The National Nurseryman. 
FOR GROWERS AND DEALERS IN NURSERY STOCK. 
Copyright, 1893, by the National Nurseryman Publishing Co. 
Vol. IV. ROCHESTER, N. Y., MARCH, 1896. No. 2 . 
INBREEDING VS. CROSSING. 
Efforts are being made in the line of crossing and 
hybridizing to improve fruits as well as to originate new 
varieties. Advocates of this line of work have claims of 
possible improvement and the origin of new fruits along 
the lines in which live stock is being improved. Detailed 
reports of the progress are rather meager, while the effort 
to this date has been considerable. So far as reported, 
we note that the work is being done by violent crosses, 
and new creations of claimed value are being made by 
crossing our common apples of Asiatic origin with our 
native wild crab apple. Instances of the work are the 
crossing of the Grimes, Jonathan, Roman Stem, Ben 
Davis, with a very large crab located in Southern Iowa. 
It is expected to get the hardiness of the crab and the 
quality of the finer fruits combined. And if the cross is 
not satisfactory, it is-desired to breed up from the result. 
While this has gone out officially as society work, from 
reliable sources it has been stated that the Early Rich¬ 
mond cherry is being crossed with Prunus pumila, the 
Sand cherries of the West. Other work has been done in 
Iowa experiments in the same line that gives the public a 
general knowledge of the trend of the experimental work 
in crossing. We desire to express an opinion largely in 
the line of inquiry : How are we to get good results out 
of this line of work. 
The crossing principle as applied to improving live 
stock does not improve and, contrary to popular belief, 
we think the principle does not improve the human race. 
E'acts of history are against this common error, that the 
union of races on American soil will contribute a great, 
amalgamated and powerful race. If it proves a success, 
it is because it is accompanied by higher intellectual 
development. Turning to the old world, back to earlier 
history of the races, we find the opposite true. The Jew¬ 
ish race originated by inbreeding and was developed to 
its present powerful blood lines by what is known in 
modern times as “ line-breeding.” The most vigorous 
laws were laid down to keep it pure and “line-bred.” In 
this race the Almighty incarnate chose to appear in the 
greatest perfection of character and physical form which 
largely contributes to moral perfection. There is proba¬ 
bly now no more prepotent blood than that of the Jew. 
The Scotch and Irish closely hemmed in by a powerful 
nation for centuries have, by close line-breeding, devel¬ 
oped remarkable characteristics, one ruling the cities of 
America, the other the peer of excellency in morals, char¬ 
acter and philosophy. The little kingdom of Denmark is 
another inbred or line-bred people of such noble qualities 
that the greater powers of the old world intermarry with 
her royally and she furnishes queens for kingdoms that 
now rule over five hundred millions of people. Again 
history repeats the showing that hardy races closely inter¬ 
married and developed in mountain fastnesses and on high 
plains, of but limited numbers, make easy prey of vast 
populations of rich countries of promiscuously mingled 
races. 
In the breeding of live stock, such cross breeding as is 
done by the general farmer is and has been a most serious 
hindrance to the material advancement of the cause of 
agriculture. The evils of farmers crossing the different 
breeds, when years of environment and careful handling 
have adapted them for certain and special purposes, has 
been one of the most difficult tasks that the agricultural 
press and enlightened farmers have had to contend against. 
Viewed from the standpoint of practical and successful 
live-stock breeding, such crossing as the native crab Pyrus 
coronaria, a native of North America, with the cultivated 
apple Pyrus Malus, of Asia and Europe, or our apple in 
cultivation—is as violent as effecting a cross, by assist¬ 
ance, of Norman Percheron, with the Shetland; a twelve- 
pound Light Brahma with a three-pound White Leghorn ; 
Short Horns with Jerseys. The monstrosities produced 
would be regarded simply as results, nothing else. To 
improve these results would be a hopeless task to which 
intelligent breeders would not address themselves. 
When improvement is undertaken it is by means of 
feed, environment, close-line breeding in a breed and 
where efforts are made to produce anything new of value, 
sports out of a regular line of breeding are looked after 
and close “ line-breeding ” or inbreeding is practiced. If 
we examine the facts carefully, good results and improve¬ 
ment are hard to secure in the most careful breeding and 
care of stock. Atavism, heredity and general downward 
tendency are hard to combat. Improvement is slow At 
times the advancement is by feed and care ; at times by 
breeding. With accurate records and well-known tend¬ 
encies of the individuals employed, disappointments are 
more frequent than rewards. If the extreme and violent 
crossing practiced in “scientific cross breeding” in plants 
is possible to result in the good claimed, such practice is 
certainly not applicable to breeding i ; animal life. There 
has probably been more advance in swine breeding than 
with any other live stock; and if it were reduced 
simply to crossing, there would be but a reversion to the 
original wild hog. 
The more valuable fruits that Iowa soil has produced 
and which are now attracting attention are the native 
plums which are but selections from wildlings, as the 
Wolf, Wyant, Eorest Garden, Weaver, Rockford, and 
others. What we have in plums is possible in pears, 
