﻿78 
  Elementary 
  Species 
  

  

  two 
  or 
  three 
  generations, 
  and 
  a 
  man's 
  life 
  is 
  

   wholly 
  sufficient 
  to 
  produce 
  in 
  this 
  way 
  many 
  

   new 
  types 
  of 
  the 
  very 
  best 
  sorts, 
  as 
  van 
  Mons 
  

   himself 
  has 
  done. 
  It 
  is 
  done 
  in 
  the 
  usual 
  way, 
  

   sowing 
  on 
  a 
  large 
  scale 
  and 
  selecting 
  the 
  best, 
  

   which 
  are 
  in 
  their 
  turn 
  brought 
  to 
  an 
  early 
  

   maturation 
  of 
  their 
  fruit 
  by 
  grafting, 
  because 
  

   thereby 
  the 
  life 
  from 
  seed 
  to 
  seed 
  may 
  be 
  re- 
  

   duced 
  to 
  a 
  few 
  years. 
  

  

  Form, 
  taste, 
  color, 
  flavor 
  and 
  other 
  valuable 
  

   marks 
  of 
  new 
  varieties 
  are 
  the 
  products 
  of 
  

   nature, 
  says 
  van 
  Mons, 
  only 
  texture, 
  fleshiness 
  

   and 
  size 
  are 
  added 
  by 
  man. 
  And 
  this 
  is 
  done 
  in 
  

   each 
  new 
  variety 
  by 
  the 
  same 
  method 
  and 
  ac- 
  

   cording 
  to 
  the 
  same 
  laws. 
  The 
  richness 
  of 
  the 
  

   cultivated 
  apples 
  of 
  the 
  present 
  day 
  was 
  al- 
  

   ready 
  present 
  in 
  the 
  large 
  range 
  of 
  original 
  

   wild 
  elementary 
  species, 
  though 
  unobserved 
  

   and 
  requiring 
  improvement. 
  

  

  An 
  interesting 
  proof 
  of 
  this 
  principle 
  is 
  af- 
  

   forded 
  by 
  the 
  experience 
  of 
  Mr. 
  Peter 
  M. 
  

   Gideon, 
  as 
  related 
  by 
  Bailey. 
  Gideon 
  sowed 
  

   large 
  quantities 
  of 
  apple-seeds, 
  and 
  one 
  seed 
  

   produced 
  a 
  new 
  and 
  valuable 
  variety 
  called 
  by 
  

   him 
  the 
  ' 
  ' 
  Wealthy 
  ' 
  ' 
  apple. 
  He 
  first 
  planted 
  a 
  

   bushel 
  of 
  apple-seeds, 
  and 
  then 
  every 
  year, 
  for 
  

   nine 
  years, 
  planted 
  enough 
  seeds 
  to 
  produce 
  

   a 
  thousand 
  trees. 
  At 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  ten 
  years 
  all 
  

   seedlings 
  had 
  perished 
  except 
  one 
  hardy 
  seed- 
  

  

  