Show TRYING TO PRODUCE SEEDLESS AND FRUIT methods by which scientists succeed in improving upon nature ee aalta havo shown that they are on the bight basis slight success with apples one of the most important objects po are striving for is to produce and seedless arnita and from tha results already obtained it is not unlikely that the end will soon be realized gaeds are not relished by the consumers of fruits and if they could be removed we would enjoy our grapes without experiencing a dread of appendicitis and kindred complaints thorns are not in good standing among fruit growers because they are constantly puncturing the best fruits and what is equally important the skin of the pickers the thorns and brickles prickles pr ickles of plants and trees were undoubtedly intended by nature to protect them from animals but that is no reason why they should be continued for generation after on the cul varieties the gardener haa no need for them and for that matter the trees and shrubs have none cither our domesticated pears and apples were all derived from the thorny wild varieties and have succeeded in ridding them of these spikes and oklea by culture and selection oranges and lemons have not boon cultivated in this country as successfully cess fully as pears and apples and many of them are very thorny the wild and BOUT orange trees of florida are bristling with thorns as is also the high priced king arango one of the best of tho mandarins the wild lemon trees of florida are BO thorny that growers question the advisability of grafting tho fin la prance lemons on thorn in florida however the thorns of the orange and lemon trees have been greatly reduced by selecting buda from branches with the fewest thorns and by continuing this process year after year the sharp spikes disappear in california nearly all of tho arango trees aro not naturally but as the result of cultivation and selection the thorns on blackberries ries and rosebushes rose bushes give the greatest bother to horticulturists in tho north and there is a determined effort to get rid of them the thorns give endless trouble to the pickers and their removal might save many a puncture to delicate hands there is an improved varie y of raspberry placed on the market to day which js entirely thor aless but tha trouble is that quality and quantity of fruit have been sacrificed to the gain made in destroying the thorns thero is little doubt that perfect thorn lefia blackberries and raspberries rasp berries will soon be obtained for thero is a widespread movement among gardeners and seeds men to accomplish this the man who is fortunate enough to produce a variety that gives perfect fruit without tho thorns will receive a pretty ediff price for his plants seeds aro also unnecessary plant products in these advanced days of horticulture when gardeners propagate half their stock by cuttings grafts and slips nature need no longer trouble herself about the losing any of bar tho modern horticulturist is sure to preserve ayery one of any without gathering a peed the california navel orange represents tho best type of fruit grown without seeds produced this orange as a freak at first and man has taken advantage of it to propagate fruit of a high order half the oranges of california are grafted with the navel and it is the most important fruit of the poast nature tried to produce twins in the navel orange and one survived only as a protuberance in the blossom end while the other expanded into a well shaped fruit without seeds these oranges are occasionally found with email seeds but ae a rule they are perfectly seedless several seedless apples and pears have already been produced but the quality of the fruit is generally poor and nearly worthless they are called bloomless bloom lees pears and apples and are exhibited more as curiosities than as the triumphs of art nevertheless they are the beginning of a new era of apple growing and they represent the primary stock of seedless fruits which may produce n ime the finest flavored apples and coara the grape industry would be benefited more than any other by the production of new varieties without seeds and toward this end scores of fruit growers are working especially in california the idea is to produce not only table grapes but grapes that will make fine raisins seedless raisins would prove such a boon to tho whole civilized world that any other variety would bo quickly run out of the market there s a seedless grape of corinth which commonly passed as a currant and the sultana raisins of southeastern europe are also seedless but these fruits are so small that they can never answer the purpose what the trade wants is a large seedless grape with perfect color and flavor and to get that it is necessary to experiment for years new york journal |