New York Agricultural Experiment Station; 731 



the old Vandevere and Wagener, are identical with the parents, the 

 " improvement " being an accidental result of surroundings or a 

 figment of the improver's imagination. 



Much stress has, of late years, been placed on the 

 " Pedigreed " fact that certain trees of a variety show high pro- 

 apples, ductiveness, or bear brighter-colored or longer-keep- 

 ing fruit ; and nurserymen have been urged to propa- 

 gate from such differing trees, yet there is little or no evidence to 

 show that any apple of today, though grown from the most carefully 

 " pedigreed " stock is permanently any better than its predecessors 

 or its sisters from less favored surroundings. No! To get new 

 qualities or new combinations of qualities in apples we must have 

 new kinds. 



But when a variety is established, that is, after 

 Do apple the first few years of its life when it may be slightly 

 varieties variable in the matter of size and vigor, we may 

 " run out ?" depend upon its maintaining its characteristics 

 unchanged. There is no scientific or experimental 

 evidence that varieties degenerate any more than that they improve; 

 though the testimony of evidently sincere and careful growers might 

 be produced to sustain either position. It is a common belief that 

 some varieties, at least, show old age or degeneracy; but observations 

 at the Station, made on hundreds of kinds, do not confirm this belief 

 in the least. Trees grow old and produce poor fruit, and varieties 

 disappear because better ones take their place, or are finally con- 

 demned because of some undesirable character that is overlooked 

 at first because of many excellencies. In the Station orchards, 

 however, or in other orchards better suited to their requirements, 

 Fall Pippin, Early Harvest, Oldenburg, Red Astrachan, Maiden 

 Blush, Porter, Sweet Bough, Black Gillinower, Ben Davis, Esopus, 

 Grimes, Hubbardston, Jonathan, Red Canada, Swaar, Tompkins 

 King, Wagener and Winesap so closely resemble in all respects these 

 same fruits as originally described 100 years ago or more, that no 

 one could point out a difference. The Baldwin is more than 150 

 years old yet still stands the test as the best commercial apple for 

 New York State, and trees of it on the Station grounds from many 

 sources, some of them from buds of trees said to show marked varia- 

 tions, produce fruit uniformly the same under the same conditions. 

 A Rhode Island Greening tree in our orchard, propagated from what 

 is supposed to be the original tree of the variety, about 200 years 

 old, is the same in growth and bears apples no better, no worse, than 

 trees several generations removed from the parent plant. Ribston, 

 Green Newtown, Holland Winter, Pomme Grise, Winter Pearmain 

 and Yellow Bellfiower are known to be over 200 years old, yet their 

 trees still grow vigorously and produce well. If apple varieties are 

 wearing out, it is a slow process. 



