The Adaptation of Fruits to Climate and Soil. 257 



growers, except those who by choice or necessity plant upon the bleak hill- 

 tops, or cool northern slopes. We find these locations growing varieties with 

 great success, that on the reverse side, or in sunny sheltered locations, are a 

 total failure. And 'we find the warmer these locations and soil, the more 

 hopeless the case. This is not accident, but in conformity to law as plain as 

 anything in the realm of nature. 



The skillful balancing of the temperature and moisture of the air, in culti- 

 vating different kinds of plants, and the just adaptation of them to the vari- 

 ous seasons of growth, constitute the most complicated and difficult part of a 

 gardener's art. 



Prof. Lindley gives the following rules: 



" 1. Most moisture in the air is demanded by plants when they first begin 

 to grow, and least when their periodical growth is completed. 



" 2. The quantity of atmospheric moisture required by plants is in inverse 

 proportion to the distance from the equator of the countries which they nat- 

 urallj' inhabit. 



"3. Plants with annual stems require more than those with ligneous 

 stems. 



"4. The amount of moisture in the air most suitable to plants at rest is in 

 inverse proportion to the quantity of aqueous matter they at the time con- 

 tain. (Hence the dryness of the air required by succulent plants when at 

 rest.)" 



The Pijrus Mcdus, of which the Baldwin, Greening and Pippins are of an 

 exalted pattern, do the best in New York and Michigan, while Pyrus As- 

 tirachana, of which our Russias, Duchesse, Alexander and Astrachan are 

 types, do much their best in Vermont, Canada and Wisconsin, and the 

 Pi/rus Bacata, or Siberian family, are vastly better grown in the latitude of 

 Green Bay, Wisconsin, and in Minnesota, than further south. 



The same may be noted of the oaks and pines which extend over a wide 

 belt of our country, from the Gulf of Mexico to Lake Superior, but require 

 many and widely different varieties to cover the different conditions of soil 

 and climate. 



This law of natural selection or adaptation is so uniform in its application, 

 that we draw the line of separation of species and varieties for each locality 

 with great certainty, and a more definite knowledge of, and obedience to 

 the law would save much money and time now wasted in planting without 

 any settled rule of practice. It would also give faith to j)lant more largely 

 and further north than is now considered safe. 



From the foregoing outlines we conclude : 



1. That the limits of adaptation of a variety should be more sharply de- 

 fined and more rigidly insisted upon. The American people are a race of 

 experimenters, which is all right for those who choose; but the commercial 

 planter wants positive data and every reasonable assurance of success when 

 he plants. Individual interests may induce the nurseryman and salesman 



