﻿Cultivated 
  Elementary 
  Species 
  79 
  

  

  ling 
  crab. 
  This 
  experiment 
  was 
  made 
  in 
  Min- 
  

   nesota, 
  and 
  failed 
  wholly. 
  Then 
  he 
  bought 
  a 
  

   small 
  lot 
  of 
  seeds 
  of 
  apples 
  and 
  crab-apples 
  in 
  

   Maine 
  and 
  from 
  these 
  the 
  " 
  Wealthy 
  " 
  came. 
  

   There 
  were 
  only 
  about 
  fifty 
  seeds 
  in 
  the 
  lot 
  of 
  

   crab-apple 
  seed 
  which 
  produced 
  the 
  ' 
  ' 
  Wealthy, 
  ' 
  

   but 
  before 
  this 
  variety 
  was 
  obtained, 
  more 
  than 
  

   a 
  bushel 
  of 
  seed 
  had 
  been 
  sown. 
  Chance 
  af- 
  

   forded 
  a 
  species 
  with 
  an 
  unknown 
  taste 
  ; 
  but 
  the 
  

   growing 
  of 
  many 
  thousands 
  of 
  seedlings 
  of 
  

   known 
  varieties 
  was 
  not 
  the 
  best 
  means 
  to 
  get 
  

   something 
  really 
  new. 
  

  

  Pears 
  are 
  more 
  difficult 
  to 
  improve 
  than 
  ap- 
  

   ples. 
  They 
  often 
  require 
  six 
  or 
  more 
  genera- 
  

   tions 
  to 
  be 
  brought 
  from 
  the 
  wild 
  woody 
  state 
  

   to 
  the 
  ordinary 
  edible 
  condition. 
  But 
  the 
  va- 
  

   rieties 
  each 
  seem 
  to 
  have 
  a 
  separate 
  origin, 
  as 
  

   with 
  apples, 
  and 
  the 
  wide 
  range 
  of 
  form 
  and 
  of 
  

   taste 
  must 
  have 
  been 
  present 
  in 
  the 
  wild 
  state, 
  

   long 
  before 
  cultivation. 
  Only 
  recently 
  has 
  the 
  

   improvement 
  of 
  cherries, 
  plums, 
  currants 
  and 
  

   gooseberries 
  been 
  undertaken 
  with 
  success 
  by 
  

   Mr. 
  Burbank, 
  and 
  the 
  difference 
  between 
  the 
  

   wild 
  and 
  cultivated 
  forms 
  has 
  hitherto 
  been 
  

   very 
  small. 
  All 
  indications 
  point 
  to 
  the 
  exist- 
  

   ence, 
  before 
  the 
  era 
  of 
  cultivation, 
  of 
  larger 
  or 
  

   smaller 
  numbers 
  of 
  elementary 
  species. 
  

  

  The 
  same 
  holds 
  good 
  with 
  many 
  of 
  the 
  larger 
  

   forage 
  crops 
  and 
  other 
  plants 
  of 
  great 
  indus- 
  

  

  