﻿Cultivated 
  Elementary 
  Species 
  77 
  

  

  formation 
  of 
  the 
  original 
  small 
  and 
  woody 
  ap- 
  

   ple 
  into 
  a 
  large, 
  fleshy 
  and 
  palatable 
  variety. 
  

   Subspecies, 
  or 
  what 
  we 
  now 
  call 
  elementary 
  

   species 
  were 
  not 
  produced 
  by 
  man 
  ; 
  nature 
  alone 
  

   creates 
  new 
  forms, 
  as 
  van 
  Mons 
  has 
  it. 
  He 
  ex- 
  

   amined 
  with 
  great 
  care 
  the 
  wild 
  apples 
  of 
  his 
  

   country, 
  and 
  especially 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  Ardennes, 
  

   and 
  found 
  among 
  them 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  species 
  

   with 
  different 
  flavors. 
  For 
  the 
  flavor 
  is 
  the 
  

   one 
  great 
  point, 
  which 
  must 
  be 
  found 
  ready 
  in 
  

   nature 
  and 
  which 
  may 
  be 
  improved, 
  but 
  can 
  

   never 
  be 
  created 
  by 
  artificial 
  selection. 
  The 
  

   numerous 
  differences 
  in 
  flavor 
  are 
  quite 
  orig- 
  

   inal; 
  all 
  of 
  them 
  may 
  be 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  wild 
  

   state 
  and 
  most 
  of 
  them 
  even 
  in 
  so 
  limited 
  a 
  

   region 
  as 
  the 
  Ardennes 
  Mountains. 
  Of 
  course 
  

   van 
  Mons 
  preferred 
  not 
  to 
  start 
  from 
  the 
  

   wild 
  types 
  themselves, 
  when 
  the 
  same 
  flavor 
  

   could 
  be 
  met 
  with 
  in 
  some 
  cultivated 
  variety. 
  

   His 
  general 
  method 
  was, 
  to 
  search 
  for 
  a 
  new 
  

   flavor 
  and 
  to 
  try 
  to 
  bring 
  the 
  bearer 
  of 
  it 
  up 
  

   to 
  the 
  desired 
  standard 
  of 
  size 
  and 
  edibility. 
  

  

  The 
  latter 
  improvement, 
  though 
  it 
  always 
  

   makes 
  the 
  impression 
  of 
  an 
  achievement, 
  is 
  only 
  

   the 
  last 
  stone 
  to 
  be 
  added 
  to 
  the 
  building 
  up 
  of 
  

   the 
  commercial 
  value 
  of 
  the 
  variety. 
  Without 
  

   it, 
  the 
  best 
  flavored 
  apple 
  remains 
  a 
  crab 
  ; 
  with 
  

   it, 
  it 
  becomes 
  a 
  conquest. 
  According 
  to 
  the 
  

   method 
  of 
  van 
  Mons 
  it 
  may 
  be 
  reached 
  within 
  

  

  