{"1": {"fulltext": "/J 3", "height": "4045", "width": "2588", "jp2-path": "progressofplantb00webb_0001.jp2"}, "2": {"fulltext": "Hollinger Co\\npH8.5", "height": "3351", "width": "1992", "jp2-path": "progressofplantb00webb_0002.jp2"}, "3": {"fulltext": "B 123\\nW36\\nopy 1\\no?\\nProgress of Plant Breeding in the United States.\\nHERBERT J. WEBBER and ERNST A. BESSEY,\\nDioisiou of Vegetable Pliysiology and Pathology.\\nReprint from Yearbook op Department op Agriculture for 1899.\\no\\\\-9inn", "height": "3351", "width": "1992", "jp2-path": "progressofplantb00webb_0003.jp2"}, "4": {"fulltext": "7536", "height": "3351", "width": "1992", "jp2-path": "progressofplantb00webb_0004.jp2"}, "5": {"fulltext": "CONTENTS.\\nPage.\\nIntroduction 465\\nEarly agricultural and horticultural conditions 466\\nEarly methods of plant breeding 468\\nEvolution of methods of plant breeding during the nineteenth century 470\\nImprovements effected during the nineteenth century 475\\nImprovement in grapes 475\\nImprovement in pears 477\\nImprovement in apples 478\\nImprovement in plums 479\\nImprovement in raspberries 480\\nImprovement in blackberries 481\\nImprovement in strawberries 482\\nImprovement in gooseberries 483\\nImprovement in vegetables 483\\nImprovement in cereals 486\\nImprovement in flowers and ornamental plants 488\\nImprovement in nuts 489\\nImprovement in cotton 490\\nILLUSTRATIONS.\\nPLATES.\\nPlate XXXVI. Two prominent early plant breeders 468\\nXXX VII. Improvement of the native gooseberry 482\\nXXXVIII. Fig. 1. Improvement of corn by selection. Fig. 2. Varia-\\ntion in seedling pecans 486\\nTEXT FIGURES.\\nFig. 22. Plums showing difference between hybrid and parent 479\\n23. Hovey s Seedling strawberry 482\\nin", "height": "3351", "width": "1992", "jp2-path": "progressofplantb00webb_0005.jp2"}, "6": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3351", "width": "1992", "jp2-path": "progressofplantb00webb_0006.jp2"}, "7": {"fulltext": "PROGRESS OF PLANT BREEDING IN THE UNITED\\nSTATES.\\nBy Herbert J. Webber and Ernst A. Bessey,\\nDivision of Vegetable Physiology and Pathology.\\nINTRODUCTION.\\nAt the beginning of the nineteenth century a few of the most\\nadvanced scientific horticulturists were commencing to recognize that\\nplants, like animals, are capable of being improved by breeding.\\nDuring the century the knowledge of the factors involved in plant\\nbreeding gradually increased and became disseminated among prac-\\ntical American growers. As a natural consequence of this there\\ncame to be a better understanding of the methods of plant breeding\\nand a greater appreciation of the necessity of securing varieties\\nadapted to local conditions, and therefore improved sorts of American\\norigin have been gradually but surely supplanting foreign varieties.\\nWhile at the beginning of this period almost all of our cultivated\\nfruits, cereals, vegetables, and flowers were of foreign origin, an inspec-\\ntion of the present trade lists shows a marked increase of native sorts\\nand a corresponding decrease of foreign sorts. In the case of flowers,\\nfor the production of which artificial conditions largely are main-\\ntained, home-produced sorts vie in numbers with those from abroad.\\nIn cereals and vegetables a majority of the most extensiveby grown\\nsorts are of American origin, and in fruits, upon which probably the\\nmost attention and skill have been brought to bear and the greatest\\nstimulus given by well-organized societies, the native sorts have\\nalmost entirely taken the place of the foreign ones. In the begin-\\nning of the colonization of this country, writes Bailey, all the\\nvarieties of apples were of European origin. But in 1817, over 60 per\\ncent of the apples recommended for cultivation here were of American\\norigin, that is, American-grown seedlings from the original stock.\\nAt the present time [1895], fully 90 per cent of the popular apples of\\nthe Atlantic States are American productions.\\nThe same increase of American sorts has taken place in the case of\\npears. As early as 1853 Hovey wrote: It is certainly somewhat\\nremarkable, as it is surprising, that, in the course of twenty-four\\nyears, a larger number of really fine pears have been brought to\\nnotice, of American origin, than have been introduced from Europe in\\nthe same time, or we think we might safely add, in the last fifty years.\\nWhile in plums the American seedlings of the European and Japanese\\n465", "height": "3351", "width": "1992", "jp2-path": "progressofplantb00webb_0007.jp2"}, "8": {"fulltext": "466 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.\\nspecies rival the sorts of foreign production, the improved sorts of\\nour native species and hybrids of these with the Japan and apricot\\nplums are rapidly increasing and will probably soon predominate in\\nthis industry. In the cultivation of grapes, raspberries, blackberries,\\netc., little advance was made until our native species were taken up\\nand improved. All of these have been profoundly modified and\\nimproved as the result of merely half a century of cultivation and\\nbreeding.\\nIt is interesting to note that the present century has witnessed the\\nfirst introduction and wonderful amelioration of some of our now\\nmost important plants. A striking instance of such a plant is the\\ntomato, which is said to have been first brought from Santo Domingo\\nto Philadelphia in 1798, but was not sold in the markets of that city,\\naccording to Manning, until 1829, and did not come into general use\\nin the North until some years later. Tomatoes were introduced into\\nSalem, Mass. by an Italian painter, Michelo Corne, in 1802 but he was\\nsaid to have had difficulty in persuading the people to eat them.\\nThey were, however, used as an article of food in New Orleans in\\n1812. The wonderful amelioration of the tomato has thus taken\\nplace wholly within the memory of men now living, and it is not an\\nuncommon thing to find aged people, particularly among the pioneers\\nof the West, who remember when the tomato was cultivated as an\\nornamental plant, but not thought to be valuable for food. The\\ntomato is therefore an excellent illustration of what a century of\\nplant breeding may accomplish.\\nThe flowers now so extensively grown were hardly known a century\\nago, when different varieties were ,just beginning to appear. The mod-\\nest chrysanthemum or the carnation of that day would hardly create\\na sensation in our modern flower markets. The immense cut-flower\\ntrade and the hosts of elegant varieties adapted thereto are the\\nresults of less than a century of plant breeding. The greenhouse\\nhas exerted a marked influence on the plants which are thus grown,\\nas special varieties are demanded, and the skillful cultivator breeds\\nand selects till he secures what is desired. In ail forcing-house\\nindustries special varieties adapted to this sort of culture have\\nsprung up. The changes which have already been wrought are the\\nwonder of naturalists and laymen alike, but the end has not yet been\\nreached. Everything indicates increased activity in the near future.\\nRecent developments, obtained by a few independent experimenters,\\nhave forcibly called attention to the great improvements which skill\\nand patience may achieve in this field, and a renewed interest in such\\nmatters is very evident throughout the country.\\nEARLY AGRICULTURAL AND HORTICULTURAL CONDITIONS.\\nIn the earty settlement of America agriculture was limited mainly\\nto the cultivation of such plants as were known to the settlers in their", "height": "3351", "width": "1992", "jp2-path": "progressofplantb00webb_0008.jp2"}, "9": {"fulltext": "PROGRESS OF PLANT BREEDING. 467\\nOld World homes. Each expedition brought seeds and plants to use\\nin starting agricultural industries, and subsequent importations of\\ndesirable varieties continued to be made; hence, the attention of the\\nsettlers was largely given to testing these experimentally to determine\\ntheir usefulness. The different conditions obtaining in America from\\nthose found in Europe, from which latter place most of the introduced\\nsorts came, rendered the outcome of the early attempts very uncer-\\ntain. No exact record of the agricultural development during this\\nperiod exists, but it is probable that the early introduced varieties of\\nthe various annual crops (cereals, vegetables, etc.) went through a\\ngradual evolution and adaptation to conditions by seed selection from\\nthose plants and strains found to do the best. This selection, which\\nthe settlers almost certainly exercised, probably did not have any\\ndefinite improvement or change in view other than to secure the best\\nand most vigorous seeds. Some of our now most important agricul-\\ntural crops, like corn and tobacco, are native American plants, and\\ntheir main improvement consequently dates from the discovery of\\nAmerica. In some places, however, the Indians had developed a\\ncomparatively high state of agriculture, and many sorts of such\\nnative cultivated plants were obtained from them, as, for example,\\nthe Golden Sioux, King Philip, and Tuscarora races of field corn.\\nAn early sweet corn is also recorded as having been obtained from the\\nIndians. According to one account it was found and introduced into\\nConnecticut by an officer in General Sullivan s expedition against the\\nIndians in the Genesee country in 1779. According to another account\\nit was introduced into Massachusetts by Capt. Richard Bagnol, of\\nPlymouth, who obtained it from the country of the Susquehanna on\\nhis return from the Sullivan expedition. The Six Nations, against\\nwhich the Sullivan expedition was sent, had made considerable prog-\\nress in agriculture, and are known to have cultivated large fields of\\ncorn. Besides-this, they are said to have had gardens of beans, peas,\\nturnips, cabbages, melons, carrots, parsnips, and potatoes.\\nThe earliest attempts at fruit growing in America were mostly\\nfailures. The varieties grown in early days were nearly all of Euro-\\npean origin.- The recorded history of American horticulture may be\\nsaid not to have begun until the publication of Bernard M Mahon s\\nAmerican Gardener s Calendar in 1806. At this comparatively late\\ndate native varieties had already become prominent, about 66 per\\ncent of the 59 varieties of apples catalogued being of American origin.