Mar. s. 1924 Diploid and Polyploid Forms in Raspberries 743 
Horticultural variety Merveille de Quatre Saisons Rouge. This is probably 
the same as Perpetual de Billiard. It was raised and introduced in 1849 by M. 
Billiard, nurseryman of Fontenay, near Paris. Stock of this was obtained from 
Orleans, France. It is one of the old varieties and is reported as identical with 
October Red ( 20 ) and the Old Double-Bearing (18). It is also reported as a supposed 
seedling of Fastolff (16). 
Horticultural variety Surpasse Merveille a Blanc. Stock under this name 
was secured from Orleans, France', but it bears red fruit and resembles Merveille de 
Quatre Saisons Rouge very closely and its probable identity with this variety is 
indicated further by this cytological study. 
Horticultural variety All Summer. Plants of this variety were obtained 
from Orleans, France. 
Horticultural variety White Queen. White Queen was introduced in 1920 
by Wm. M. Hunt & Co., of New York City, who state that it may be of French parent¬ 
age. It was found on the place of Jonathan Thorne at Black Rock, Conn., and is sup¬ 
posed to be a chance seedling. It fruits freely in the autumn on young canes. 
La France was the first raspberry studied in which more than the 7 
haploid chromosomes were found and, because of this, all phases of 
meiosis have been studied critically. Plate 3, B, pictures the 14 bivalent 
chromosomes. They appear crowded in the drawing, but are on the 
periphery of the nucleus and quite separate in the actual observations. 
Not only is there an increase in chromosome number above that of 
diploid forms, but there is also a change in the general appearance of the 
anthers. Clear figures, plump mother cells and prompt pairing of the 
chromosomes at diakinesis are absent and one has to study much mate¬ 
rial and stain carefully in order to overcome the unfavorable conditions 
found in this polyploid form during meiosis. 
It seems unnecessary to discuss in detail the reduction divisions of 
this variety but one characteristic should be mentioned^ that is, the 
irregular distribution of chromosomes, some of which lag on the spindle 
and are extruded from the daughter nuclei. Such behavior is believed 
to indicate hybrid origin, and results in the formation of pollen grains 
with varying chromosome numbers and varying in viability. 
La France, though not hardy, endures the winters better than many 
European raspberry varieties. It has dark green foliage which is more 
resistant to leaf spot than spring fruiting European sorts. It also bears 
fruit quite freely on the turion tips in the autumn. Five varieties with 
characteristics similar to La France were selected and five additional poly- 
ploidous forms were found. The cytological study of these forms had 
associated with it the difficulties referred to in the foregoing variety. 
The mother cells frequently were thin and vacuolated and collapsed 
before they reached the tetrad stage. After much search favorable 
figures of many stages were found. 
The 14 haploid chromosomes of Merveille Rouge and Merveille de 
Quatre Saisons Rouge are represented in Plate 3, E and F. These typical 
prophases resemble that pictured for La France and the later phases have 
associated with them the same interesting irregularities. Consequently, 
one would expect to find a large amount of pollen sterility, an expecta¬ 
tion borne out by the actual observations, both varieties having only 
25 per cent viable pollen. 
Surpasse Merveille a Blanc has 14 bivalent chromosomes. The early 
prophases which showed the univalents grouped in pairs were very favor¬ 
able for study. Plate 3, G was drawn from a figure that had only three 
bivalent chromosomes, the remaining 22 univalents are seen grouped in 
pairs. A later prophase showing only bivalent chromosomes is repre¬ 
sented in Plate 3, H. Plate 3, I, is a drawing of a very late heterotypic 
