404. REPORT OF THE HORTICULTURAL DEPARTMENT OF THE 
keeping and sowing the seed the usual precautions were taken with 
the result that plants as follows were grown in 1899: 
Pann’ Xs Marshall ener ete eee nen 255 plants. 
Sample UM arshall 2 Soe i oe eee 31. ee 
Pink ALAN Ce ae tee a Ar Shah 107 
Marshall, pure bred:2<..2 2009 20 a, Ae ieee Gin fae 
Total ss ctisestacesdtiste.s seis ee Nee eee te eee 5447 ae 
The crosses were made by Wendell Paddock, then of this De- 
partment, and the subsequent work of selection has been done, in 
the main, by O. M. Taylor, Foreman in Horticulture. The division 
of labor with these particular varieties serves as a reminder of the 
divided work in practically all plant breeding. First, there must be 
a starting point and, whether of parents to cross or an individual to 
breed from, good judgment must be exercised in selecting plants 
with the characters desired most highly developed and so far as 
known with characters most transmissible. Second, skill must be 
patiently and persistently exercised in selecting the plants most 
nearly approaching the ideal in mind until the end sought for is as 
nearly as possible attained; perfection is scarcely possible. 
The history of the 544 plants obtained in 1899 is quickly given. 
Most of them fruited in 1900 and it was apparent at once that at 
least three-fourths of them were worthless and these were forth- 
with discarded. The plants weeded out either produced inferior 
berries, lacked vigor, or showed one or more markedly poor char- 
acters. After a further selection and weeding out in I901, 31 
seedlings remained and these were allowed to form runners which 
were removed to new beds in 1902. In the summer of 1903, the 
31 seedlings fruited and all but three were discarded. After five 
years and three crops of fruit the number was reduced from 544 to 
3 seedlings. The years following have been devoted to further test- 
ing the three remaining seedlings and now, after ten years of selec- 
tion and testing, these have become named varieties. For fear the 
length of time taken in the breeding of these strawberries may dis- 
courage the prospective plant breeder, it should be said that at the 
end of the fifth or of the sixth year at most, the value of the three 
seedlings which we have named was known and the work of pro- 
ducing the new varieties was completed. 
