Varieties in Vegetation

VARIETIES IN VEGETATION. This is an important subject and one in which every culti vator of the soil is interested. In addition to what has been heretofore given in this work we append a synopsis of facts and conclusions derived from various authentic sources, which will be of value. The origin of varieties is a subject of deep interest, and, perhaps, less understood than almost any other. A species, unlike a true hybrid, will always reproduce itself trom its seed. and for an indefinite period. The plants wlaich are raised from its seeds will not, however, be exactly like the parent species, but will differ in some particulars, as form, size, color, quality of fruit, but not in its original type, or material in its organic structure. These particular differences which have been enume rated constitute varieties, forms that are not monstrous, enduring only for a time and then disappearing, but the natural outgrowth of seed, not produced by a direct fiat of the Creator, as the species are supposed to have been, but by an inherent energy, acting by determinate laws, modified by the conditions in which they are placed, as soil, climate, and other extraneous influences which are too latent for us to compre hend. Varieties may also be obtained by culti vation and selection. It is sometimes said that God created the species of man and the varie ties. There is no doubt that man, by means of cultivation, is a most powerful agent in the pro duction of varieties. As the mind of man, when under powerful excitement, will make great intellectual efforts, sueh as it never made before, so a plant under the stimulus of high cul tivation, will make an extraordinary develop ment, often in a direction not expected, and pro duce a new variety which it never would have originated if it had been left alone in a wild state. The process pursued in this mode of pro ducing varieties is to select the best fruit of any species or variety, and sow the seeds in a soil properly prepared for their most vigorous growth; then, again, selecting the best fruit from the new plants and planting the seeds, thus continuing the operation till the desired variety is obtained. Such varieties are sometimes called seedlings, because they are raised from the seeds, without any artificial process of hybridizing or cross-breeding. This proeess of producing new varieties has been carried on very extensively, and with wonderful results, and it would be very difficult to assign the limits to which the improvement may be carried. Prof. Von Mons, a distinguished pomologist, of Belgium, culti vated the pear very extensively in this way, and with good suecess. He began by sowing the seed of a healthy seedling pear which approxi mated nearest to the original species of any which he could find, without taking a wild one, supposing that by this course he could get some varieties different from any which had been seen before. In the fifth generation he obtained some exeellent fruit, although he carried the process even to the seventh generation. He did not preserve every one of the multitude of plants which he raised from the seeds, till it matured fruit, but those which were feeble, or did not have the characters that be deemed essential for the production of good fruit, were destroyed; and so accurate had his observation become by long experience that, as he informs us, he could tell by the form of the leaf, the color of the branches, or the spreading of the top, whether the fruit would be good or not. He observed that, while the plant of the first generation was about seven years in coming into bearing, the time was diminished for each succeeding one, so that in the seventh it took only about four years. It would probably not be best for the common experimenter to begin by sowing the seeds of an uncultivated variety, as Prof. Von Mons did, but to select the best, thus appropri ating to himself what had been gained by culti vation, although he might not, perhaps, obtain anything so entirely distinct frorn existing varie ties as was done in the case of Prof. Von Mons. We have every reason to suppose that the Per sian or European vine (vitis vinifera) has been brought to its present state of perfection from a wild grape; for it has been cultivated in Egypt from the remotest antiquity, and Egyp tians declare that Osiris first taught them its Oft. It had been cultivated in Asia 800 years before those pious leaders and shrewd statesmen, Joshua and Caleb, visited the valley of Eshcol and brought away one cluster, so heavy that it was borne between two upon a staff. It grows to an enormous size when under cultivation. Schulz says he supped under a grape-vine in Palestine the stem of which was a foot and a half in diam eter, the height thirty feet, and its branches formed a canopy thirty feet in diameter. The clusters, he adds, are so large that they weigh ten or twelve pounds, and the berries may be compared with our large plums. A gentleman from California, of undoubted veracity, informs me that he has seen a foreign vine in that State, planted a century or more ago by the Jesuit missionaries, which has a diameter even greater than this. There are few plants more inclined to vary or sport than the grape. All the Euro pean varieties, which vary so much in color and sweetness, have been produced