Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1876-02-09

form this delicate operation, Is pair Of
very small pincers, as slender as a humming'
birds bill, such as an oculst uses In his
work. While removing the stamens, you
will need to exercise constant care not TO In.
lure the pistil. cluster Of FIVE slender bodies
which arise from the center Of the flower,
each OF which consists Of a club-shaped
stigma, borne on the summit Of slender
column, called the style. The object of re-
moving the stamens is to prevent self-im-
pregnation Of the flower and lest pollen
brought from other blossoms, 10y wind or in
sects, gets the start of you in fertiizing the
pstils, the prepared flowers must be on
closed in little bags Of thin, close paper,
drawn over the blossoms and leaves at their
foot, and tied closely beneath them.
You have probably prepared your flowers
from one to three days before their natural
maturity and expansion. At the end Of
this time return to them remove the bags
cautiously, and you will find the stignas TO
have lost their greenish tinge, and to be
swollen and yiscid. Having provided your
self with flowers OF the variety chosen for
the pollen parent-freshly opened flowers
whose anthers have just burst in the morn
ing's sun and are loaded with noury pollen
with your pincers seize the stamens by
their styles, and apply their anthers upon the
stigmas. II these are ready for the pollen,
showing the slightly yiscd condition have
mentioned, the pollen will adhere 10 them,
and fertilization will quite certainly follow
For two or three days longer the envelopes
should be returned, and when they are taken
off little sacks Of thin cloth--cheese sacking
is preferred take their places, to
shield the fruits against attacks of birds or
insects, and guard against their loss when
mature.
The seed should be taken out before the
decay Of the fruit, and should be planted
fresh in the fall, and properly labelled. BY
the second year, perhaps sooner, the young
trees will furnish scions for grating or bud
ding. Several sorts may thus be placed in
the head of single tree of bearing age
Whether their fruting will be accelerated
by this treatment is quite doubtful The
testimony Of Thomas Rivers, Of England,
one Of the most extensive raisers OF seedlings
in the world, goes to show that the develop
ment of seedlings, when thus grated on
older and bearing trees, progresses no faster
than when they are planted on their own
roots. Whether scion or tree, they must, he
thinks, pass through juvenile state, show
ing considerable thorniness, and thin, mar
row and finely cut leaves suggestions of wild
ancestors, before they attain their complete
characters and fruit. Yet the practice OF
putting them in the heads Of large trees is
TO be commended as the easiest way to test a
large number of sorts. c. G. PRINGLE.
Quite a number of our readers will be
gratifed at receiving these simple practical
directions for the production of crossed and
hybridzed seedlings and we hope they
las we intead) will put them in practice.
Fruit of the greatest value may be thus pro-
duced. But tho work must be labor Of
love, for reasons pointed out in a previous
article. Proprietorship in such new fruit
could not be held so as to give the producer
any pecuniary reward and so long as job
bers and spectators are surrounding the
public treasury in such crowds, there is no
likelihood that penny could be drawn
thence to reward ever so useful an improve
ment Of this sort.