\\nEven at this time, however, very great efforts were still being made\\nto extend the range of cultivated products by introductions, the only\\nvery definite method by which the securing of new sorts was\\nattempted. It was a costly experiment, however, and to a great\\nextent disappointing. William Kenrick, in a letter to General Dear-\\nborn (quoted from Robert Manning), says: From among 150 varie-\\nties imported into Boston by Eben Preble, about 1805, the only", "height": "3351", "width": "1992", "jp2-path": "progressofplantb00webb_0009.jp2"}, "10": {"fulltext": "468 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.\\nadditions to the list of desirable kinds were two cherries the Black\\nTartarian and White Tartarian, and a single pear.\\nIf we had to-day only the apples and pears known at the beginning\\nof the century, the present extensive apple culture of the prairie States\\nand the Northwest and the pear culture of the South would be wholly\\nimpossible. American varieties, the result both of chance discoveries\\nand of the most careful and complex methods of plant breeding, have\\nalmost entirely supplanted the introduced varieties, and are destined\\nto become even more important. To-day we look upon plant intro-\\nduction as being to a large extent a means to an end. Russian apples\\nare being extensively introduced, not wholly with the idea that they\\nmay become important commercial sorts themselves, but that select\\nseedlings from them and hybrids between them and native varieties\\nmay be obtained, and through these the desired hardy, cold-resistant\\nsorts of good quality.\\nIn the culture of strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, grapes, etc.,\\nno material progress was made until the improvement of the native\\nspecies was begun. All these fruits went through an initial stage of\\ndepending upon foreign varieties, and following this an era of im-\\nprovement, during which, by careful breeding of the native species\\nand infusion into them of the improved European blood by hybridiza-\\ntion, strains better adapted to American conditions were obtained.\\nThis change from an almost total reliance upon introduced varieties\\nto a marked supremacy of sorts originated here has taken place almost\\nwholly within the past century.\\nEARLY METHODS OF PLANT BREEDING.\\nThe early settlers probably practiced crude selection in growing\\ntheir plants, as anyone, whatever his degree of intelligence, will un-\\nconsciously do. It is this unconscious selection of individual plants\\nthrough centuries that has led to the important changes which have\\ntaken place in our principal cultivated plants. So marked has been\\nthis amelioration that in very many instances the wild forms can not\\nnow be recognized and are unknown, the most careful study of mod-\\nern scientists having failed to reveal the original types.\\nThe necessity of having varieties adapted to existing conditions\\nwas early understood, as was also the necessity of selecting the best\\nseed. Manning, in the History of the Massachusetts Horticultural\\nSociety, says: And in 1621 the governor requested Massasoit to\\nexchange some of their corn, for seed, with ours, that we might judge\\nwhich best agreed with the soil where we lived. The natives were\\nacquainted with the advantage of selecting the finest ears of corn for\\nseed, and taught the settlers to do the same. They possessed varieties\\nadapted to the warmer or colder parts of the country.\\nWe are inclined to think of plant breeding as based on old and\\nwell-established laws. The fact is, however, that the fundamental", "height": "3351", "width": "1992", "jp2-path": "progressofplantb00webb_0010.jp2"}, "11": {"fulltext": "Yearbook U. S. Dept of Agriculture, 1899.\\nPlate XXXVI.\\nmL\\nTwo Prominent Early Plant Breeders.", "height": "3351", "width": "1992", "jp2-path": "progressofplantb00webb_0011.jp2"}, "12": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3351", "width": "1992", "jp2-path": "progressofplantb00webb_0012.jp2"}, "13": {"fulltext": "PROGRESS OF PLANT BREEDING. 469\\nprinciples of intelligent plant breeding were not made known until\\nthe latter part of the eighteenth century. The sexuality of plants\\nwas not established until proved experimentally by Camerarius in\\n1691, and the first hybrid of which we have any record was not made\\nuntil 1719, when Thomas Fairchild, an English gardener, crossed the\\ncarnation with the sweet william.\\nOur first exact knowledge of hybrids dates from about 1761, when\\nKoelreuter began publishing the results of his observations. His\\nwork was entirely scientific, however, and had but little bearing on\\npractical plant breeding, though it served to pave the way for the\\nvaluable work, soon to follow, of Thomas Andrew Knight (PI. XXXVI),\\nthe eminent English plant physiologist. The systematic breeding of\\nplants may be said to have begun with the work of Knight and Van\\nMons about the beginning of the nineteenth century. Knight was the\\nfirst to show the practical value of crossing and hybridizing in the\\nproduction of plant varieties. In 1806 Knight said: New varieties\\nof every species of fruit will generally be better obtained by intro-\\nducing the farina of one variety of fruit into the blossoms of another,\\nthan by propagating any from a single kind.\\nAnother important idea emphasized by Knight, and now quite gen-\\nerally accepted, is that one of the principal factors causing or inducing\\nvariation in plants is an increase of food supply or a modification\\nthereof.\\nIn one sense Knight may be recognized as the father of plant breed-\\ning, no other experimenter having contributed so much toward the\\ndevelopment of the present system. Of almost equal importance,\\nhowever, was the work of a contemporaneous Belgian horticulturist,\\nJean Baptiste Van Mons, who emphasized mainly the principle of\\nselection. His theories were published in various papers, but mostly\\nin his Arbres Fruitiers in 1835. His method of obtaining new varie-\\nties of fruit was to gather seeds from young trees in a state of varia-\\ntion, taking the fruits before they were fully ripe and allowing them\\nto rot, with the idea that this would tend to subdue or enfeeble\\nthe tree, a factor which he thought to be of primary importance.\\nThese seedlings were then grown in a seed bed until they were Targe\\nenough to enable him to judge of their character. He then selected\\nthe promising ones and planted them in nursery form a few feet apart,\\nwhere they could be fruited on their own roots. When these selected\\nseedlings fruited, seeds were taken from the first fruits of the most\\npromising and sown, the same process of selection being exercised in\\nthis second generation, and so on through several or many genera-\\ntions of selection till success was attained. The whole process is\\nexpressed in his own words as follows To sow, to re-sow, to sow\\nagain, to sow perpetually, in short to do nothing but sow, is the prac-\\ntice to be pursued, and which can not be departed from; and in short\\nthis is the whole secret of the art I have employed.", "height": "3351", "width": "1992", "jp2-path": "progressofplantb00webb_0013.jp2"}, "14": {"fulltext": "470 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE.\\nAs to the theory of selection, time has justified Van Mons s conclu-\\nsions, with some modifications, but some of the ideas he advanced\\nhave been abandoned. He claimed that the older varieties of good\\nfruit generally yield inferior seedling sorts, while new inferior varie-\\nties reproduced uninterruptedly for several generations would cer-\\ntainly yield good fruit. In these claims the results of recent years\\nhave shown him to have been somewhat in error. The general theory\\nnow advanced and used is to select seed for planting from the best\\nfruits of the best tree of the best variety.\\nThe importance of selection in improving varieties was well recog-\\nnizee! before the publication of Van Mons s great work above referred\\nto, and while the main credit of establishing the principle of selec-\\ntion is due to Van Mons, yet other independent workers accomplished\\nnearby as important results. Bailey, in his Survival of the Unlike,\\ncalled attention to the work done by Joseph Cooper, of New Jersey,\\nin the closing years of the last century. Cooper s observations, re-\\ncorded in a letter written in 1799 and published in the first volume of\\nthe Memoirs of the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture,\\nshow that he thoroughly understood the action of selection in produc-\\ning changes in varieties. As an illustration, he says: A striking\\ninstance of plants being naturalized happened by Colonel Matlack\\nsending some watermelon seed from Georgia, which, he informed me\\nby letter, were of superior quality. Knowing that seed from vegeta-\\nbles which had grown in more southern climates, required a longer\\nsummer than what grew here, I gave them the most favorable situa-\\ntion, and used glasses to bring them forward, yet very few ripened to\\nperfection; but finding them to be as excellent in quality as described,\\nI saved seed from those first ripe and by continuing that practice four\\nor five years, they became as early watermelons as I ever had.\\nIt is probable that many other advanced horticulturists of that\\nperiod understood and used selection in an intelligent manner. The\\ndirections given in 1822 by James Thatcher, in his American Orchard-\\nist, for the selection of seeds in attempting to produce improved\\nsorts, would be regarded to-day as better than the recommendations\\ngiven by Van Mons. The seeds for planting, Thatcher wrote,\\nshould always be selected from the most highly cultivated fruit, and\\nthe fairest and ripest specimen of such variety. Thatcher also\\ndescribed Knight s method of forcing seedlings into fruit bj^ grafting\\nthem, and the use of hybridization in the production of varieties. It\\nwill thus be seen that even at this early date (1822) the fundamental\\nprinciples of plant breeding had apparently become the common prop-\\nerty of American agriculturists and horticulturists.\\nEVOLUTION OF METHODS OF PLANT BREEDING DURING THE\\nNINETEENTH CENTURY.