may be well illustrated by 

 the raspberry, with which the writer made extensive 

 crosses the past season. Here, as in all members of the 

 Rosaceae, the stamens are very numerous, and to attempt 

 to remove each one separately would be a 

 slow and troublesome task ; but fortunate- 

 ly, another character of this order comes 

 to our aid, for they are all borne on the 

 calyx, and far enough from its point of con- 

 nection with the receptacle to permit cut- 

 ting away the whole calyx with a pair of 

 sharp-pointed scissors, thus removing all 

 the stamens at once. Figs, i and 2 repre- 

 sent the general appearance of a flower bud 

 of the right age, before and after this operation. Re- 

 moving the calyx in this manner has another advantage 

 in serving to mark the fruits which have been crossed, in 

 case the label should be lost, or later buds should be de- 

 veloped in the same cluster. It is best to emasculate 

 only buds which are of about the same age, removing all 

 younger ones, open flowers, or fruit already set from 

 the cluster, which should then be carefully covered and 

 left for the stigmas to ripen. For this covering, '4 -lb. 

 manilla bags are most convenient. Put a hole through 

 the double fold on one side, toward the top ; run in a 

 short, small piece of raffia or other convenient tying 

 material, and give it a single tie around one of the folds, 

 to prevent the string from losing out. Wetting the tops 

 of the bags when going into the field will aid in making 

 them fit closely to the stem when tied on. 



Two days after emasculating is usually long enough 