from the same species, and sometimes white varieties and black have grown on the same stalk. The following are some of the varieties derived from the Vitis labrusea: The Adirondac Anna, Cassady, Ca tawba, Concord, Christine, Creveling, Diana, Dracut Amber, Hartford Prolific, Iona, Isabella, Israella, Ives' Seedling, Lydia, Maxatawny, Rebeeca, Union Village, etc. From the Pitts cordfolia, originated the Clinton, Franklin, and Taylor's Bullet. From the Vitis oestivalts we have the Alvey, Devereaux, Herbemont, Nor ton's Virginia and others. (See article Grape.) Many of our useful as well as ornamental plants vary much by change of habitat and by culture. The cabbage, in its wild state, had scarcely any head. The beet, carrot, parsnip, and turnips had roots no larger than the common thistle, (Oirsitign a/rvense). The tubers of the potato were but little larger than the groundnut, (Aralia trifolia,) and the tomato bore fruit very much like the potato-ball, but now, by cultiva tion and selection, it has acquired a size of more than six inches in diameter. The strawberry has become maily times larger than in its natural state. Prof. Buckman, of England, in a few years converted, by cultivation and careful selec tion, the wild parsnip iuto new and good varie ties. M. Vilmorin produced the same change in the wild carrot in a few generations. Winter wheat and spring wheat may be converted into each other. M. Monnier sowed winter wheat in spring, and out of 100 plants four alone pro duced ripe seeds; these were sown and resown, and in three years plants were reared which ripened all their seed. Conversely, nearly all the plants raised frona spring wheat which was sown in autumn, perished from frost; but a few were saved, and produced seeds and in three years this spring variety was converted into a winter variety. Running or twining beans may be redueed to hush beans by selecting the fruit that grows nearest the ground from year to year, and, on the contrary, their stems may be made to grow much longer by selecting pods from the -top or end, and constantly planting. Cucum bers may be dwarfed in size, and almost stopped in running, by selecting seeda from those which grow near the root, and planting constantly. A. farmer might very easily originate a new variety of wheat, by selecting some head which differed -very much in size of kernel or length of spike, and'sowing the seeds by themselves, from year -to year, on well-prepared land, and weeding out, those heads which are not like the original type, and rejecting the small seeds. The same is true 4:if maize, peas, beans, and, indeed, of all plants that are inclined to sport or vary. Single flowem which have a tendency to sport maybe converted into double flowers by long cultivation in rich aoil, and sometimes by keeping the seeds for several years, till they become weakened in their power of gerinmation, and then planting them. Every ten -dency in the plant to vary must be carefully watched. When a valuable plant of any kind has been obtained, it is very desirable to preserve it, and cause it, if possible, to produce true seeds ‘every year, and thus prevent it from reverting to its original or common form. This process is -called by gardeners setting, and consists in plant ing the seeds, for several years, by themselves, and entirely unconnected with any other plants -similar to it, and guarding at the same time against bees and other insects which may con vey pollen to it. In this way, and by weeding 4:int constantly, the plant becomes set, and will, with proper care, reproduce itself regularly from year to ye,ar. It must be remembered, however, that no variety will reproduce itself in every par ticular of shade of color, or taste, or other pro perties; and, therefore, when we wish to perpet uate a variety exactly, it must be done in the same manner as in the case of hybrids, by scions, .cuttings, suckers, layers, etc. Varieties may -also be produced by cross-breeding. We have -already shown in what cross-breeding consists, bow the operation is performed, and to what -class of plants it is applied. It now only remains to explain its effects on the objects employed. All varieties, as has before been remarked, are -perfectly fertile between one another, and it may be laid down as a general principle of universal application, except in cases where the relation is very close, that cross-breeding produces strength in the offspring, a result precisely the reverse of true hybridization, which always occasions weak ness in some form. It has been said that the exception of close interbreeding,or cross-breeding, is obviously a wise provision of nature to pre vent varieties from becoming too fixed in their habits, and differing too much from the original -species; and, in the human race, to keep the -members of families within the proper and natural limits of the marriage relation. The -offspring produced by cross-breeding, as by _hybridizing, is of a character nearly- intermediate between the parents, the characters of the male usually being the most prominent ; but the variety which posseF,ses the greatest strength, and is nearest the type of the original species, finally predominates. It, therefore, has an important influence in obliterating individual differences, and giving uniformity of character to varieties of the same species. By repeatedly cross-breeding

