Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-02-08
FLOWERS OF PEARS AND APPLES.

FLOWERS OF PEARS AND APPLES.
Discovery Respecting Them Made by
the Division of Vegetable Pathology.
What seems likely to prove an important
ana valuable discovery has been made re-
Gently by the division of vegetable pathology
IN the Department of Agriculture. IL is ex-
pecteo TO open up new line OF experiment
In horticulture. The matter in question has
relation to the Characterization Of pears
and apples.
OF course. all the Bartlett pears In the
mountaineering to them merely for the sake
OF example-came originally from a single
seed The creation of such a valuable vari-
ETY. Is due TO the accidental variation OF
some Seeding. A grower raises LOCO seed
ling trees. One of them perhaps will give
| fruit Of exceptional excellence. With this
single tree for beginning. a new variety
is created. being propagated by grating
and budding. This process is kept up until
| maybe there are many thousands of trees
bearing this particular sort OF fruit
But In reality all of the Bartlett pears,
being thus derived from one seed. represent
portions of a single individual IL f. the
same way with every other variety OF pears
or apples Accordingly II happens in most
such instances that the flowers will not mate
together-that is to say. the blossoms of one
variety can only be fertilized by pollen from
another variety. This fact has only recently
been Observation-Disclosures. 1t is the discovery
already alluded to. Simple though II an
pears it is likely to prove Of the greatest
value.
Grating.
For example. a company at Scotland. Va.
has an orchard of 1900 Bartlett pear trees.
For several years past IL has produced so
| little fruit as to be Improbable Apparently
the sole cause of the misfortune has been
| that there were hardly any pear trees OF
any other kind in the neighborhood The
entire orchard representing a single individ-
ual. the blossoms were not fortified. Now
the company is going TO try grating other
varieties on many of the trees. BY this pro-
| cess IL expects to increase the income from
the plantation sl00o a year. The theory
Is that fruit growers must not plant In great
blocks, blocks OF one sort. but must mix varieties
together In making up their orchards.
Most varieties of pears and apples are UNI
able to fertilize themselves. The trees de-
pend for fruiting upon insects. chiefly the
common hive bee. The bee. seeking honey
from the flower gets busted with pollen
and, flying to flower on another tree,
brings the pollen grains in contact with the
stigma Of the second flower. Thus is ac-
complished the mating of the blossoms. The
/ bee is the Cupid Of the vegetable world: but
the same sort OF work is carried on to q
! greater or less extent by other winged
agents. Already fifty species OF insects
which visit pear blossoms have been made
note Of
Pear Blossom Visitors.
These include hive bees, humble bees.
wasps. ants. many kinds of beetles flies
| from the bluebottle to the gnat butterflies
and even dragon flies II is surmised that
the peculiar ''fishy" odor Of pear blossoms
is possibly developed by nature for the pur-
pose Of attracting flies. The beauty Of all
sorts of flowers, well as their perfume
and nectar. is designed mainly for the pur-
pose Of attracting insects. so as to secure
cross fertilization. Darwin estimated that
some blossoms in his garden were visited by
bees twenty times daily. Ii was he who dis
/ covered the general principle of cross-fertil-
| ization, showing how essential IL was to the
well-being of plants and that some were
4 sterile without IT.
Many plants are fortified by the winds.
Among these are pines. the various cereals.
grasses and sedges. They produce large
| quantities of dry and dust-iike pollen. which
/ Is easily carried for long distances by the
/ breezes. But the blossoms Of pear and ap-
pie trees are not mated in any such easy
l fashion. Insects must do the work, more
| than half of which is performed by bees.
The orchardist. having taken care to mix
varieties in his plantation. should next look
/ to IL that there are plenty of bees in the
neighborhood II there are not he ought
to keep hives Of his own. In order that the
cross-fertilization may be accomplished Sc
! lection should be made Of trees of different
] kinds which bloom at the same time
! Unfortunately. insects carry about with
/ them from flower TO flower the germs OF
various fungus diseases. II is by this
means that the so-called ''blights" are often
spread. With view to finding out about
this particular matter. the division OF veg
etable pathology recently made some very
elaborate eHperiments. Incidentally the dis
covery was made as to the necessity for
cross-fertilization In most varieties OF ap-
/ pies and pears. This was followed up by
/ subjecting blossoms TO tests. Large num-
bers of them were "emasculated" by cutting
| of with scissors the anthers, which are the
male part Of the flower, bearing the pollen
The Process.
| Next, the blossoms were touched with
pollen taken from freshly opened blossoms
on other trees. being afterward covered with
| paper bags TO prevent them from obtaining
| other fertilization. In this manner definite
data were secured as TO the effects of pollen
| derived from the same variety and from
other varieties. OF course. IL was necessary
in each case to perform the emasculating op-
GRAFTON before the flower opened. Orchard
lists. by the way, often hand pollinate"
| blossoms in this manner for the purpose OF
getting seed to grow Seeding trees from. In
| the hope of getting new variety.
| Though many are Ignorant OF the fact.
the pollen is worth to fruit growers more
/
are among the most wonderful things In
nature. They are contained I'm the heads
\ of the little stalks called "stamens," which
are scattered around. but not in. the center
of a flower. The heads are termed "anthers."
Under the microscope each grain is found to
be a single cell, which has two coats and
within the inner coat is a fluid. In the fluid.
when mixed with water. may be seen q
great many extremely minute granules.
which constantly keep up a sort Of vibratory
/ motion.
The anthers, as soon as the pollen within
them is ripe. burst and scatter their con-
tents One Of the yellow grains. having
| alighted upon the stigma" presently ger
inmates and sends out a tube. which passes
| downward into the upper part OF the pistil,
| making its way through the latter until II
| reaches the case containing the seeds. II
| then enters one of the seeds through a little
hole provided by nature for that purpose.
| fertilizing IL. AS a result OF this operation
| the young seeds begin TO develop and the
| young fruit starts to grow.
No Instructors for High schools.
There are less than half a dozen assign
ments yet to be made Of military instruc-
| TORS 70 colleges by the War Deparfment