
Se ee 

179 
THE JNFLUENCE OF FOREIGN POLLEN UPON THE 
CHARACTER OF FRUIT. 
1st. The Strawberry. 
In our report for 1885, p. 227 1s reported an experiment 
in fertilizing the blossoms of the strawberry with pollen 
from other varieties, in order to discover the effect, if any, 
on the fruit. The result appeared negative. A similar ex- 
periment was made the past season. 
A number of plants of the Crescent strawberry were 
potted in the fall of 1885 and wintered over in a cold frame. 
In the spring the pots were plunged in the garden until the 
flower buds appeared, when they were removed to the 
greenhouse and inclosed in a frame covered with mosquito 
netting. The plants were kept enclosed in the frame ai all 
times except while the work of fertilization was going on. 
They were divided into four lots, and as the flowers opened, 
those of one lot were fertilized with pollen from the Sharp- 
less, those of a second with that from Wilson, of a third 
from Lennig’s White, while those of the fourth lot were 
not fertilized at all. In one plant, two flowers were ferti- 
lized on one side of the receptacle with pollen from the 
Sharpless, and on the other with that from Lennig’s White. 
After the plants had finished flowering they were removed 
to the garden and bedded out. Unfortunately the removal 
was followed by very warm and dry weather and in spite 
of waterings, the foliage shriveled considerably and the 
berries were in consequence diminutive in size. The value 
of the experiment was not however destroyed. It was very 
clear that the berries from blossoms fertilized with pollen 
from Lennig’s White were not different in color from those 
fertilized with that from Wilson or Sharpless. The flowers 
fertilized on one side with pollen from Sharpless and on 
the other with that from Lennig’s White matured symmet- 
rical fruits, which were uniform in color on both sides. 
Some berries were irregular in form among those fertilized 
with pollen from each of the three varieties, but it could 
not be said that more irregularity appeared in one lot than 
in another. 
One thing however was plain. The proportion of berries 
secured depended upon the abundance of the pollen furn- 
ished by the variety used as the fertilizer. The Wilson 
yielded less pollen than either of the other varieties, and it 
was found more difficult to secure berries with pollen from 
this sort, a point which may have a practical bearing. 
Whether or not the same law holds under natural condi- 
tions, it is impossible to say, but it seems probable that it 
might. It is quite possible therefore that the quantity of 
fruit depends to some extent upon the abundance of the 
pollen yielded by the variety used as the fertilizer. 