the different varieties of the same species, we -could ultimately arrive very nearly at the orig inal standard or type of the species. Varieties of plants may be improved by cross-breeding; and even the same variety, when it is grown in different sections of the country for a few gen erations, and then the seeds are brought together and planted, will be invigorated and improved in size and quality. Cross-breeding has one advantage, and a very important one, over cul tivation in the production of varieties, in the fact that they may be produced at once, with a very great degree of certainty, by uniting two known qualities in one individual. In this tray we may combine directly, and at our pleasure, the desirable qualities of two known varieties, and produce a cross-breed sometimes far superior to either when taken alone. But. notwithstanding this, we must look to cultivation principally for originating the piimary qualities, and to cross breeding for blending them in beautiful and har monious proportions. Although as yet by far the greater number of the best varieties of our fruits, and other plants, as the apple, pear, melon, and turnip, were probably obtained by cultivation, yet very many of the choicest were the result of the artifizial cross-breeding of these primary varieties. Besides the advantages already named, cross-breeding improves the size and quality of the fruit of plants, their hardiness and prolificacy, and the beauty of their flowers. It has been found to be one ,of the most effectual means of acclimation, so that plants which could not endure the cold of the more northern climates are made perfectly hardy by this process. By it we may give to the hardy pears of the North the delicate sweetness of those of the South; to the insipid and watery grape the richness of the Black Hamburg; and to the white rose the deli cate blush which the crimson imparts. The benefits derived from this art are summed up in the following extract from the London Ha/lieu/ turd Magazine: To it we owe some, indeed many, of our most beautiful garden flowers, as well as the most valuable of our fruits and vegetables. Among flowers, the most important qualities which can be impressed on the different races are greater hardiness of constitution, precocity or tardiness of flowering, the communication of odor where it is not possessed, increase in size, alterations in the forms of individual flowers, or greater prolificacy and improved arrangement, as regards their collective production. Modifi cations and the blending of colors, which are sometimes aimed at, seem to be the most paltry changes of any that are attenipted. Among fruit and vegetables, the changes to be effected should be confined more to productiveness and quality than to appearance. Thus, the increase of size, together with improvement or modifica tion of the sensible qualities, are the main objects to be sought, followed by such qualities of gen eral application as hardiness, precocity. tardity, productiveness, or increased inflorescence. It may be well to remark that it can not gener ally be known with certainty, when a new variety first begins to bear, whether the fruit will be of good quality or not. It usually takes several years for it to develop itself perfectly. If there should be any doubt at any time whether a plant is a hybrid or a cross-breed, it may gen erally be known by observing the following par ticulars: If it is intermediate between its parents and does not produce seeds, or produces such as will reproduce it only for a few generations. it is probably a true hybrid; but, on the contrary, if it is intermediate, and its seeds are perfect, and produce vigorous offspring continually, it is a classific hybrid or a cross-breed. The process of cross-breeding plants, although recent in its origin as artifically practiced,is of a very ancient date as carried on in the wide domain of the vegetable kingdom. Nature is continually carry ing it on in the field, the orchard, and the garden. The pollen is passing from the flower of one variety to that of another of the same species ; thus fertilizing countless numbers, the seeds of which will develop forms and fruits unknown before. Hence a vast number of the new varie ties of flowers and plants which are commonly supposed to be the result of some great and povv erful effort of nature, may have been produced by this process of nature's cross-breeding. In the foregoing observations we have seen in what hybridizing and.cross-breeding consist, the man ner in which they are performed, the classes of plants to which they may be applied, and the beneficial results that have accrued to man from the introduction of a multitude of new plants into the vegetable kingdom, and yet it is some times more desirable to the practical agriculturist to know how to anticipate and avoid these inter mixtures than to produce them. It becomes necessary, therefore, when we are about to culti vate different plants in the vicinity of one another to ascertain how nearly they are allied, or to what class or classes they belong. If they belong to species of different genera we may expect no trouble from any intermixture which they may occasion. The pea (Pistom, sativum) and the bean (Phaseolus vulgaris,) the peach (Amygdalus Persica) and