454 Rkpokt of the Department of Horticulture of the 



The variability to be seen in all varieties of apples is due to 

 changing environment — if we except the rare bud-mutations 

 the causes of which are not known. Environmental changes 

 produce manifold modifications in many of the characters of 

 individual apple trees but there is nothing to show that such 

 changes have any effects on varietal characters. These fluctu- 

 ating variations appear when individuals of a variety have dif- 

 ferent environments ; with a return to the same environment, they 

 disappear. A Baldwin taken from New York to Virginia pro- 

 duces an apple diiferent from the New York Baldwin ; taken to 

 Missouri, the Baldwin is still different; taken to Oregon, it is 

 unlike any of the others. If trees are brought back from these 

 states to New York, they become again New York Baldwins. 



This discussion of variations, of necessity brief and primary, 

 cannot be dismissed without calling attention to the great im- 

 portance of further knowledge as to the origin and behavior of 

 bud-mutations, the " sports " of the orchardist. The discovery 

 of their origin, how to produce them, how to control them, might 

 hasten immeasurably the progress of fruit-breeding. Are they 

 the result of intrinsic or of extrinsic influences ? If the former, 

 Ave can only continue to search for them, taking what Nature 

 chooses to give ; but if they can be induced by extrinsic agencies, 

 we might do much with them in improving fruits — in making 

 plants evolve. 



AN EXPEEIMENT IN CROSSING APPLES. 



The foregoing introduction prepares the way for the account 

 of an experiment which now follows by calling attention: 

 1st. To the fact there has been little effort made so far to im- 

 prove apples. 2d. That the apple has been, and probably can 

 be, improved only by the introduction of new varieties. 3d. 

 That while there is but little knowledge as to how varieties of 

 apples have originated, yet it is probable that most of them have 

 come from crossing varieties and that, therefore, hybridization 

 is the best means of obtaining new varieties of apples and of 

 improving this fruit. 



The first task in discussing the experiment in hand, is to de- 

 scribe the material and the way it has been handled. This is 

 done at some length, with the feeling that in the present state of 

 fruit-breeding we need to know the manual of arms quite as 

 much as the principles of war. 



