Part 20 (1/2)

ALASKAN BERRY HYBRIDS.--At the Sitka Experiment Station in Alaska a strain of hardy strawberries is in the making, the result of crosses between the native of the Alaskan coast region and cultivated varieties. Several thousand seedlings have been grown, all very vigorous and most of them productive and of high quality. The native variety of the interior of Alaska is now to be used in similar crosses.

The Cuthbert raspberry has been crossed with its relatives, the native Salmonberry (_Rubus spectabilis_ Pursh.) and the Thimbleberry (_R.

parviflorus_ Nutt.). The only interesting fact so far developed is that the hybrids of the two species first named are almost entirely sterile.

Annual Report, 1915, Vice-President, Seventh Congressional District.

P. H. PETERSON, At.w.a.tER, MINN.

From the answers received on blanks sent out I find there was a fair crop of apples raised throughout this district, with the trees in good condition for winter. Wood is well ripened up, leaves all shed and plenty of moisture in the soil.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A productive strawberry field at P. H. Peterson's At.w.a.ter fruit farm.]

All report none or very little blight this year. Spraying is not done generally, but those few who do it are getting results. In our own orchard, which was sprayed twice last spring, we have not found one wormy apple.

Plums, none or a very few. Mr. Bjornberg, of Willmar, reports the Surprise plum a full crop, others a total failure. Compa.s.s cherry bore a fair crop, but with me it rotted badly, as also did Prof. Hansen's plums, Sapa and Opata.

Grapes: Not many are grown except the Beta, which bore a heavy crop in spite of the late spring frosts.

Blackberries: Nothing doing.

Raspberries and strawberries were a light crop. Strawberries especially were badly damaged by late spring frosts--with me they were nearly a total failure except the everbearing, which gave us a good crop. And I want to add that they are here to stay for home use, and possibly as a market berry. Plants are fully as hardy as the June-bearing sorts. No matter how many times the blossoms are frozen off in the spring they will come right out again and give us berries until it freezes up in the fall.

Currants and gooseberries were a fair crop.

From the reports I gather that less nursery stock has been planted here than usual, but with good results, as the season has been favorable for plantings.

The fruit list recommended by the State Horticultural Society can be relied on in this locality.

There is a good deal of interest shown here in top-working the better quality winter apples onto hardy trees with good results, and the Hibernal seems to be the best stock to use--it certainly ought not to be planted for any other purpose. The apple is a drug on the market, and those who planted largely of this variety find it difficult to dispose of the crop at any price.

STUDYING FRUITS IN ILLINOIS.--Many seedling apples are being grown at the Illinois Experiment Station. Reciprocal hybridizations between standard orchard varieties and various species of the genus Malus have been made, fifty-seven species and varieties which are not of commercial importance having been obtained from the Arnold Arboretum at Boston. Direct improvement through these violent crosses is not antic.i.p.ated, but it is hoped to acquire valuable information regarding the affinities of the various species used, and also to produce material for use in back crossing. Reciprocal crosses between standard orchard varieties are also being made in large numbers, while a difficult piece of work has been attempted in the reciprocal crossing of different strains of the same variety, and different individuals of the same strain. C.S. Crandall writes: ”This project has aimed at the selfing of particular individuals, and the use on trees here of pollen from trees of the same variety in orchards 100 miles away and grown under quite different conditions. Considerable effort has been expended in the prosecution of this project, but up to the present time we have recorded no successful pollinations. We have not as yet a very wide range of varieties, but as far as we have gone we have encountered complete sterility in the selfing within the individuals and in the attempt to use pollen of the same variety brought from a distance. The unfortunate feature about all the hybridizing work with apples is the mongrel character of the plants on which we work. We know nothing of the parentage of any of our varieties, and it seems quite useless to speculate on what the segregation of characters may be in crosses between different varieties. A further discouraging feature in apple breeding is the long period required to get results from any particular cross. Effort is being made to shorten this period by grafting scions of hybrid seedlings on dwarf stocks and growing the plants in pots. This will help some, but at best the attainment of results is some distance in the future. We are endeavoring to maintain a reasonably complete record of every step that is taken so that a complete history may be available for those who may later continue the work.

”In pursuing the projects as outlined above there are a number of minor problems that are receiving some attention: such as the retention of the vitality of pollen, the period of receptivity, the seed production in hybrid fruits, and the time for and percentage of the germination of seeds. On all of these points we are acc.u.mulating considerable information that it is hoped may be of some practical value.”--Journal of Heredity.

Spraying the Orchard.

HON. H. M. DUNLAP, SAVOY, ILLS.

I don't know whether I am out of place with this topic of mine or not with a Minnesota audience, but I came through the exhibit rooms as I came up to the hall, and whether you spray or not you certainly need to, for I saw all sorts of fungous diseases upon your fruit. I presume that these are not the poorest specimens you have--very few people, you know, bring the poorest specimens they have to an exhibition place, Mr.

President, and I presume that if these are the best you have the poorest must be pretty bad in the way of fungous diseases.

Of course, people don't like to have their faults told them, but if we have anything the matter with us it is best for us to find out what the matter is and then get rid of it. It is better than to do as many did in the commercial fruit-growing states a number of years ago about the San Jose scale, those that were interested in having that fact suppressed, or at least thought they were interested in having the fact suppressed that they had San Jose scale within the confines of their state. They didn't want that information to get out, so they didn't discuss the matter of San Jose scale in their societies.

In Illinois we took a different view of that proposition, and it was, that we had the San Jose scale and we thought the thing to do was to stamp it out, to get after it. So we agitated that subject in our society and talked about it. We had the state entomologist canva.s.s the entire state to find out where the San Jose scale was doing its work and gave him authority to go in and spray those places or cut down the trees and get them out of the way. The effect of that work is very evident.

The people of other states would point to us saying that they did not have the scale but that we had because we reported the fact, but I know they now have it a great deal worse than we do because of this neglect.