\\nIt has been seen that the fundamental laws of plant breeding were\\nfairly well understood at the beginning of the century and had come", "height": "3351", "width": "1992", "jp2-path": "progressofplantb00webb_0014.jp2"}, "15": {"fulltext": "PROGRESS OF PLANT BREEDING. 471\\nto be expounded in horticultural text-books and papers. It must be\\nborne in mind, however, that it requires years for scientific principles\\nto become thoroughly understood and widely disseminated, so that\\nthey form a part of common practice. The early native varieties\\nwere largely chance seedlings, and there now seem to be very many\\nchoice fruits pears, apples, grapes, etc. which originated in this way.\\nHowever, thousands and even millions of worthless wild seedlings, of\\nwhich we have no record, have grown and perished, and in reality\\nonly one here and there excels and survives.\\nDuring the first fifty years of the century almost the sole method\\nof breeding was to select seeds from the best fruits and raise numer-\\nous seedlings, which, when they fruited, were carefully examined, and\\nthose selected for further propagation which produced desirable fruits,\\nof better quality than the parent sorts. One of the earliest syste-\\nmatic attempts of this sort known to the writers is thus described in\\nthe Magazine of Horticulture of 1847: In the fall of 1817, and in the\\nfollowing spring, Governor Edwards planted the seeds of pears, with\\nthe design of obtaining new and superior varieties of this fruit. In\\ndoing so, he selected the seeds of the best which could be procured,\\nincluding many sorts, but the number was then very limited compared\\nwith our day. This being one of the first systematic attempts in\\nthis country to secure improved sorts, it was largely ridiculed. The\\nresults obtained, however, were of great value, as from some forty\\ntrees thus produced several fairly good sorts were secured, among\\nthem being the Calhoun, Elizabeth, Dallas, Henrietta, and Citron.\\nIn early days, furthermore, up to the fifties, orchards were to some\\nextent made up of ungrafted seedlings. When a particularly good\\nfruit was produced its seeds were carefully preserved and planted,\\nand some varieties were reproduced in the main true to seed. Immense\\nnumbers of seedling apples were thus grown, and furnished excellent\\nopportunity for selection, but only a few produced superior fruit or\\nnew varieties. In 1845 Rev. Henry Ward Beecher wrote from Indiana\\nto the Magazine of Horticulture: An immense number of seedling\\ntrees are found in our State. Since the Indiana Horticultural Society\\nbegan to collect specimens of these, more than 150 varieties have been\\nsent up for inspection. Of all the number presented, not\\nsix have vindicated their claims to a name or place and not more\\nthan three will probably be known ten years hence.\\nImprovement by selection, in the strictest sense of the term, lias\\nbeen employed mostly with annual plants, such as wheat, corn, cotton,\\netc. and the methods used have been gradually perfected in different\\nindustries, until in some, as in the sea-island cotton, all growers make\\nannual selections with the utmost care to maintain and perfect the\\nstrain they grow. Very careful methods of selection have also been\\ndevised to develop and improve corn, and many of the most produc-\\ntive and valuable races are the result of continuous selection through", "height": "3351", "width": "1992", "jp2-path": "progressofplantb00webb_0015.jp2"}, "16": {"fulltext": "472 YEARBOOK OP THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.\\nnumerous generations. In such selection the greatest care is taken\\nto secure impregnation with pollen from vigorous, productive plants.\\nTo insure this the field in which selections are being made is carefully\\ngone over when the first silks and tassels begin to appear, and all stalks\\nare cut out which are not vigorous and well formed and which do not\\nshow indications of being productive. By this practice it is brought\\nabout that fertilization is effected by pollen from vigorous, productive\\nstalks only. The final selections are made in the field when the corn\\nripens, the seed ears being taken from the most productive and vigor-\\nous stalks that are true to the type that the breeder is selecting to\\nestablish.\\nIn selecting wheat to improve the strain the early attempts were\\nmainly confined to simply taking the largest grains a practice which\\nis now recognized as failing in the primary factor of considering the\\nproductivity and vigor of the individual plant. Many experimenters\\nin this country have worked on the improvement of wheat by selec-\\ntion, but in general with rather indifferent success. Recently, how-\\never, Professor Hays, of the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Sta-\\ntion, has used a very careful method of selecting wheat, grown in\\nnursery form, which has given valuable results.\\nHybridization and cross-fertilization in improving plants were very\\nlittle utilized in the first half of the century. Knight had started\\nthe leaven, however, and in some directions it had shown results.\\nThe idea gradually became current that there was too much chance\\nin raising seedlings of unknown parentage. Still, as late as 1857, we\\nfind the Rural New Yorker giving the following directions in regard\\nto raising new fruits: Eminent pomologists disagree on this subject.\\nOur advice, however, is to plant the best seeds of the finest varieties,\\ntake good care of the plants, and trust to Providence for the result.\\nConsiderably before this time, however, the most advanced plant\\nbreeders had given rather different directions. In 1836 A. J. Down-\\ning, one of America s best-known pomologists, wrote Assuming Pro-\\nfessor Van Mons to be strictly correct, we would suggest that a great\\nsaving of time and a considerable improvement in quality and vigor,\\nmight be gained by calling in cross fertilization to the aid of the culti-\\nvator, as soon as the fruit of the trees (say the second generation)\\nbegins to show symptoms of amelioration. By impregnating them\\nwith the pollen of the finest varieties, we conceive that the next gen-\\neration would produce excellent fruit, and at a saving of twenty or\\nthirty years. In 1844 C. M. Hovey, one of the most successful of\\nall American horticulturists in the production of improved sorts,\\nsaid with regard to the grape: Without stopping to institute an\\ninquiry into the merits of his [Van Mons] theory, compared with that\\nof artificial impregnation, as practiced by Mr. Knight and others, we\\nshall recommend to those who would raise seedlings, the importance\\nof commencing with the Isabella or Catawba, for one of the parents,", "height": "3351", "width": "1992", "jp2-path": "progressofplantb00webb_0016.jp2"}, "17": {"fulltext": "PROGRESS OF PLANT BREEDING. 473\\nand impregnating them with the Sweet Water, Chasselas, or some other\\nearly foreign variety. The results will be obtained in a shorter\\nperiod, and, we believe, equally as favorable as by the method of suc-\\ncessive generations alone. In 1860 Marshall P. Wilder, in his presi-\\ndential address before the American Pomological Society, gave advice\\nregarding the origination of varieties in almost exactly the same\\nwords that might be used to-day: It was my first, so it shall be my\\ncontinual and last advice; Plant the most mature and perfect seed of\\nthe most hardy, vigorous, and valuable varieties, and, as a shorter\\nprocess, ensuring more certain and happy results, cross or hybridize\\nyour best fruits.\\nThe first record which we have been able to find of the production\\nof a hybrid variety in America is given by Manning, in the History of\\nthe Massachusetts Horticultural Society, as follows Probably the\\nfirst attempt in this country to produce a new fruit by cross-fertiliza-\\ntion was by William Prince, who raised the Prince s St. Germain [pear]\\nfrom seed of the old St. Germain impregnated by the White Doyenne,\\nabout 1806. One of the most successful early attempts in using\\nhybridization was by C. M. Hovey, in the improvement of the straw-\\nberry, his first hybrid seedlings having been brought to notice in\\n1838. He was eminently successful in obtaining good varieties by\\nthis method, and his success led to the extensive use of hybridization\\nin the improvement of this fruit.\\nIn this connection, it is interesting to note that a striking success\\nachieved by any intelligent cultivator in producing valuable varieties\\nof any plant has often led to the general adoption of his particular\\nmethods by other breeders of the same plant. Van Mons s success in\\noriginating pears by selection led to this method being mainly used in\\nbreeding this fruit. Allen s success, in 1854, in producing a good\\nhybrid grape doubtless stimulated the adoption of this method in\\npreference to other methods in improving the grape.\\nSince the middle of the century the advance in methods of improv-\\ning plants has been altogether in minor factors. The early hybridizers\\noften used a mixture of pollen, believing that it was possible for the\\nsame seed to be influenced by pollen from several varieties, or species.\\nThe details of the process of fecundation were not well worked out at\\nthat time, and it is not surprising that early experimenters frequently\\nerred in their conclusions and were thus led to pursue false methods.\\nWith the gradual increase in knowledge of the methods of fecundation\\nthe idea of the effectiveness of using two kinds of pollen at the same\\ntime was abandoned, and in casting about for other methods of secur-\\ning the results sought growers evidently began the practical use of\\ncompound hybrids, as the method came into practice about this time.\\nNumerous hybrid rhododendrons, begonias, etc., contain the blood of\\nseveral species, mingled with the definite idea of securing in the off-\\nspring certain characteristics from each parent. Compound hybrids", "height": "3351", "width": "1992", "jp2-path": "progressofplantb00webb_0017.jp2"}, "18": {"fulltext": "474 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.\\nhave been particularly valuable in grapes, among the numerous excel-\\nlent sorts of such hybrids being Lady Washington, Brighton, and\\nBrilliant.\\nAnother important factor in the application of hybridization to\\nsecuring improved strains, and one which has but very recently become\\nprominent, is the securing of what have been termed dilute hybrids,\\nthat is, hybrids containing more blood of one variety than of the other.