the apple (Pyrus malus,) the common potato (Solanum tuberosurn) and the sweet potato (Convokulus batatas,) the beet (Beta vulgar* and the turnip, (Brassica campestris,) the parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) and the carrot (Daucus ota.) will never intermix with each other under any circustances, however much they may seem, in some respects, to be similar; for they are, as may be seen, species of different and remote genera, and nature has declared that they shall never unite. They may be cultivated in the closest proximity, but they can not inter mix; and the seeds which each produces will be its own, peculiar and distinct from every other. Therefore,the first inquiry to be made in respect to any plants under consideration is, whether they belong to different genera. If they do,they will very rarely intermix, even with the present botanical classification. We may easily know to what genus or species any plant belongs, by turning to its name in any standard botany now in use. On this principle we are able to give a satisfactory answer to the inquiry whether one plant will turn into another; a.s chess (Bromus secalinus) into wheat, (Triticum vulgare) oats Avena sativa) into barley (Hordeum vulgare,) or the reverse. In the case of the first two plants, it will be observed that they are of different spe cies, and also belong to different genera. It has been laid down as a law of nature that species are distinct, and were created so, and therefore can never change into one another. But these species belong to different genera, and we have seen that, when species are thus remotely allied, they will very rarely even hybridize. The two plants under consideration answer to both of these conditions, and of course one can not change into the other. But further, the experi ment has frequently been tried to turn chess into wheat by high cultivation, but has always. resulted in failure; the only change which hag been effected being an improved variety of chess, without any change in its nature. In cases in which wheat is supposed to Wive changed into chess, there must have been some deception which escaped the observation of the culti vator. The seeds might have been carried' in the manure, which was, perhaps, purchased at some neighboring stable in which chess mixed with the hay had been consumed by the horses or other animals. They may have been lying in. the ground for many years, and from a greater depth of plowing than usual have been brought up to the light and heat of the sun, and thus made to germinate, since we know that the lon gevity of' seeds is very great. Some new ferti lizer may have been applied which has penetrated deeply enough to stimulate the dormant seeds. into growth, and thus cause the chess to appear, on the same principle that applying ashes to fields, where no clover has grown for several years, will cause it to spring up in large quanti ties. The clover seeds had been lying dormant for years, in the earth and the ashes stimulated them into growth. In cases in which wheat was sown and chess grew in its place, the fact may be explained by supposing that the wheat perished from too much wet, or too great cold, or some. other cause; and the chess, being more hardy, survived, and took its place. There must have been sorne fallacy of this kind; for no one who is familiar with the laws of reproduction can sup pose that one of these would change into the other.. In species of plants belonging to the same genus, there is frequently great difficulty to be en countered in preventing them from hybridizing. Although it is a general rule, previously laid down, that species of the same genus will not hybridize unless nearly allied, and that the cases. in which they do are but exceptions to the gen eral principle, yet, despite this repugnancy to. hybndization, there are some which are classified as distinct species that intermix with almost equal facility as varieties of the same species, and it requires the most persistent watchfulness on the part of the agricultmist to prevent their union. As an instance of this kind we may mention the. pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo,) and the squash (Cucur bita melopepo,) which are usually regarded ag distinct but closely allied species. The question now arises—how can we know what species will hybridize, and what will not? It can be known only from experiments of our own or others;. and it will never be safe to cultivate species of the same genus in the vicinity of one another -without a previous knowledge of their relation ship or alliance. The question is sometimes. asked whether these two plants will change into. each other. The answer may be safely given. that they will not; but they will intermix, and form a classific hybrid which will resemble both plants, but will still be different from either Since it is a law of hybridization that the hybrid partakes of the nature of both parents, and as a general rule the characteristics of the male parent predominate over the female, it is evident that when the squash is fertilized by the pumpkin the fruit grown from the seed of the fertilized plant will resemble the pumpkin more than the squasb; and, on the contrary, when the pumpkin is fertilized by the squash the offspring will resemble the squash more than the pumpkin,.