t *S7 1 



crees it is apprehended, they will in a few years be 

 entirely gone." I mud acknowledge, that I wa9 

 (truck with the reprefentationj and it immediately 

 occurred to me, the converfation which we lately 

 had at Harlefton, when I obferved to you the dan- 

 ger which orchards of apple-trees, when planted too 

 near each other, were expofed to, from the mixture 

 of various farina : and this, I apprehend, is the caufe 

 of the degeneracy of all the old and bed kind of 

 apple-trees in the great cyder counties of this king- 

 dom, which is here complained of; and which the 

 Society fo earneftly requefts its members to extend 

 their enquiries concerning. 



This conjecture appears to me extremely reafon- 

 able -, for if the great variety of apples, and alfo 

 other fruits, be produced by the cafual intermixture 

 of different farina, the fruit alfo itfelf mull be af- 

 fected. The old and bed kinds of apple-tree*, I 

 apprehend, are not loft at all, but are only corrupted 

 from being planted too near bad neighbours: — re- 

 move them to a fituation where they are not ex- 

 pofed to this inconvenience, and they will imme- 

 diately recover their original excellency. 



The Society informs us, that their trees of the 

 beft kind are nearly loft, but not altogether fo. The 

 reafon I conceive for this diftinction is, that fome 



few, 



