The Texas Almanac for 1867 with Statistics, Descriptive and Biographical Sketches, etc., Relating to Texas. Page: 62
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62 TEXAS ALMANAC.
where it is indigenous, to any other ; but as the mode of hybridizing or cross.
ing may not be familiar to all grape-growers, I will endeavor, as briefly as
practicable, to give the process.
The pollen may be obtained simply by inclosing the bunch of bloom in a
paper bag, immediately preceding the time of flowering, which will save all
the dust not used in its own fertilization, which may be removed when all or
the greater portion of the petals have fallen; for by this act is the petal
bared to the vitalizing action of the pollen, and the germ of the future vine
commenced, to be completed when the berry has ripened and fallen to the
ground. Or, if it is desirable to avoid the delay of the few days which are re-
quired for the paper bag to remain upon the vine, it may be gathered at-once
by holding a paper beneath the bunch and gently tapping its stem, catching
the pollen as it falls ; or the mature anthers themselves may be cut from the
stamens with a pair of sharp-pointed scissors, and afterward pressed or slightly
bruised to cause the pollen to exude. The dry petals may now be separated
from the pollen, when it is ready for use; and, it is stated, may be kept for
several weeks, if placed in a moderately damp situation, without losing its
vitality.
Its application to the stigma of the pistillate, or mother plant, should be
made with a small camel's-hair brush, which can only be done after the
petals have been taken off with a pair of forceps or sharp-pointed scissors.
This operation requires a steady hand, in order not to -jar down the pollen
from the anthers on the same bloom which surround the stigma; for should
this accidentally take place, the mischief is done, and the flower may at once
be cut away, as should also be done with all the flowers which may have
previously cast their petals, which are unlike those of most other flowers,
being connected at their bases, forming a sort of hood or covering to the pis-
til, and this being exposed may have been previously self-impregnated. Hence
the necessity of their removal at once, leaving none upon the bunch.except
those which you are confident have been fertilized or impregnated by the
foreign pollen, which may be known by the minute transparent drop on the
stigma assuming a clouded or milky appearance shortly after the application
of the pollen; after which its own anthers should be carefully cut away,
observing that none of their pollen falls upon the stigma, notwithstanding
it may show signs of the artificial impregnation.
The requisite steps should of course be taken to mark and preserve the
bunches from the birds, especially after the fruit ripens. If this suggestion
should be successfully acted upon, and one perfect hybrid vine be produced
and matured, though several varieties may be expected from the same pollen,
arising from the quantity appropriated by the mother plant, the producer and
the State will be largely benefited by the addition to its fruits of one, that it
is to be hoped will happily blend the vigor, hardihood, and prolificness of the
mother plant, with the handsome bunch and flavor of the Hamburg. The
berry of the latter, already large, would be increased in size, while the thick
skin of the Muscadine would lessen the liability of the Hamburg to burst,
which it frequently does if it rains about the time of maturity, while the
musky flavor of the native would impart an additional relish to that already
popular variety. This cross would also render it more certain to set its ber.
ries in the spring, the failure of which is one of the principal defects of many
of the choice European varieties in this latitude.
The same cross on the Mustang would also make a valuable wine grape,
but would probably be deficient in saccharine matter, and would require an
additional cross, say with the Riesling, Frontignan, or some other variety,
that would produce in the hybrid at least fifteen per cent of saccharine mat-
ter, and reduce the tartaric to one half of one per cent.
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The Glaveston News. The Texas Almanac for 1867 with Statistics, Descriptive and Biographical Sketches, etc., Relating to Texas., book, December 1866; Galveston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth123772/m1/64/: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.