Mower County transcript., 1903-03-18

lSV
herent and external forces which he
would control. "A plant breeder, beforel
attempting to make new combinations
should select with great care the indi-
vidual and plants which see n best
adapted to his purpose. This requires
an exceedingly keen perception of mi-
mute differences, great patience and
extreme care in breeding the organisms
operated upon. This applies more par
ticularly to- animals or those plants
generally produced by u.s.. In breeding
perennials the first deviations from the
original, form are often of an almost
unappreciable degree. BY careful andsS
Intelligent breeding any popularity
may be made permanent, and there ap-5
pears to be no limit to&the improve
ments of plants. Cultivation and care
may help plants temporarily, but by
breeding, plants may be produced,
which will do better work in all places
and for all times" = 81 .
Prof Hays says: I'm any hybridation.
work good foundation stock must
first be- produced upon which to base
the new varieties. The Importance of
working with large numbers of in.
dividuals and the value of correlated
qualities is recommended. As a rule
crosses should be made between in:
dividuals which closely approximate.
the ideal, and not between those which.
are dissimilar."
The great distinguishing mark of ex-
cellence in the breeding of apples should
be lst, hardness; I'd, product ctiveness; Sd,
size and color; 4th, quality, if possible,
but the other three distinguishing fea-
lures should by all means be IN the.
order above named. IT.. -.;
In the papers read before the Inter
national Conference on Plant Breeding
and 5Hybridization held in New
York City last September there were:
some very interesting advanced ideas
presented which are very instructive
and of great interest to every one who
is at all interested in the Improvement.
of fruits, grains, vegetables or flowers.
A few extracts are here presented from
specialists in plant breeding and their
ideas concerning MeAdel's laws of
heredity.
Prof. w. Bateson of Cambridge Uni:.
versity, England, pointed out some Of,
the great advances which have been
made since the enunciation of that.
law. In general it is stated that while,
great differences may exist in plants
and animals, hybrids in their
ters Of one parent and not of both.
The author believed that the time would
soon come when the fundamental
,,ri oip1oc of io1orf on1 orinoo1 .bran1S
ing would be known, so that the breed
er would be able. to control his work..
instead Of depending upon chance re.1
possible always to. determine the char
Ilfltor inst III the Pefkinss seadlings
apples: The Malinda blossom was
fertilized by pollen from several varie-
ties Duchess, Wealthy, Perry Russett,
etc., some of which were more prepo-
tent, or according to the new Mandelian
law, more dominant, than others, as
shown in the fruit of those trees that
have already come into bearing. There
are several of the seedlings the fruit of
which in form, color, quality and gen
eral appearance are like Wealthy, while
others show some marked resemblance
to the mother side and others, like
Perry Russett, Duchess, etc., in color,
markings and exterior form of fruit are
more like the fathers side. All of
which tends to complicate the special
hereditary characteristics OF the n.y.
brids. Crosses do not usually repro
duce these kinds but often result in re-
version to ancestral types, which show
the forms are not readily fixed, being
the result of complex crosses that are
for the most part infertile."
In paper by G. G. Hurst, entitled
Notes on MendePs Methods of Plant
Breeding, it is stated some of the ap-
parent exceptions to Mendel's results
are probably to be attributed to the
crossing of species which were not
constant in character and it was stated
that Mendel in his experiments always
chose his characters in pairs so that
they would be distinctly differential
and capable of different recognition in
the offspring. In the Perkins Seeding
we have very good Illustration of
this. The Malinda, of peculiar type,
much dissimilar from the trees sur
rounding it, giving us splendid ex-
ample of differential characteristics
and in the fruit and trees produced
from these crosses we have some extra
ordinary object lessons worthy Of our
closest attention. r>.s...Gss.. ..4.Er
Selection of seed is very important
point in the production of healthy Wig
orous seedlings of trees and plants.
Next in order is congenial conditions
in soil fertility, moisture and clean and
regular cultivation, always guarding
against insect pests, fungus and bac-
terial diseases, thereby causing good
healthy growth. "A stunted, neglected
tree, planto animal will never. produce
results like one that has been f0stered
with intelligent care. s..5. =
In cross breeding with annual plants
much more rapid work can be per.
/ formed j than with trees. Especially
with new seedlings Of fruit trees il il
very desirable to know what the. quail
itysof the fruit iss o. soon o. p0sSible
That ean bea accompl plished by using
;hbnds and ions NorA Aedsons other shear
s[dn4syreet Aa1Oona IS wedding has been
seiected thAt th0vy desirables qualidca'
tiOns in growth, leaf and general ap:
Ipearance. sss#