New York Agricultural Experiment Station. 527 



in form and color of apples which would result in a few genera- 

 tions. 



The Geneva Station has an experiment which gives precise 

 evidences on this question of pedigreed stock. Sixteen years ago 

 a fertilizer experiment was started with sixty Rome trees propa- 

 gated from buds taken from one branch of a Rome tree. Quite 

 as much variation can be found in these trees from selected buds 

 as could be found in an orchard of Romes propagated indiscrimin- 

 ately and grov/ing under similar conditions. Data showing the 

 variations in diameter of tree and in productiveness can be found 

 in Bulletin 339 of this Station, and will go far to convince any 

 one that uniformity of behavior as regards vigor and productive- 

 ness of tree and size and color of fruit cannot be perpetuated. 



We have another experiment at Geneva which ought to throw 

 light on pedigreed stock. Baldwin apple trees have been pur- 

 chased from 104 nurseries in all parts of the Union. Some of 

 these have been propagated from bearing trees ; others have come 

 for generations from nursery stock; some are on French crab, 

 others on Doucin, and others on Paradise stocks. If allowed to 

 come into bearing in the regions in which we obtained the trees 

 we should have 104 more or less different trees bearing variously 

 shaped and colored apples. What will the harvest be when all 

 come into fruiting in the Station orchard ? Will they resemble 

 the Baldwins from the various regions from which the trees come 

 or will thev be New York Baldwins ? 



What I have said in regard to the improvement of fruit prop- 

 agated from buds is now the accepted theory in regard to the im- 

 provement of plants grown from seed. To be of any value in plant 

 improvement a variation must be inherited ; mutations are in- 

 herited ; variations resulting from environment are not inherited 

 or at least there is no indisputable evidence of such inheritance. 

 Fluctuating variations in vigor, hardiness, and size of plant 

 and in color, size, amount and quality of fruit play little part 

 in the improvement of plants. Selection was formerly considered 

 a continuous and a cumulative process ; the revised theory is that 

 it is a discontinuous process and new characters are added in one 

 leap. Somehow, somewhere, sometime in the life of a species of 

 plants, a wholly new character is added, or removed, and the varia- 

 tion is transmissible to the succeeding generation. 



]\ray it not be true that size of fruit, vigor, hardiness or pro- 

 ductiveness of plant may appear as mutations and be heritable ? 

 These characters may appear as heritable variations but it cannot 



