Vol. LXV. No. 2955. 
NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 15, 1906. 
WEEKLY, $1.00 PER YEAR. 
POLLINATION OF ORCHARD FRUITS. 
How the Plant Breeder Works. 
There is an increasing interest in plant breeding, 
and a surprising number of experimenters are work¬ 
ing out, in a modest way, problems similar to those 
engaging attention among scientific teachers and 
students. There is much excellent literature on this 
subject, and any person wishing to experiment in this 
line may profit¬ 
ably spend his 
Winter leisure in 
reading bearing 
upon it, but the 
practical experi¬ 
ence of a person 
actively engaged 
in such work gives 
insight into details 
not always 
touched upon in 
print. The evident 
interest shown in 
the improvement 
of orchard fruits 
induced us to ask 
Dr. Van Fleet of 
the Rural Experi¬ 
ment Grounds, a 
few practical ques¬ 
tions, embodied in 
the following in¬ 
terview : 
“How far ad¬ 
vanced should the 
blossoms be when 
emasculated ?” 
“Fruit blossoms 
may be emasculat¬ 
ed as soon as the 
stamens are well 
formed, and can 
be picked or cut 
out without injur¬ 
ing the pistils.” 
“Does it pay to 
emasculate all the 
blossoms in a 
cluster?” 
“I find it better 
to emasculate all 
the strong blos¬ 
soms in a cluster, 
as it is impossible 
to tell by inspec¬ 
tion which indivi¬ 
duals have the 
most perfect ova¬ 
ries.” 
“What instru¬ 
ments do you pre¬ 
fer?” 
“I find a sharp 
thin-bladed pen¬ 
knife, a small pair 
of e m b r o i d e ry 
scissors and a pair 
of compositor’s tweezers about all that is necessary 
in this work.” 
“How low can the cut be made with safety? 
“In emasculating or decapitating fruit blossoms the 
cut may be safely made as low as the crown or ridge 
from which the stamens spring.” 
“Does this mutilation influence the size and shape 
of the fruit?” 
“I have never found that mutilation of this kind in¬ 
fluenced the size or shape of the fruit in any way, un¬ 
less the ovary is opened.” < 
“On the average, how soon after emasculating is it 
best to pollinate?” 
“The best results are not had from pollinating im¬ 
mediately after emasculation. It is well to wait until 
the blossoms on the same tree or plant are at a similar 
stage of development, and show moisture on the stig¬ 
mas when examined under a glass.” 
“Is the presence of nectar a guide to receptivity?” 
“The presence or absence of nect&r does not appear 
to be a safe guide to the receptivity of the stigmas.” 
“How long will pistils under a sack remain re¬ 
ceptive ?” 
“The pistils under a sack appear to remain recep¬ 
tive for 12 to 24 hours longer than those exposed to 
the sun.” 
“Do they mature later than pistils outside the sacks? 
Is it wise to allow time for this?” 
“They undoubtedly mature later than pistils outside 
the sack and some allowance should be made when 
pollinating flowers enclosed in sack.” 
“How do you collect, store and apply the pollen? 
How long will the pollen retain its potency? Is imme¬ 
diate application of pollen a desideratum?” 
“When possible I always try to apply the pollen 
directly from a freshly-opened anther. Where it can¬ 
not bo had at the same time it is possible to store it 
by clipping off the freshly-opened anthers, drying in the 
sun on paper, storing in dry paper envelope for an 
uncertain period, varying from a week to a month. 
The application 
may be made to 
advantage with the 
bare finger tip or 
a small spatula. 
Where possible I 
would rather carry 
the anther direct 
to the stigma, 
holding it with the 
tweezers. A brush 
is a clumsy and 
very wasteful 
method of pollin¬ 
ating.” 
“Do you prefer 
muslin or manila 
sacks ?” 
“I prefer paper 
sacks. Muslin is 
too thick and 
heavy, often ap¬ 
pearing to suffo¬ 
cate the develop¬ 
ment of the pistils. 
The only disad¬ 
vantage of paper is 
the tendency to go 
to pieces during a 
rainstorm accom¬ 
panied by high 
wind. Ordinary 
thin grocer’s pa¬ 
per sacks of suit¬ 
able size seem to 
fill the bill.” 
“Is pinning or 
tying more satis¬ 
factory ?” 
“P inning the 
sacks appears to be 
more satisfactory 
than tying, though 
occasionally I have 
used cord or rub¬ 
ber bands.” 
“How soon after 
pollination do you 
remove the sack ?” 
“We usually aim 
to remove the sack 
within 48 hours 
after pollination.” 
“What is the 
best field label for 
orchard pollination 
work?” 
“Ordinary three 
or four-inch nurserymen’s wooden labels, wired with 
good-sized copper wire are very suitable for field 
work. The wood part should be painted with white 
lead, well rubbed in, before writing with a soft lead 
pencil. Such labels are very durable and satisfac¬ 
tory, being legible after many months of exposure to 
the weather.” 
“Is it best to put netting over crossed fruits?” 
“It is much better to cover the crossed fruits with 
netting as they approach maturity. If blown from 
the tree they may often be identified by the marks of 
HYBRID RUGOSA ROSE, SIR THOMAS UPTON. Fig. 292. See Ruralisms, Page 698. 
