124 MAINE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. I906. 



was Mr. Dana of Massachusetts, the originator of Dana's 

 Hovey. This sort appeared about i860, and was the best of 

 his seedlings, of which he had some 5 or 6 thousand. 



Among the best known varieties originating in Maine may be 

 mentioned Eastern Belle and Indian Queen, seedlings raised by 

 Henry McLaughlin, Bangor; McLaughlin, sent out by S. L. 

 Goodale of Saco; Goodale, a seedling of McLaughlin; and 

 Fulton, a chance seedling from Topsham. 



The development of the cultivated pear owes little to the hand 

 of man in producing hybrids ; yet, with the possible exception 

 of Bartlett, the few hybrid varieties produced — notably Kieffer, 

 Le Conte, and Garber — are by far the most important commer- 

 cial, sorts, and have made possible the cultivation of the pear 

 over the greater part of our country. These varieties, as now 

 generally recognized, are accidental hybrids between the Euro- 

 pean pear and the Chinese sand pear. The latter is a vigorous, 

 healthy tree, of no value save for ornament or as stocks for other 

 sorts, but is native to a region not unlike our own eastern and 

 southern states. The hybrids combine to a large degree the 

 good qualities of both parents, and point the way to new fields 

 of investigation for the plant breeder. 



THE APPLE. 



As in the case of pears, the Newtown Pippin apple, which is 

 usually regarded as a standard of excellence, originated as a 

 chance seedling, nearly 200 years ago. Because of its better 

 adaptation to the climate, the apple was much more widely 

 grown than the pear, and the production of new varieties from 

 seed was very common. Until very recently, however, the 

 varieties were usually the result of chance. The Baldwin, which 

 was found in Eastern Massachusetts, in 1742, took its name 

 from Col. Baldwin, who first brought it into general notice. 

 The Northern Spy, originating near Rochester, N. Y., about 

 1800, the Roxbury Russett, the Jonathan, and, in short, most of 

 the older commercial varieties, came about in this way. 



Systematic breeding of the apple in this country is yet in its 

 early infancy, though as long ago as the time of Knight and 

 Van Mons crossing and selection were practiced. With the 

 westward march of civilization the necessity of producing 