\\nIf in any hybrid the character of one of the parents is found to be too\\npronounced to give a successful combination, it is crossed with the\\nother xDarent, the result being a three-fourths hybrid, that is, a hybrid\\nderiving three-fourths of its characters from one of the original parents\\nand one-fourth from the other.\\nThe value of selecting distinct parents and introducing new species\\ninto combination with old ones was early recognized, but mainly\\namong florists, where a change of color was desired. In 1836 Hovey\\ncalled attention to the change in color produced in calceolarias by the\\nintroduction of a different-colored species. It was not until the\\nintroduction of a purple species, C. purpurea, in 1827, writes Hovey,\\nthat any variation took place in the color of the flowers; the pre-\\nviously introduced ones being yellow, of course no other shade was\\nproduced until the impregnation of the former with the latter. At\\nthe present time, however, plants are to be found of almost every tint,\\nfrom the palest yellow to deep orange, and from light red to bright\\nscarlet, as also, two or three of these shades distinct in the same\\nflower. The results of more recent work have emphasized the\\nimportance of using very distinct parents when marked changes or\\nnew creations are desired. The improved strains of begonias and\\nroses resulting from the introduction of Begonia socotrana, Rosa\\nrugosa, and R. wichuraiana, and Burbank s walnut hybrids (crosses\\nof Juglans californica, J. regia, and J. nigra) illustrate the impor-\\ntance of this practice. This has led in recent years to the extensive\\nintroduction of and experiments with various wild species of common\\ncultivated plants, and the field here opened to the horticulturists and\\nflorists is one of promise.\\nThe importance of growing hybrids through several or at least two\\ngenerations, in order to secure greater variation, particularly where\\nthe hybrid is from widely distinct parents, was scientifically demon-\\nstrated by Naudin and Nageli in 1865. The practical importance of\\nthis discovery, however, has come to be thoroughly understood and\\nappreciated by American plant breeders only in the closing years of\\nthe century.\\nIn very recent years there has been much discussion of the ques-\\ntion of the improvement of certain cultivated plants by selection of\\nthe vegetative parts used in propagation. It seems to have been\\nproved beyond question that certain plants can be greatly modified in\\nthis way, particularly as to vigor and productiveness. This method", "height": "3351", "width": "1992", "jp2-path": "progressofplantb00webb_0018.jp2"}, "19": {"fulltext": "PROGRESS OF PLANT BREEDING. 475\\nof improvement seems likely to play a very important part in the\\nfuture by aiding to secure strains of standard sorts suitable for\\ngrowth in special localities and varying but slightly from the original\\nvarieties.\\nIMPROVEMENTS EFFECTED DURING THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.\\nIn the present paper it is possible to call attention to only a few of\\nthe most important improvements illustrative of the advances made\\nin certain fields of agriculture and horticulture. In early days, as\\npreviously indicated, the majority of the native varieties introduced\\nwere merely chance seedlings, which grew uncared for until their\\ngood qualities were discovered, when they were brought into cultiva-\\ntion. The sorts obtained in this way are not primarily due to plant\\nbreeding, being simply the result of intelligent choice of chance-sown\\nplants, yet some of these varieties have had a marked influence on\\nthe development of certain industries. Of far greater importance,\\nhowever, has been the introduction of varieties which have been pro-\\nduced by careful methods of selection, carried through from one to\\nmany generations.\\nHybridization also has already had a very marked effect in the\\ndevelopment of many cultivated plants, and in the future it will\\ndoubtless be extensively utilized in securing desired modifications.\\nIMPROVEMENT IN GRAPES.\\nThe grape has been very much improved by American cultivators\\nand furnishes an excellent illustration of the great amelioration which\\nmay be obtained in a comparatively short period. For many years\\nafter the settlement of America the only grapes cultivated were of\\nEuropean origin. Numerous trials, however, proved that these were\\nnot hardy in Eastern America, and that they soon succumbed to\\nattacks of Phylloxera and other diseases. Curiously enough the\\nnative American grapes, which were found in great abundance\\nthroughout the eastern part of the country and attracted consider-\\nable attention, were for years neglected, and it was only after the\\nfailure of the European sorts had been demonstrated that the native\\nsorts were brought into cultivation. The first of these to attain\\nprominence was the now famous Catawba, which was found wild in\\nNorth Carolina in 1802, and was brought into general notice by Maj.\\nJohn Adluni, of Georgetown, D. C. A few j^ears later the Isabella,\\nanother wild grape, was introduced, and after the success of these\\ntwo sorts had been demonstrated many other wild forms were brought\\ninto cultivation.\\nApparently very little systematic effort was made to improve the\\ngrape until the appearance of Pond s Seedling in 1835. The time of\\nits introduction is worthy of notice as being the beginning of a period\\nof planting seeds of the native species for the purpose of making\\nselections.", "height": "3351", "width": "1992", "jp2-path": "progressofplantb00webb_0019.jp2"}, "20": {"fulltext": "476 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.\\nThe greatest advance in grape culture in this country is without\\ndoubt due to the famous Concord, which was also produced by selec-\\ntion. About the year 1840, Mr. Ephraim Bull, of Concord, Mass.\\n(PI. XXXVI), found growing on his grounds a wild grapevine, which\\nwas apparently a seedling from some wild grapes that had been\\nscattered about his place by boys the preceding year. He took up the\\nvine and moved it to his garden, giving it good care until it fruited\\nin 1843, the fruit, which was of good quality, ripening as early as the\\nlatter part of August. He was so impressed with the superior quality\\nof this fruit and the lack of foxy flavor that the idea at once occurred\\nto him that another generation would be a still greater improvement.\\nFollowing this out, he planted seeds of this grape, obtaining a num-\\nber of seedlings. One of these, which fruited first in 1849, was so\\nmarkedly superior to the others that it alone was preserved, later being\\nnamed the Concord. This grape, because of its vigor, productiveness,\\nand fine quality, at once became very popular. Not only has the variety\\nproved of great value itself, but it has been the parent of a great num-\\nber of varieties, many of them of considerable merit. Probably the\\nbest known of these are the Worden and Moore s Early Mr. Bull con-\\ntinued to plant seeds of the Concord year after year until he had pro-\\nduced over twenty-two thousand seedlings, but of these there were\\nonly twentj 7 -one which he recommended for cultivation, and none of\\nthem have become as popular as the parent variety.\\nIn the last twenty years very many varieties of the grape have\\nbeen produced, but no select seedlings of striking importance have\\nappeared, the good new varieties being mainly hybrids. In this con-\\nnection it is worthy of notice that the grape owes more to hybridiza-\\ntion than does any other fruit. The Delaware grape, which is even\\nyet a standard of excellence, is probably a natural hybrid, containing\\nsome blood of the fine European grape. This was found in a garden\\nof foreign grapes in New Jersey about the year 1850, but received its\\nname from Delaware, the Ohio town in which it was first brought to\\ngeneral notice. It is undoubtedly the best of our chance seedlings,\\nand was the last introduced that proved of much merit.\\nMany of our most widely cultivated varieties of grapes, such as the\\nSalem, Niagara, Brilliant, etc., which are common sorts in the mar-\\nkets, are the results of careful hybridization. The first hybrid grape\\nproduced in this country, known as Allen s Hybrid, was introduced in\\n1854, and was a cross of the Isabella with a European variety, sup-\\nposedly Golden Chasselas. This is the epoch-making grape as far as\\nhybrids are concerned. It was regarded with much interest because\\nof its fine quality and appearance, and while the bright hopes regard-\\ning it were never realized, it was of the greatest importance, as it\\nserved to stimulate the improvement of grapes by hybridization.\\nShortly after this E. S. Rogers, of Roxbury, Mass., began introducing\\nhis new hybrid varieties, the first being sent out in 1856. His Salem", "height": "3351", "width": "1992", "jp2-path": "progressofplantb00webb_0020.jp2"}, "21": {"fulltext": "PROGRESS OF PLANT BREEDING. 477\\nis an excellent chestnut-colored sort, and is probably the most exten-\\nsively grown of any hybrid grape. Rogers was closely followed by\\nRicketts, Burr, Caywood, Moore, Rommel, Stayman, and several\\nothers, who were very active in the production of new sorts, mainly\\nhybrids, and more recently still, by T. V. Munson, of Denison, Tex.,\\nwho has probably conducted the work on a more extensive scale than\\nany other experimenter in this field. Munson has already sent out\\nthirty-six new varieties, for the most part hybrids, and is still actively\\nengaged in the work.\\nA tabulation of the grapes described in Bush Son Meissner s\\nGrape Grower s Manual shows that, of 554 varieties described, 287 are\\nhybrids, 141 select seedlings, 57 chance seedlings, 68 of unknown ori-\\ngin, and 1 a sport. Considering those of known parentage, 59 per\\ncent are hybrids, 29 per cent select seedlings, and 12 per cent chance\\nseedlings. These figures show the marvelous extent to which hybrid-\\nization has affected the improvement of the grape.\\nIMPROVEMENT IN PEARS.