378 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 May, 1899. 
(c) In planting up the crossing-plot, an equal number of healthy 
seedlings of theestate coffee should bethoroughly mixed with the new 
kinds, so that winged insects may have full play on the whole. But 
in addition to the general and haphazard operations performed b 
the insects, a few bushes should be carefully isolated for hand- 
fertilisation. For the latter purpose a few skeleton frames covered 
with finemuslin would be a sufficient protection, if placed over the 
bushes before the flowers opened. Plant in a square plot at 6 by 6 
feet, so, that air may circulate around the bushes freely. The 
preliminary details which I have emphasised under the sub-headings 
a, 6, and ¢ will keep the planter employed for at least two years, or, 
to be strictly accurate, until a maiden crop of flowers is produced. 
in the crossing-plant. 
‘Then, at this latter stage, the work of fertilisation will actually begin, 
should several distinct kinds of coffee flower simultaneously. Unprotected 
bushes will be pollinated through the agency of insects chiefly, while the 
protected ones will be self-pollinated, should no precautions be taken to 
prevent it. Where bushes are intended for hand-fertilisation, it will be 
necessary in the early stages of reproductive growth to rub off a great many 
of the young flower buds, so that the inflorescence of an individual may be 
reduced to a manageable number of flowers. For that matter, the flowers 
could be reduced to what is borne on a single primary, or to a few clusters of 
the same. The necessity for this apparently ruthless treatment is’ contained in 
the fact that, during the short time the stigma is receptive of foreign pollen, 
the fertiliser could only pollinate a limited number of flowers with any degree 
’ of certainty. It is, therefore, wiser to make sure of getting a few good crosses 
than to attempt a larger number indiscriminately. Let us now suppose that 
the operation is about to take place. Having provided himself with the: 
necessary requisites,* and selected a protected bush to become the seed-bearer, 
the fertiliser places himself under the protective frame, and eagerly watches. 
for the opening of the first flower. Directly the flower opens (usually early in 
the morning), there will be seen, slightly projecting from its delicate-white: 
throat (tube of the corolla), a bifid, or two horned stigma, supported by 5 to 7 
arrow-headed anthers on short stalks. At the time of opening, the stigma, — 
which is seen well in advance of the anthers, glistens with a sticky substance 
which holds fast any powdery matter, such as pollen, that may fall on to it. 
What the fertiliser has to do at this stage is to dust a little foreign pollen on 
to it by means of his camel’s-hair brush. This done, he instantly, and as. 
deftly as possible, cuts away the 5 to 7 anthers behind the stigma. But as the 
anthers are usually closed at this early period, they could perhaps do no harm 
if they were left. Everything would depend on the behaviour, so to speak, of 
the stigma towards the new pollen by which it has been fertilised. 
The process as described above has to be done with every flower until the: 
primary or clusters of flowers reserved for crossing have been exhausted. A 
register is then made of the parentage on both sides, and after a day or two. 
the bush is liberated from its protecting covering. 
I have examined many coffee flowers at the moment of opening ; in most 
“cases the stigma projects in advance of the anthers and the style lengthens. 
rapidly. By this means the spreading horns of the stigma afford a good plat- 
form for small bees and other insects to rest upon when searching for honey. 
Then flitting from one stigma to another they deposit quantities of pollen, 
which readily adheres to their hairy limbs. Crossing operations being com. — 
pleted, the next step would be to select a suitable piece of land for the 
cultivation and trial of seedlings raised from the crossing-plot. It is in this. 
final stage of the experiment that the exact result of cross-fertilisation would. 
beeome apparent, and not before. 
* A fine camel’s-hair brush; small, sharp penknife; small, sharp pair of scissors; pocket lenss. 
flowering branch from male parent, with pollen. 
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