358 



The Journal of Heredity 



« .. '■ 



WILD ak(;kntink apple tree 



In some parts of Arj^entina and Chile, the apple has found particularly congenial siuToundings, 

 and appears to have escaped from cultivation within a few years aftei the Spaniards intro- 

 duced it. With incredible rapidity it established itself through the river valleys, and 

 now gives every appearance of being absolutely at home. Photograph in the valley of the 

 Alumine Riv^-r, Territory of Neuquen, Argentine Republic. (Fig. 8.) 



conformed themselves and in whicli, 

 in spite of our efforts at extermination, 

 they find the most favorable conditions 

 for growth. Shrubs and trees, althouj^di 

 just as successfully transferred to new 

 countries by the help of man, more 

 rarely are invaders of their own accord 

 or become ag<,Tessive in their new 

 surroundings. By their very nature and 

 size, there is little chance for them to 

 escape destruction under the artificial 

 conditions where herbaceous ])lants 

 flourish, and, as in the case of those 

 herbaceous j)lants which have actually 

 been able to escai)e ancl comi)ete success- 

 fully with the indigenous species in 

 their own habitat, those that survive 

 are few in number and exceptional. 

 It is of such an exce])tional case that 

 this article treats. 



The apple is, generally sixviking, the 

 best known and most widely planted of 

 all trees. The first and most natural 

 inference, at least as far as it relates to 

 any of the newly discovered continents, 

 is that it was introduced from else- 

 where, and that inference is correct. 

 Its exact place of origin is obscure 

 but that it came from the old world is 

 certified by historical records of its 

 use and cultivation in very ancient 

 times and more esi^ccially by the charred 

 remains of a])])les that ha\'e been found 

 in the Swiss lake dwellings, which 

 flourished probably 2()()()-4()(M) B. C. 

 It is now grown in all coini tries of the 

 temperate zone where it usually escapes 

 from cultivation to a limited extent. 

 It furnishes a good exami^le of what was 

 said above about plants or animals often 

 doing better in a new locality than in 