\\nOne of the first native varieties of pears to be introduced was the\\nSeckel, which has remained to the present time our standard of excel-\\nlence. It was found near Philadelphia during the eighteenth cen-\\ntury, apparently being a chance seedling. Many other early native\\nvarieties introduced were obtained in this way, among them Tj son,\\nAndrews, and the Columbia Virgoulouse, the last named remaining\\na xjopular pear for a considerable time. It was not long, however,\\nbefore the practice of planting seeds of the best fruits and selecting\\nfrom the resulting seedlings came to be adopted in the improvement\\nof the pear. One of the first attempts of this kind to attract attention\\nwas that of Governor Edwards, of Connecticut, as mentioned elsewhere.\\nProbably the most systematic and successful attempt at growing seed-\\nlings for selection was that made by Mr. Dana, of Massachusetts. He\\nplanted seeds of the best varieties and raised five or six thousand\\nseedlings, from which he obtained many good varieties, the best being-\\nDana s Hovey, introduced about 1860. It is worthy of note that Dana\\nalways planted the seeds of the best varieties, a practice directly oppo-\\nsite to Van Mons*s theory, and yet succeeded in producing many good\\nsorts.\\nThe pear owes but little of its development to artificially produced\\nhybrids, and yet in no other fruit have hybrids played such an impor-\\ntant role. The Kieffer, Le Conte, and Garber, all widely-grown com-\\nmercial pears, through which this industry has been greatly extended,\\nare naturally-produced hybrids of the European pear and the Chinese\\nsand pear.\\nThe European pear, noted for its excellent qualitj 7 succeeds admir-\\nably on the Pacific coast, but has never proved wholly satisfactory in\\nthe Eastern States, and can not be successfully grown on a commercial\\n2078 2", "height": "3351", "width": "1992", "jp2-path": "progressofplantb00webb_0021.jp2"}, "22": {"fulltext": "478 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.\\nscale south of Virginia. The Chinese sand i^ear comes from a region\\nhaving climatic conditions very similar to those of the Eastern and\\nSouthern States, and thus finds here a congenial home. The fruit\\nis of poor quality, however, and the variety is grown only as an orna-\\nmental tree and for stocks on which to hud other sorts. The Kieffer\\nand Le Conte are both seedlings of the Chinese sand pear, and from\\ntheir characters show that the seeds from which they grew must have\\nbeen accidentally crossed with the pollen of some good variety of the\\nEuropean pear. It is probably to the father parent, the European\\npear, that is due the improved quality of the fruit, while the vigor and\\nadaptability to growth in warm climates evidently come from the\\nmother parent, the sand pear; These hybrid sorts practically revolu-\\ntionized pear culture in the Eastern United States, extending the limit\\nof profitable commercial pear growing several hundred miles south-\\nward. From Virginia to Florida these varieties grow luxuriantly and\\nhave practically driven out all other sorts. Even as far north as\\nPhiladelphia the Kieffer is by far the most important commercial\\nvariety.\\nIMPROVEMENT IN APPLES.\\nAmong apples, as in the case of pears, the variety that is consid-\\nered to be a standard of excellence, the famous Newtown Pippin, was\\nobtained as a chance seedling. It was introduced to notice about\\ntwo hundred years ago. The Baldwin apple, which has exercised\\nsuch an important influence on the apple industry, was also a chance\\nseedling, which sprang up about 1742 on the farm of Mr. John Ball,\\nin eastern Massachusetts, and was brought into general notice by a\\nColonel Baldwin, from whom it took its name. This apple proved to\\nbe of such importance that its origin has recently been commemo-\\nrated by the erection of a monument on the spot where the original\\ntree stood.\\nMany other chance seedlings have proved to be of great value, but\\na large proportion of the varieties of most importance, obtained dur-\\ning the nineteenth century, are the results of selection either of\\nseedlings grown for the purpose or from seedling orchards. Of these\\nmay be mentioned the Northern Spy, originated in New York about\\n1800; the Jonathan, introduced in 1829; the Summer Bellflower, and\\nmany others.\\nOne of the important problems which has recently taxed the skill\\nof apple breeders has been to secure varieties suitable for growth in\\nthe northwest prairie region. The Wealthy apple, the first variety\\nto meet this condition, furnishes one of the most striking examples of\\nimprovement in apples effected by planting numerous seeds and\\nselecting from the seedlings. About the year 1855 Mr. Peter M.\\nGideon, of Minnesota, began fruit culture, planting fruit trees of\\nvarious kinds, among them thirty named varieties of apples, and also\\na bushel of apple seeds. Each succeeding year for nine years he", "height": "3351", "width": "1992", "jp2-path": "progressofplantb00webb_0022.jp2"}, "23": {"fulltext": "PROGRESS OF PLANT BREEDING.\\n479\\nplanted more trees and also enough seeds to produce about a thou-\\nsand trees each year, hut the cold winters kept killing them off! until\\nat the end of the ten years there was left only one small seedling crab.\\nAll of Mr. Gideon s neighbors gave up the attempt to grow fruit,\\ncharacterizing it as an impossibility, and urged him to do the same,\\nbut he persisted and sent to Bangor, Me., for scions and seeds. From\\nthe seeds of the Cherry Crab thus obtained one seedling proved hardy\\nand was named the Wealthy. Upon these varieties the apple cul-\\nture of the northern Mississippi River region has been built. Within\\nvery recent years there has been great activity in hybridizing our\\ndifferent varieties of the apple with the varieties of Russian apples\\nrecently introduced and with the native wild crab, the object being\\nto obtain hardier varieties. This line of experiment, started in the\\nclosing years of the century, will probably in a few years yield results\\nof the greatest practical value.\\nIMPROVEMENT IN PLUMS.\\nFor many years plum culture in America was almost entirely limited\\nto the cultivation of introduced A^arieties of the European plum, but\\nFig. 22.\u00e2\u0080\u0094 Plums showing difference between hybrid and parent: Hybrid plum Golden at right\\nand mother parent Robinson at left, natural size (after Burbank).\\nlittle attention being given to the origination of native sorts, as, in the\\nmain, the finer foreign sorts succeed fairly well in the limited area in\\nwhich the European plum can be grown. Nevertheless, some attempts\\nwere made, and in Canada Henry Corse grew thousands of seedlings", "height": "3351", "width": "1992", "jp2-path": "progressofplantb00webb_0023.jp2"}, "24": {"fulltext": "\u00e2\u0080\u00a2480 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.\\nfor several years previous to 1840 with the hope of procuring something\\nwhich would excel existing varieties. From this great number he\\nselected several which promised well, and to four, of whose excellent\\nquality there was no doubt, he gave the names Dictator, Victoria,\\nColonel Wetherell, and Nota Bena. About the middle of the century\\nthe value of our native species came to be recognized. Many selected\\nchance seedlings were brought into cultivation, and it is to these that\\nwe owe the development of our native species of plums, nearly all the\\nbest-known varieties of which were obtained in this manner.\\nIt is only recently that any attempt has been made to improve our\\nplum s by artificial hybridization, and this attempt has been brought\\nabout mainly by the introduction of the Japan plum (Prunus tri-\\nflora), which has entered into most of the valuable combinations\\nthus far produced. The first Japan plum grown in this country, the\\nKelsey, was not introduced until 1870. The great activity in intro-\\nducing the Japanese varieties and crossing them with American sorts\\ndid not begin, however, until several years later, but, according to\\nProfessor Waugh, the Japan plum alreacty constitutes one parent of\\ntwenty-seven hybrids which have been found valuable and named.\\nThe introduction of this plum and its use in hybridization bids fair to\\nbe of the greatest importance to the plum industry Luther Burbank,\\nof California, was the pioneer in plum hybridization, and has pro-\\nduced very many valuable sorts, such as the Golden (fig. 22), Juicy,\\nand America (crosses of Robinson with Botan). The apricot plum,\\nanother species, has also been used a number of times by American\\nexperimenters in crossing with the Japan plum, and has yielded such\\nfine combinations as the Climax, Chalco, Late Conical, and probably\\nthe Wickson, all of which were produced by Burbank. Some valu-\\nable hybrids of our native species have also been produced, but they\\nare not so promising as hybrids witli the Japan plums.\\nIMPROVEMENT IN RASPBERRIES.\\nThe varieties of raspberries cultivated in this country are almost\\nentirely of the native species, it having been found difficult to grow\\nthe European varieties. Accordingly, we find that our first varieties\\nare derived mostly from wild plants picked up in the woods and the\\nfields and brought into cultivation. Among those thus cultivated,\\nprobably the first to be named and generally distributed was the\\nso-called English Red, which was really a native American variety.\\nAmong other chance seedlings are the Ohio Everbearing, Catawissa,\\nand Cuthbert. The last named was found growing in a garden in\\nRiverdale, N. Y., in the latter part of the seventies, and soon became\\na popular sort.\\nThe systematic improvement of the raspberry by growing seedlings\\nfor selection was much retarded by the earlier growers of this fruit\\nattempting to make use of the European instead of the native species.", "height": "3351", "width": "1992", "jp2-path": "progressofplantb00webb_0024.jp2"}, "25": {"fulltext": "PROGRESS OF PLANT BREEDING. 481\\nIn the meantime, however, many wild plants of the American species\\nwere domesticated on farms and in gardens. Among the early experi-\\nmenters with this fruit was Dr. Brinckle, of Philadelphia, who pro-\\nduced a great many varieties, hut only one which proved important.