APPLES OF THE CORDILLERAS 



A Notable Case of Plant Migration — Fruit Now Grows Wild in Profusion- 

 Introduced by Spaniards and Immediately Took Possession of the 

 Country — Account of Early Explorer 



Walter Fischer, Washington, D. C. 



THERE are few of us to whom 

 some one or all of the great 

 movements or migrations among 

 the myriads of our earth's 

 inhabitants are not of more than 

 passing interest, be they among plants 

 or animals or among the races of man 

 himself. In history the period of the 

 great migrations is perhaps the most 

 fascinating of all to the average reader. 

 Census figures, showing the rapid growth 

 and shifting of populations, aside from 

 their special value and interest to the 

 sociologist and business man, are of 

 general interest to every one, as phenom- 

 ena of nature. Hunters, stockmen and 

 fishermen notice the movements and 

 migrations of the flocks, herds and 

 schools in which they are particularly 

 interested, to say nothing of the appear- 

 ance and disappearance of the fiora 

 and fauna upon which their charges 

 and interests are dependent. The man 

 who tills the soil, whatever his specialty 

 may be, is undoubtedly most vitally 

 affected by invasions and inroads of 

 plants and animals, while for the nature 

 student the opportunities for study and 

 observation of such phenomena are 

 extraordinarily rich. 



The migrations of man lead all others 

 in importance, not only on account of 

 their magnitude in themselves but 

 because, since his appearance in the 

 field, practically all changes in the 

 position and number of different species 

 of plants and animals have been due 

 directly or indirectly to his activities. 

 Some of the changes going on in the 

 fauna of a country are: the reduction, 

 extermination and transfer of native 

 species; the introduction of domestic 

 animals and household pests; and the 

 introduction and spread of insects and 

 other forms of life that prey on animals 



and plants newly introduced or that 

 chance to find unusual opportunities 

 for development in a new environ- 

 ment. In the flora the changes that 

 take place are similar : nimierous species 

 and individuals of cereals, vegetables, 

 fruits and ornamental plants are intro- 

 duced, to say nothing of the multi- 

 tudinous plant pests, such as the weeds 

 and fungous parasites which accompany 

 them; while corresponding transforma- 

 tions take place in the native flora to 

 make room for the new comers. Nature 

 becomes cosmopolitan wherever man 

 has left his footprint. 



ADAPTATION TO NEW ENVIRONMENTS 



The ready adaptation of certain 

 species of plants and animals to their 

 new environment, where they often 

 thrive and multiply in a manner never 

 dreamed of in their former home, is 

 usually the object of no small wonder- 

 ment. It is one of the most natural 

 things in the world, however, and 

 merely proves that the best conditions 

 for their development are more or less 

 duplicated throughout the world, often 

 even more favorable in a new locality 

 than in their old home, and that their 

 distribution has been largely due to 

 causes other than those that were 

 responsible for their original evolution. 

 In plant life we have been led to believe 

 by our observations that herbaceous 

 plants, and most commonly the annual 

 weeds found near habitations or accom- 

 panying the sown crops, have been the 

 most successful invaders and colonizers, 

 and this on the whole is undoubtedly 

 true. These very weeds, however, in 

 most cases and in a certain sense, are 

 domesticated plants largely dependent 

 upon artificial surroundings to which, 

 like the more useful plants, they have 



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