Winter Meeting. 307 



woolly aphis, which is called American blight in England. Hence, by 

 using this tree as a stock, they avoid trouble with the woolly aphis. 

 There are Russian apples resistant to leaf scab. No apple is known that 

 is perfectly immune to blight, but some are much more resistant than 

 others. It is only a question of time when we will find apples per- 

 fectly resistant to blight. Some varieties are weak growers. There 

 is no reason why we should not have varieties combining excellent qual- 

 ity of fruit with great vigor of tree. A tree that is not strong in nur- 

 sery is a nuisance to the nurserman. Some of our choicest apples are 

 neglected because of their defective growth in nurserv and orchard. 



SEEDLESS APPLES. 



There is no reason why we should not have seedless apples cor- 

 responding in value to the seedless orange. It shows that Nature has 

 opened the way by giving us for at least two thousand years past occa- 

 sional freaks in the way of seedless apples. So far none of them have 

 been of any commercial value, and every few years some fake concern 

 spreads broadcast one of these old varieties that have dropped out of 

 cultivation. Nothing of any real value is knowai in seedless apples at 

 the present time, but there is no valid reason why we should not have 

 something corresponding to the apple what the Washington Navel is to 

 the orange. The law of Quetelet teaches us that any variation, sport 

 or freak in animal or plant life will occur by the law^ of chance once in 

 so many hundred or thousand times. Hence we are bound to secure any 

 possible variation if the number of seedlings be large enough. 



MENDEL^S LAW. 



The law of Aiendel leads us to hope and expect that by crossing 

 any two varieties of apples we can get an individual combining the 

 best points of each. I am working for the north along this line by 

 crossing the hardiest apples and crabs with apples of the choicest qual- 

 ity, hoping to secure very hardy apples as choice in quality as any now 

 known. Can any one tell me what will be the result of crossing Ben 

 Davis with Northern Spy, or the Gano with the Grimes Golden or 

 Jonathan, Wc might make these crosses many times before we secure 

 the variety we want. The seedlings from such a cross need not be 

 identical, any more than all the brothers in one family are equal in abil- 

 ity, size and strength. With our fruit trees these combinations are pos- 

 sible, and when a desirable variation appears it can be propagated in- 

 definitely by grafting or budding. The markets of today demand fruits 

 that will endure long distance shipping. Our southern orcharding en- 