\\nThis was the Brinckle s Orange, produced in 1844, from an English sort\\nknown as Dyark s Seedling. It has proved to be a very popular berry,\\nand has been widely grown, being one of the very few varieties of the\\nEuropean species to prove hardy in America. Soon there appeared\\nother varieties, many of them being seedlings of foreign sorts, but prob-\\nably in many cases accidentally crossed with the native species. Most\\nof the varieties now grown, however, are improved varieties of the\\nAmerican species.\\nIn the last quarter of the century several valuable hybrids have been\\nintroduced which have become popular sorts. Among these may be\\nmentioned the Dictator (Gregg crossed with Schaffer) and the Caroline\\n(Brinckle s Orange crossed with Black Cap).\\nIMPROVEMENT IN BLACKBERRIES.\\nThe blackberry, as a cultivated plant, is entirely an American pro-\\nduction, and we owe nothing to the European plant breeders so far as\\nit is concerned. All the earlier varieties were merely wild plants\\ntaken up and set out in the garden. One of the first attempts to\\nimprove the blackberry was that by Mr. Lovett, of Massachusetts, who\\nfor many years attempted to find good plants and bring them into cul-\\ntivation. It was not until 1850, however, that the Dorchester, the first\\nvariety to be named, was introduced. In 1854 a berry was introduced\\nthat marked an epoch in blackberry culture, and showed what the\\nfruit was capable of becoming. This was the Lawton, or New Rochelle,\\nas it is often called. It was found by the roadside near New Rochelle,\\nN. Y., and was introduced by Mr. Lawton. This berry long remained\\npopular, but its place was finally taken by Wilson s Early, also found\\nas a wild plant.\\nThe culture of the blackberry is still in its infancy, and compara-\\ntively little attention has been given to its improvement. Quite a\\nnumber of hybrid varieties, such as Iceberg, Autumn King, Minne-\\nwaska, etc., have been introduced, but none have as yet become very\\nwell known.\\nThe raspberry and blackberry have been repeatedly hybridized by\\nexperimenters like Burbank and Carman, and some suggestive results\\nobtained. Burbank s series of raspberry-blackberry hybrids are in\\nmany respects the most remarkable ever produced between distinct\\nspecies. The most noteworthy of these hybrids are Primus (Western\\ndewberry crossed with Siberian raspberry), Paradox (Crystal White\\nblackberry crossed with Schaffer raspberry), and Humboldt (Improved\\nCalifornia Wild dewberry crossed with Cuthbert raspberry). Bur-\\nbank, in speaking of the Primus, says: It is also remarkable that", "height": "3351", "width": "1992", "jp2-path": "progressofplantb00webb_0025.jp2"}, "26": {"fulltext": "482 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.\\nthe hybrid should ripen its fruit several weeks before either of the\\nparents, and excel them much in productiveness and size of fruit,\\nthough retaining the general appearance and combined flavors of\\nboth. The Paradox was the only one retained out of some forty\\nthousand hybrid seedlings.\\nIMPROVEMENT IN STRAWBERRIES.\\nStrawberry culture in this country was conducted on a small scale\\nat first because no varieties well suited to the climatic conditions\\nwere known. Many were tried without success, especially the Keen s\\nSeedling, which was represented as very promising; but while it was\\nan exceedingly valuable berry in England, its place of origin, it failed\\nto fulfill the expectations of those who imported it into this country.\\nAfter cultivating this and many other sorts of more or less note, Mr.\\nC. M. Hovey, an eminent American poinologist, became satisfied that\\nthere existed in this country at that time no variety possessing the\\nqualities necessary to make its\\ncultivation profitable. There\\nseemed to be wanting, says\\nHovey, a variety combining the\\nqualities of two or more of these,\\nand we set out upon the experi-\\nment of attaining this desirable\\nresult, determined, if time would\\nallow, to pursue it until our ob-\\nject was accomplished. He pre-\\npared plants of seven distinct va-\\nrieties, and in 1833 made six series\\nof crosses, having first carefully\\nremoved the stamens from the\\nflowers to be pollinated, so as to prevent self-fertilization. The fol-\\nlowing year the resulting seeds were planted and produced plants of\\nvery varied appearance and characteristics. Only a few of these sur-\\npassed the best of the parent varieties, but one in the size and num-\\nber of its berries, as well as in fine flavor, excelled anything known in\\nthis country. This plant was kept under observation six years, at the\\nend of which period, having fulfilled the expectations of its producer,\\nit was put on the market under the name of Hovey s Seedling (fig. 23).\\nThe effect of the production of this berry was truly wonderful, and\\nresulted in making strawberry culture popular and profitable. Other\\nexperimenters began to make crosses and to grow new sorts, but in\\nspite of the almost innumerable varieties thus produced Hovey s Seed-\\nling remained the leading berry for almost thirty years. It is worthy\\nof note that although it was probably the most famous variety ever\\nproduced, it is now extinct, it being impossible to obtain typical plants.\\nFig. 83.\u00e2\u0080\u0094 Hovey s Seedling strawberry) half natu\\nral size (from the Magazine of Horticulture).", "height": "3351", "width": "1992", "jp2-path": "progressofplantb00webb_0026.jp2"}, "27": {"fulltext": "Yearbook U. S. Dept of Agriculture, 1899\\nPlate XXXVII.\\nImprovement of the Native Gooseberry: 1, Ribes oxyacanthoides, Wild Form;\\n2, Houghton Gooseberry, Seedling of the Wild Form 3, Downing Gooseberry,\\nSeedling of the Houghton. (All Natural Size, Adapted from Bailey. i", "height": "3351", "width": "1992", "jp2-path": "progressofplantb00webb_0027.jp2"}, "28": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3351", "width": "1992", "jp2-path": "progressofplantb00webb_0028.jp2"}, "29": {"fulltext": "PROGRESS OF PLANT BREEDING. 483\\nThe Wilson, which supplanted it, is itself being gradually supplanted\\nby other sorts, and will probably eventually disappear. Among the\\nvarieties produced from Hovey s Seedling may be mentioned Moya-\\nmensing Pine, which in 1849 was awarded the prize offered by the\\nPhiladelphia Horticultural Society for the best new berry. This was\\nin turn the parent of many other varieties, some of which were of\\nconsiderable merit.\\nHybridization has been the favorite method of producing new\\nvarieties of strawberries, perhaps because the first successful variety\\nwas obtained in this way. Among the recent hybrids may be men-\\ntioned the Hunn, which also illustrates the difficulty of systematic\\nbreeding, it being the only one deemed worthy of preservation out of\\nabout seventeen hundred hybrid seedlings tested.\\nIMPROVEMENT IN GOOSEBERRIES.\\nAs in the case of most other fruits, the first varieties of gooseberries\\ngrown in this country were of foreign origin. However, these mil-\\ndewed very badly, especially when their cultivation became more gen-\\neral; hence, in the course of time the growing of this fruit was almost\\ntotally abandoned. Soon the native species began to attract atten-\\ntion, however, and one of the first varieties to be described was\\nHoughton s Seedling, produced near Lynn, Mass., about 1845, from\\nthe wild gooseberry. A few years later Mr. Downing, of New York,\\nproduced from this already popular variety the Downing, a seedling\\nwhich has since become extremely popular. The Houghton and Down-\\ning, compared with the wild type from which they sprang, furnish an\\ninteresting illustration of the evolution of a native wild plant. (PI.\\nXXXVII.) Since then a number of seedling varieties of good quality\\nhave been produced, and have come to be quite extensively culti-\\nvated. However, now that the use of fungicides has become general,\\nthe English varieties are again coming into cultivation, and it is\\nstill a question whether the advantage gained b} r the American varie-\\nties, owing to the exclusion of the former by mildew for so many years,\\nwill enable the American sorts to retain their supremacy.\\nIMPROVEMENT IN VEGETABLES.\\nThe tomato. The tomato illustrates well what can be accom-\\nplished by careful breeding. In the early part of the century the\\nraces of tomatoes had mostly small and lobed fruits, but in the course\\nof fifty years or more of selection the type has. changed until the fruit\\nis now large and smooth and the habit of the plant very different.\\nAs in the case of the strawberry, the first great advance in the devel-\\nopment of the tomato in this country was made by hybridization.\\nThe Trophy tomato, introduced by the late Colonel Waring, was the\\nfirst of our modern, smooth, round tomatoes, and its production ami", "height": "3351", "width": "1992", "jp2-path": "progressofplantb00webb_0029.jp2"}, "30": {"fulltext": "484 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.\\nadvertising, probably more than anything else, served to make the\\ntomato a popular garden vegetable. The Trophy tomato, in the\\nwords of Colonel Waring, is a product of crossing and careful cul-\\ntivation by Dr. Hand, of Baltimore County, Md., who began his\\nwork in connection with it about 1850. He crossed the small, smooth\\nLove Apple, which was filled with juice and seeds, with the com-\\npound, convoluted tomato of that period. This latter was practically\\nfour or five separate fruits packed together in one, with the skin\\nrunning far into the convolutions. He succeeded in putting the\\nsolid mass of this compound growth into the smooth skin of the Love\\nApple, and then, by careful selection, year after year, increased its\\nsize and the solidity of its contents until it became a mass of flesh\\ninterspersed with small seed cells. The Trophy remained for a\\nnumber of years the principal race on the market, but was finally\\nsuperseded by others bearing larger and better fruits, in the produc-\\ntion of which hybridization played an important part. The effect of\\nselection in recent years is illustrated in the production of the Para-\\ngon by A. W. Livingston. In passing through a field of tomatoes,\\nhe selected one plant because of the uniformly smooth fruits and\\nbecause of its being very prolific. The seeds from this plant were\\nsown the next year, and the stock of seeds for planting was saved\\nfrom the earliest and best specimens. By continuing this process for\\nfive years the Paragon was produced. The Acme, Perfection, and\\nmany other races were originated in a similar manner.