The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1897-03-10
POMoLOGICAL ART.

AkI.
TRYING TO PRODUCE sEEDless AND
TAoRNLEes FRulT.
Methods ~ Which Fruit seien6asts sue-
osed In Improving Upoa Nature-He-
sults Rave Shown rhst They Are on che
Right Bssis-sliyht Success WITH Apples.
One Of The most important objects pc:
mdogists are surviving for Is 10 produce
thornless and seedlsss fruits. and from
the results already obtained It II net
unlikely that the end will soon be real:
izod. Seeds nre not relished by the con:
sumers Of fruits, and II they could be
removed We would enjoy our grapes
without experiencing q dread Of appen.
diciris and Kindred complaints
Thorns are not In good standing
among fruit growers, because they are
constantly panoturing the best fsuitS
and, what ID equally important. the
skin Of the pieksrs. The thorns and
prickles Of plants and trees were IN:
desbtedly intended BY nature TO protect
them from apimaiA but that 10 no rea-
son why they should b continued for
generation after generation on The euls
6vated verietisA. Tho gardener has no
need for than. snd. 70, that matter. The
trees and shrubs hare peHe either.
Our concentrated pears and spples
were ell derived from tA1 thosny, wild
varieties, and pomoiogists have succeed.
cd in Kidding them Of these spikes and
prickles by careful culture and aeleo:
ton. Oranges and lemons have not
been euitivated in this country a. sac:
oessfully as pears and apples. and many
ct them are very thorny. TIE wild and
sour grange trees Of Florida are bris.
Ting with thorns, as ID alse the high
priced King orange. enc Of the best Of
the mnndarina. The wild lemon trees Of
Florida are 30 thorpy that growers ques.
tion the ~advisability Of grating the fine
La France lemons on them.
In Florida, however, the tho1ns Of
the grunge and lemon trees have been
greatly reduced by selecting buds from
branches with the fewest thozni, and
BY continuing this process year after
year the sharp spikes disappear. In GAL
ilornia nearly Ill Of the orange trees are
thornlese-not naturally. but AZ tho re-
suit Of cultivation and selection.
The thorns on blaekberries, raspber-
zies and rosebushes give the greatest
bother to hortioulturists in the north,
and there is q determined effort to get
rid Of them. The thorns give endless
trouble 10 the piokerA and their remov-
al might save many a puneture to deli
cate hands. There Is an improved varie.
~ d raspberry placed On the market TO-
day which il entirely thornless. but the
trouble il that quality and quantity Of
fruit have been sacrificed to the gain
made In destroying the thornA
There 10 little doubt that perfect
thornlAss k~lackberries and xaspberries
will soon be obtained, for there Is q
widespread movement among gardeners
and soedsmen to accomplish this. The
man who is fortunate enough to produce
variety that gives perfect fruit with
cut the thorns will receive Q pretty stiff
price for his plants.
Seeds are also unnecessary plant prod.
uots in those advanced days Of horticul-
tn1e, when gardeners propagate half
their stock by cuttings gratis and slips.
Nature need no longer trouble herself
shout the fear Of losing any q her types.
The modern hcrtioultuyist is suze to
preserve every one Of any vslus without
gathering a seed.
The California navel grange repre-
sents the best typo Of fruit grown with.
out seeds. Nature produced this orange
a. a freak at frst. and man has taken
advantage II it to propagate fruit Of 4
high order. Half the oranges Of Cali
fornia are grated with the navel. and
1t is the most important fruit Of the
Pacific coast. Nature tried to produce
twins in the navel orange, and one sur.
vived only as a protuberance In the
blossom end, while the other expanded
into a we'll shaped fruit without seeds.
These oranges are oooasionally found
with small seeds: but, ae a rule, they
are perfectly sesdlesa
Several varities Of seedless apples and
pears have already been produced, but
the quality Of the fruit il generally poor
and nearly worthless. They are oalled
''bloomless" pears and apples and aEs
exhibited more a. curiosities than q the
triumphs Of genealogical art. Nevesths-
less, they are the beginning Of . new era
Of apple growing, and they represent the
primary stock Of seedless fruits which
may produce in time the finest favored
apples and pears.
The grape industry would be benefit
ed more than any other BY the pzoduo-
ton Of new varieties without seeds, and
toward this end seore Of fruit growers
are working, especially In California.
The idea 10 to produce not only table
grapes, but grnpss thst will make fine
raisins. Seedless ratsins would prove
such q boon to the whole oayjlised werld
that any other variety wos1d b quickly
run ont OF tho market.
There IL q seedless grape OF Cofinth,
which commonly passes ~ . currant,