THE BLOSSOMING OF OUR HARDY CULTIVATED FRUITS. 5G3 



Picking in most seasons begins about four weeks after flowering 

 commences ; if there is frost shortly before the flowers open, the earliest 

 open with black centres and do not set fruit; towards the end of 

 the season the last flowers are apt not to set fruit. 



The pollen of the strawberry is very plentiful; it is date-shaped, 

 lesembling that of raspberry, bat is far more plentiful. The strawberry 

 does not seem to be as dependent on insects for pollination as 

 most of the other kinds of fruit. In the photograph of pollen 

 there are some grains of eitlier immature pollen or possibly 

 pollen brought to the flower by an insect from another kind of 

 flower. The strawberry has a ring-like nectary between the rim of the 

 saucer " and the central carpel-bearing knob. The honey is only 

 slightly concealed by the stamens and the flowers are visited by flies 

 as well as by larger and longer-tongued insects, such as bees. The 

 stigmas become receptive, i.e. reach their full size and become sticky, 

 before the anthers of the flowers open to shed the pollen, so that self- 

 pollination is to some extent hindered and cross-pollination generally 

 takes place. 



Easpberries. 



The approximate dates of flowering at Wye were as follows: — 





Commenced 

 flowering 



Full bloom 



Continued in 

 flower till 



Picking 

 commenced 



1908 



May 28 



June 3 





July 14 



1909 



May 24 



June 2 



July 6 



July 14 



1910 



May 24 



June 4 



July 10 



July 14 



In the raspberry the leaves commence to open some five weeks 

 before the flowers comrnence to open; raspberries are in flower from 

 first to last about six weeks. As the leaves are fully expanded before 

 the flowers open, and as raspberries flower late in the season, they are 

 seldom caught by frost. The pollen appears to be shed only during 

 a short part of the time the flowers are open, and seems to be small 

 in quantity. 



This year I placed paper bags over three bunches of flowers before 

 any blooms had opened, and on untying them later in the season when 

 fruit was ripe was surprised to find in each case that the fruit was 

 almost as plentiful, and some berries larger than those in the open; 

 the bagged fruits apparently had smaller seeds and were more fleshy. 

 Sir John Lubbock, speaking of the wild raspberry, says : " Though the 

 rasp])erry secretes honey, it is not apparently a great favourite with 

 insects, and frequently fertilizes itself."* This m.ay account for the 

 above result. 



Blackberries. 



" The flowers of blackberry are much more conspicuous than those 

 of the raspberry, and the stamens are turned more outwards, so as to 

 leave more room between themselves and the pistil. They appear to 

 be much frequented by insects. The stamens ripen gradually from the 

 *. British Wild Flowers in Belation to Insects. 



p p 2 