\\nThe potato. The potato has long been the subject of more or less\\nsystematic improvement in this country. According to Bailey, even\\nas early as the end of the last century, Joseph Cooper made success-\\nful experiments in keeping and improving strains of the potato.\\nThere is a record in 1835 of the production of anew variety called Per-\\nkin s Seedling, originated by planting a seed ball a year or two before.\\nIn 1841 the Pollard, a seedling of the Chenango, was introduced, but\\nthe most popular potato originated during this period was the Mercer,\\nwhich was also a select seedling. For a good many years after this it\\nwas a general practice to plant potato seeds to produce new varieties,\\nbut these for the most part remained known only locally.\\nThe introduction of new wild strains from South America marked\\nthe beginning of a very distinct epoch in the culture of the potato.\\nAbout 1850, or possibly two or three years earlier, a Mr. Goodrich\\nbegan experiments with a view of improving the potato, using the\\nvarieties known as the Wild Peruvian and the Rough Purple Chili,\\nwhich were either direct importations from South America or but\\nslightly improved. He grew seedlings of these varieties for fifteen\\nyears, obtaining over sixteen thousand, but considered only ten of\\nthis number worthy of cultivation. The best two of these were the\\nCuzco, a seedling of the Wild Peruvian, and the Garnet Chili, from the\\nRough Purple Chili. Later the Cuzco gave rise to several fairly", "height": "3351", "width": "1992", "jp2-path": "progressofplantb00webb_0030.jp2"}, "31": {"fulltext": "PROGRESS OF PLANT BREEDING. 485\\nvaluable vai-ieties, but it was surpassed by the Garnet Chili, from\\nwhich several of our best-known varieties have been produced.\\nIn 1860 or 1861 a grower of the Garnet Chili preserved a seed ball\\nof this variety, pinning it up against his window until it was old and\\ndry, when, fortunately for the potato industry of the United States,\\nhe gave it to Mr. Albert Breese, of Vermont. Mr. Breese planted the\\nseeds and obtained widely varying plants, some producing many\\ntubers and others but few, while there was no uniformity in their size\\nor shape, some being large and others small, some round and others\\nelongated. Seven of the plants proved to be of exceedingly good\\nquality, but one of these, an early sort, far surpassed the others and\\nwas named the Early Rose. When this potato was put on the market\\na few years later, it commanded almost fabulous prices, and in a few\\nyears became the leading variety in America, a position which it still\\nretains over a considerable part of the country. The other varieties\\nof similar origin also became quite popular, and soon the old sorts\\nwere completely abandoned. In fact, there can be found in the cata-\\nlogues of varieties grown at the present time scarcely a single variety\\npopular forty years ago.\\nIn the production of many sorts, such as the White Elephant, Snow-\\nflake, Nebula, etc. hybridization has been used, but so far none of\\nthe varieties thus produced have proved as valuable as the Early\\nRose.\\nThe potato has been also somewhat improved by the selection of its\\ntubers. Thus, when the Early Ohio was introduced, a careful selec-\\ntion was made of the medium-sized, well-ripened tubers of a desired\\nshape, with the result, according to C. L. Allen, of fully a week s\\ngain in earliness; a great increase in productiveness, with a marked\\ndecrease in the quantity of vines. A few of our well-known varie-\\nties originated as bud sports from the tubers for example, Thor-\\nburn s Late Rose from tubers of the Early Rose.\\nThe garden pea. The garden pea furnishes an example of great\\nimprovement produced largely by hybridization, the most marked\\nresult obtained in this country being the production of the dwarf pea\\nAmerican Wonder about the year 1880, up to which time the varieties\\ngrown were almost all of foreign origin. This variety was the result\\nof a combination of McLean s Little Gem and the Champion of Eng-\\nland. The former long stood at the head of the dwarf peas, but was\\nunproductive; the latter at the time the cross was made was consid-\\nered the best in quality and the most productive of the tall peas. The\\nAmerican Agriculturist says: We look upon the production of this\\npea as one of the most important steps made of late in its department\\nof horticulture.\\nThe squash. It is interesting to note that among squashes, which\\nhybridize so readily, the Butman, originated by Mr. Clarendon Bat-\\nman, of Maine, about 1875, was the result of crossing the Hubbard", "height": "3351", "width": "1992", "jp2-path": "progressofplantb00webb_0031.jp2"}, "32": {"fulltext": "486 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.\\nwith a Japanese race and of several years of careful selection. This,\\naccording to Mr. James J. H. Gregory, was the first instance of a race of\\nsquashes produced in America, all of our standard races previous to\\nthe production of this one having been originated abroad.\\nIMPROVEMENT IN CEREALS.\\nCorn. Corn has probably been more or less the subject of improve-\\nment by selection ever since it was first cultivated, and it is a general\\npractice among farmers who grow their own seed to select the best\\nears for the next year s planting. There have been some experiment-\\ners, however, who have given special attention to its improvement,\\namong the earliest being Mr. J. S. Learning, who began in the early\\nfifties by going through his fields then producing an ordinary, not\\nvery prolific, yellow corn^-and selecting seed from the best-formed\\nplants bearing two or three well-formed oars. In this way, by a con-\\ntinuous selection extending over thirty j^ears, the famous Learning\\ncorn was produced and kept up to its standard. About fifteen years\\nlater Mr. James Riley, of Indiana, also began the careful selection of\\ncorn, taking a fine white sort as the original. He used essentially the\\nmethod followed by Learning, but in addition went through the fields\\njust as the tassels were appearing and cut out all imperfect and bar-\\nren stalks. He selected seed for the next year s planting from the\\nfinest stalks and the best and most evenly developed ears. By con-\\ntinuing this selection for several years he produced the Boone Countj^\\nWhite (PI. XXXVIII, fig. 1), which has given noteworthy yields at\\nthe Illinois experiment station.\\nCorn has been greatly modified and improved by hybridization,\\nbut no improvement stands out as marking a distinct epoch. The\\nearliest account of a new race being originated by hybridization\\nwhich has come under the notice of the writers is that of the Smith s\\nEarly White, described in a letter by Dr. Gideon B. Smith, in the\\nAlbany Cultivator for 1838, the experiments being said to have been\\nstarted some ten or twelve years earlier. It was the result of a cross\\nbetween the Tuscarora and the Sioux. Dr. Smith s discussion shows\\nthat the results to be expected from crossing different races of corn\\nwere thoroughly understood even then. The original Old Colonj^\\nsweet corn, a race originated about 1849, and extensively cultivated\\nfor years, was one of the first and best of the sweet-corn hybrids.\\nThe ease with which corn hybridizes naturally in the field has led\\nto great mixing, and doubtless many forms now cultivated are selected\\ntypes of such accidental crosses. Very many of the best races, how-\\never, were originated as carefully produced hybrids.\\nWheat. The early races of wheat grown in this country were, as\\nwas the case with almost all our cultivated plants, of foreign origin,\\nand even now a great many sorts are being imported, especially from\\nRussia. A large number, however, have had their origin in America,", "height": "3351", "width": "1992", "jp2-path": "progressofplantb00webb_0032.jp2"}, "33": {"fulltext": "Yeaibook U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, 1899.\\nPlate XXXVIII.\\nFig. 1 .\u00e2\u0080\u0094Improvement of Corn by Selection: Boone County White Corn on Left\\nand Original Type from which it was Developed by Selection on Right.\\nFig. 2.\u00e2\u0080\u0094 Variation in Seedling Pecans: Frotscher Pecan on Left and Two Seed-\\nlings from it, Showing Variations in Thickness of Shell, Size, etc. (Natural\\nSize.)", "height": "3351", "width": "1992", "jp2-path": "progressofplantb00webb_0033.jp2"}, "34": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3351", "width": "1992", "jp2-path": "progressofplantb00webb_0034.jp2"}, "35": {"fulltext": "PROGRESS OF PLANT BREEDING. 487\\nthe first of these being mainly such as originated in fields of wheat or\\nfrom chance-sown seeds, which, owing to their differences from other\\nwheat, were preserved and perpetuated. Such, for example, were the\\nTappahannock, found in Virginia in 1854, and the famous Fultz wheat,\\nfound in a field of Lancaster Red wheat in Pennsylvania in 1862 by\\na Mi\\\\ Abraham Fultz. Mr. Fultz was attracted by some beautiful\\nheads of smooth wheat, which he saved and planted by themselves, and\\nfrom these the new race was developed.\\nBut little attention has been given to the systematic growing of\\nwheat for selection until quite recently. The most important experi-\\nments of this kind in the United States are those by Prof. W. M.\\nHays, of the Minnesota experiment station, which are still in prog-\\nress. From the year 1888 up to the present year 552 different races\\nhave been tested, from which eight were finally selected as worthy of\\npreservation. From these eight, selection experiments were started\\nin 1892, and as a result, even at the end of the first year, four of the\\nbest eight new strains surpassed in yield and in some other qualities\\nthe best four of the old varieties. Though it is too early yet to give\\nmore definite results, it is evident that the use of selection is very\\npromising as regards the improvement of even the best races.\\nWithin recent years considerable attention has also been given to\\nhybridization, and many valuable hybrids have found places in our\\nlists of important races. Attention has been directed mainly to in-\\ncreasing the yield by crossing different strains and to securing earlier\\nand hardier sorts. Among the earlier experimenters in this field\\nArnold and Pringle were eminently successful. Arnold s Hybrid No.