The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-09-16
ORIGINATING NEW
VARIETIES OF FRUIT
CAas. G.. Patten, Charles City, Ioaya.
Read before the s. MINI. Hort Society.

+ You have asked me to tell you how
to originate g New Varieties of Fruit. -
OF course you mean good fruits, varle-
ties that in some important essential
are superior to the old. You have
asked me hard question, one that is
exceedingly difficult to answer. How
to produce the fruits that you want
and that we need. How difficult it is
will be partly answered when you learn
that it will be thirty-six years the COM
ing spring since earnestly began to
try, and now must confess to you that
l cannot tell you; or, at best, the effort
to tell you will give only an approx
mate idea of how to do it, and, doubt
less, that is all you expect.
The subject is broad one. So much
could be said upon it that would not
come within the scope Of paper like
this. and yet broad as it is we are re-
| stricted at every turn. Climatic in
fluences, restricted environments, as in
the Russian apples and Siberian crabs,
or too much confusion of forces in the
multiplied cross colonization Of our
there is too much undesirable heredity
and consequent prepotency, and in the
latter too much mingling of the better
and the weaker elements.
In studying this subject we must ever
bear in mind that like begets like, !"
and that that likeness is dominant just
IN proportion to the thoroughbred char
| acter of the plant or tree that we are
seeking to improve or change. Every
breeder of high-class animals recog
nizes and acts upon this fact. And in
/ connection with this fact, there is an
other one which is scarcely less impor-
tant-vlgor, or constitution of the in
! Every breeder Of plants and ami
Il n nf OIL IA
mixed or pedigreed stock there is one
Individual that for some more likely
| than not unexplainable cause is su-
perior in size, color, vigor or constitu-
ton to all others in the group. Every
nuTseryman observes this when passing
thru his 1T, two or threeysarqhld apple
larger and finer than a score of others
on either side of it.. Why's Because in
this instance there is a fitness or an af-
fnity between the root and the graft
that did not happen. to exist in the
others. -
If you plant hundred seeds of any
. of our cultivated apples you will dis
cover great variations in them. They
have been naturally crossed and re
crossed in the orchards with SO many
|, other varieties which grew on other
: soils and in somewhat varying eli
mates, that variation in their offspring
is very pronounced. Each individual
plant is unit and unlike any other
are blended together variations must
occur; so that in selection, combination
and pollination, we have the three
great sources of Improvement. Pro
fessor L.. H. Bailey, in his "Plant
Breeding" says: t'Selection is the
force which, augments, develops and
. fixes type 49,.
tation to climate, must always be q
first Importance in the development Of
improved fruits. IF we wish to pro
, duce a commercial apple for. the ,fal
north in Minnesota, 1--WE should selec
for the mother stock. the Hibernal
First, because it is Of the highest typ
Of hardness, vigorous tree, bear1ns
We would cross-pollenize it with thu
Pink or Striped Amis, or perhaps Gen
, eral Greig. We cross with these varie
ties first because Of their extreme har
diness, freedom from blight, fair pro
ductiveness and an appetizing qualit,
/, Of fruit in the Anis. If you desire,
! a better fruit and more beautiful, wit!
a chance Of somewhat lessened hardi
ness, then use the pollen of Anisim
for, from long experience and obseI
walton I have discovered that the pol
lenizing parent stamps it's color on tn
new fruits.
Longfeld, on account Of its qualit,,
q and productiveness, may be a very de
! sirable combination for the north; bu
until we have tried, we never know JUS
!, what affnities exist between differen
: varieties or how much vital force ma.
, be developed in the crossed offspring O.
: two varieties which have been EVOLVED
from the different conditions of eli
!. mate, soil and ancestry that have pro
: duced such distinct types or famille
3 as represented by Hibernal, Anis O
, the other varieties named.
AS an example, witness the Patten
q Greening, an undoubted cross with tn
/ Duchess and Rhode Island Greening
}. the latter neither hardy nor adapte'
J: to any part Of the west, and yet tn
T Patten IS Greening has proven as hard.
/ as it's parent Duchess and very prolific
I If we want improved sweet apples
I the same principle must apply, grea
y hardness, vigor and perfection in tree
e freedom from rust and scab Of foliag
and fruit, strength Of blossom, persist
3 ence in bearing-in fact, every elemen
> Of strength that can be discovered i
T both the male and female parent mus
q be carefully considered and combined
Ii we obtain the ideal fruits that we dc
sire.
q [ do not doubt that there are thos
&c here who would be very greatly please
e if they knew just how to produce tn
q apple that would procure the thousa.nt
e dollar prize offered by your state socit
ty, but Of course / am not going to tie
you. Generous as we horticulturist
+ are, that would be an act of munifcenc
that very few Of us could afford. How
> ever, am going to come SO near tel