:| SMALL FRUITS AND HOW TO GROW THEM \ 
3 
larger, finer flavored, more vig'orous in 
every way. Then ag-ain they are much 
inferior. The general tendency is to go back 
to the wild state. Now we may take advan- 
tage of this and fix our ideal of what a plant 
should be and every year accumulate good 
qualities, by propagating succes.sively year 
after year from those that vary in the right 
direction, until we have reached the great- 
est perfection. L,on}>- and oontiiincd 
selection will fix the characteristics in the 
variety so the tendency to reversion or going 
back to original type has disappeared. 
A PEDIGREE PLANT. 
A pedigree plant is one possessing full 
fruiting vigor and has every good quality of 
its variety in the highest perfection which 
has been accumulated by continued selection 
of ideal plants through a long series of 
years. Taking advantage of bud variation 
to secure the greatest uniformity of fruit 
and by restriction of pollen bearing to secure 
the highest development and productiveness. 
Bi-eodiiij>' ni» plants. Having given 
the definition of a pedigree plant, let me give 
in detail my method of producing them. 
Breeding up plants is a v/ork involving 
many years of study and painstaking. We 
must study the variety until we know all its 
faults and learn how to correct them, and 
must be able to detect the slightest varia- 
tion in the right direction. 
The Old Razorback. 
Bred vp by Selection. 
Karly in tlie spring-, as soon as buds are 
developed and before blossoms begin to open, 
we go to the fruiting field set the previous 
yeai, to search for the ideal plant from 
which to ptopagate. It must be stocky, 
bright, clean and thrifty, with large crowns 
and fruit buds. We select as many as pos- 
sible, setting a stake by each and number- 
ing it, so that the field book shall contain a 
perfect record of each plant, using a scale of 
one to ten in noting all points of exellence. 
In all p<'rfo<-t flow- 
erinf>- va i-ieties we cut 
off all blossoms except 
one or two before they 
open. This is a vital 
point as the potency of 
pollen can only be in- 
creased by restriction. 
When remaining blos- 
soms are open, stamens 
and pistils are carefully 
examined and all plants not showing proper 
development are thrown out. 
"Wild Str.-wvbekkv. 
The Makshai.i,. 
(Bred up by selection.) 
In pi.stillate varieties wc do not remove 
the blos.soms until after they are open becau.se 
there are always more or less stamens (male 
organs) which are only partially developed 
b:it may have enough vigor so that if 
stimulated by restriction thev might impreg- 
nate their own pistils with their weakened 
pollen and thus greatly injure the develop- 
ment and growth of fruit. In selecting 
"ideals" of pistillate varieties we choo.se 
those destitute of stamens, so that the pol- 
len from the perfect flowering sorts set near 
shall fertilize them. 
Seed bearins lieing- the great exhaust- 
ing element must be held in check the fir.st 
year. Two berries only are allowed to 
mature on each plant selected to determine 
color, shape and general good qualities. 
When all is done the l>lue riblxni or stake 
is given to the one showing the largest num- 
ber of points of excellence. In order to place 
this plant under the most favorable condi- 
tion, we now hoe up all plants near it and 
give it extra cultivation and as soon as run- 
ners appear they are rooted in small flower 
pots sunk in the ground under the plant 
and when well rooted are cut off and trans- 