\\n9, a cross of Michigan Amber with White Soules, has in some places\\ngiven good results. Pringle s Defiance, said to be a hybrid of a\\nwhite wheat common in California upon an Eastern club variety,\\nhas proved very valuable in California, Colorado, and other places.\\nProf. A. E. Blount, while at the Colorado experiment station, made\\nmany wheat hybrids and obtained several improved varieties. Blount s\\nHybrid No. 15, a cross of Lost Nation with Sonora, has become a well-\\nknown race, giving excellent results in some States. Probably the\\nmost valuable work in wheat hybridization in this country has been\\ndone by A. N. Jones, of New York. Mr. Jones writes: Most of\\nmy crossbreeds are from Russian and American varieties, with some\\nblood from Mediterranean Longberry or offspring from these combi-\\nnations. Of the sixteen or more hybrid wheat races introduced by\\nJones, several have become standard sorts. Winter Fife, which is\\nextensively grown in Indiana, Ohio, and other places, is probably his\\nbest-known race. His Early Red Clawson, Early Genesee Giant, etc.,\\nare among our widely grown races.\\nFrom 1888 to the present time Prof. William Saunders, director of\\nthe experimental farm, Ottawa, Canada, has been hybridizing wheats\\nparticularly to secure early ripening races. To accomplish this lie", "height": "3351", "width": "1992", "jp2-path": "progressofplantb00webb_0035.jp2"}, "36": {"fulltext": "488 YEARBOOK OP THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.\\nhas sought to secure earliness and hardiness in the best American\\nraces by hybridizing them with various Russian sorts. Preston and\\nStanley, derived from Ladoga, a Russian sort, crossed with Red Fife,\\nand Alpha, Percy, and Advance, derived from Ladoga crossed with\\nWhite Fife, are proving valuable additions. Tests of Preston and\\nAdvance at the Minnesota experiment station have given good results.\\nProfessor Hays, of that station, says: Preston is the most inter-\\nesting and promising variety of wheat procured outside of the State,\\nand it bids fair to be a strong rival of our best Fife and Blue Stem\\nwheats. Besides his important work on selection mentioned above,\\nProfessor Hays has been in recent years conducting experiments in\\nhybridization and has obtained results of the greatest promise. It is\\nnoteworthy that in this country the wheat hybrids thus far produced\\nwhich have given valuable results are racial hybrids, in many cases\\nvery complex, including several different races.\\nOats. No oat hybrids produced in this country have as yet become\\nvery important so far as the writers are informed, although some are\\nof exceptional interest, as, for instance, Priiigle s Excelsior, a so-called\\nhull-less oat produced by crossing the common Chinese Hull-less (Avena\\nnuda) with the Excelsior, a race of the common oat. This remark-\\nable hybrid is said to possess the strength and robust character of the\\ncommon oat and to retain the peculiarity of the naked seed derived\\nfrom the Chinese Hull-less. It was introduced about the year 1881,\\nbut does not appear to have proved satisfactory for general culture.\\nRecently Garton Bros., of England, have introduced a similar naked\\noat, which gives great promise of proving a valuable sort, particu-\\nlarly for the preparation of oatmeal and similar foods. Apparently\\nhybridization in this line promises important results.\\nIMPROVEMENT IN FLOWERS AND ORNAMENTAL PLANTS.\\nIn no plants has scientific plant breeding been carried further than\\nin those grown for their flowers or for ornamental purposes. Growers\\nof such plants are compelled to produce new and striking varieties\\nand races, and so must take advantage of all available methods.\\nAn interesting example of the result of continuous selection is the\\nBlanche Ferry sweet pea, which resulted from over twenty-five years\\nof selection from the old Painted Lady, in northern New York. In\\nsuccessive years the plants gradually became more stocky and com-\\npact, until after ten or twelve years they needed no outside support.\\nFrom the Blanche Ferry there have arisen independently at least two\\nof the dwarf varieties known as Cupids. These arose as seedling\\nsports and soon became very widely diffused.\\nProbably in no other plants has hybridization given such marked\\nresults as in those cultivated for their flowers. This is due largely to\\nthe fact that in such plants variation of form and color of flowers are\\nthe greatest desiderata, and such modifications are most easily obtained\\nL\u00c2\u00abfC.", "height": "3351", "width": "1992", "jp2-path": "progressofplantb00webb_0036.jp2"}, "37": {"fulltext": "PROGRESS OF PLANT BREEDING. 489\\nby hybridizing different-colored species, varieties, etc. Orchids,\\nroses, begonias, chrysanthemums, cannas, and many other of our\\ncommon flowers have been crossed, and recrossed until it is f requently\\nimpossible to determine their origin. In this country probably the\\nmost attention has been given to roses, carnations, and chrysanthe-\\nmums. It is to hybridization, directly or indirectly, that Ave are\\nindebted for almost all the beautiful forms of these flowers. By the\\nintroduction of foreign species and their utilization in hybridization\\nwith those already in cultivation, new and almost totally different\\nstrains are frequentty produced. As an illustration of this may be\\nmentioned the important results that have been produced by the\\nrecent introduction of the hardy roses Rosaritgosa and R. ivichuraiana\\nand their hybridization with our common varieties of roses. Manda\\nsays By crossing Rosa ivichuraiana with greenhouse teas the result\\nis astonishing, as the plants are not only hardy, but retain their foli-\\nage during the winter. Thus a new race of evergreen roses has been\\nadded to our collection, and promises to be the beginning of a new\\nand useful class.\\nAdvantage has been taken of still another principle in growing-\\nplants of this class. It sometimes occurs that certain buds give rise\\nto branches that vary abnormally and produce flowers or leaves of a\\ndifferent color or shape from those borne on the rest of the plant.\\nThese so-called bud sports can often be perpetuated, and thus give\\nrise to new varieties. In this way many of the cut-leaved forms of\\nvarious ornamental plants have originated. Perhaps the most strik-\\ning examples of the production of new sorts by bud sporting are found\\nin certain plants, such as the chrysanthemum, rose, carnation, etc.\\nMany of these are sports merely in color, but in some cases even the\\nform of the flowers and of the leaves is different. It is said that within\\nthe last ten years there have been over fifty cases of new varieties of\\nchrysanthemums originated as bud sports.\\nIMPROVEMENT IN NUTS.\\nAmong the native nuts, probably the chestnut and the pecan are the\\nonly ones that have received much attention from plant breeders,\\nthough Burbank has given some care to improving the walnut. A few\\nvarieties of chestnuts have been obtained by the selection of wild trees\\nof desirable quality, though but little more than this has been done.\\nThe pecan, however, has received more attention. In its wild state, it\\nvaries very greatly in its characteristics, and this has led to the selection\\nof a number of varieties from wild trees because of some special quality,\\nas thinness of shell, small amount of corky substance between the\\nhalves of the kernel, productiveness, size, or other good qualities.\\nOne of the best known of such selected pecans is the Frotscher, the\\noriginal tree of which is still standing in Louisiana, and is probably\\nover two hundred years old. Within the last fifty years many growers", "height": "3351", "width": "1992", "jp2-path": "progressofplantb00webb_0037.jp2"}, "38": {"fulltext": "490 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.\\nhave been planting the nuts of this and other varieties and selecting\\nfrom among the seedlings thus produced those with the best quali-\\nties. PI. XXXVIII, fig. 2, shows the variations and the possibilities\\nof improvement when careful selection is exercised. The systematic\\nimprovement of the pecan, however, has just begun.\\nIMPROVEMENT IN COTTON.\\nThe history of sea-island cotton is extremely interesting, as it\\nserves as an example of the possibility of adapting a tropical plant to\\nthe conditions of culture in temperate regions. About 1785 seeds of\\nthis cotton were brought to Georgia from the Bahamas. Notwith-\\nstanding the good care they received and the mild winter, the plants\\nwere killed down, but they came up again from the roots, and with this\\nstart succeeded in ripening a few seeds before the first frost in the fall.\\nThe earliest of these seeds were sown in turn, and by continuing this\\nprocess of selection the flowering period became earlier and earlier,\\nuntil now the plants ripen a large proportion of their seeds before\\nfrost, even along the coasts of the Carolinas. Besides striving to\\nobtain earlier maturing sorts, very careful selection has for years been\\nmade Avith a view of increasing the length, fineness, and strength of\\nthe staple. This selection is regularly practiced by all intelligent\\ngrowers and to-day it may be regarded as one of the necessary cultural\\nmethods. Every year a special patch of cotton is grown from selected\\nseed; the plants in this patch are examined very carefully and the\\nseed of the best individuals retained for planting a similar patch\\nthe next year, the seed of the remaining plants being used to plant\\nthe general crop. Under such continuous and vigorous selection the\\nlength and fineness of the fiber have gradually increased, until it is now\\nrecognized as superior to that grown anywhere else in the world and\\ncommands the highest price in the market.", "height": "3351", "width": "1992", "jp2-path": "progressofplantb00webb_0038.jp2"}, "39": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3351", "width": "1992", "jp2-path": "progressofplantb00webb_0039.jp2"}, "40": {"fulltext": "LIBRARY OF CONGRESS\\n000 934 469 A\\nf", "height": "3467", "width": "2133", "jp2-path": "progressofplantb00webb_0040.jp2"}}