IMPROVING TREES AND PLANTS. 445 



any method. In the way proposed, a seedling- cannot revert to any 

 one of all its ancestors to the tenth degree without striking a good 

 apple, for it is in the scheme that not only shall the eight original 

 trees be good, but also that not one of all the seedlings shall be propa- 

 gated unless it possesses some great excellency, and no defect so 

 serious as to completely unfit it for the trying situation in which the 

 coming apple is to be placed, because each seedling is liable to revert 

 to any one or more of its ancestors for many generations back, per- 

 hapstothe original wild crab ; if so it has taken such a number of dis- 

 tinctive marks and character from other predecessors scattered along 

 the whole line of descent that those of the crab are so mixed up and 

 blended with the others they are not distinguishable. If one partic- 

 ular character is constantly bred for, that type will soon become 

 fixed. Suppose one character to be lateness in ripening. Now to 

 this add hardiness, and after a while we shall have a hardy winter 

 apple with the same fixity of type, and so on through the list. This 

 principle incorporated in the plan I hav€ outlined, and carried far 

 enough will, I think, surely give us the apple we are seeking, and 

 when one comes many more will bear it company. 



PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF A FARMER'S FRUIT 



GARDEN. 



MISS LENA M FREEMAN, AUSTIN. 

 (Read before S. Minn. Hoit. Society. ) 



The earliest apple to mature in our orchard is the Tetofsky. 

 This variety, although a light bearer and observing the alternate 

 fruiting years only too strongly, still must be the stand by for the 

 earliest apple for use, especially for eating out of hand. They are 

 not good keepers, but they do not often have the chance to prove 

 or disprove this assertion, for they disappear too rapidly. These 

 are the apples that the boys covet, and we have often gathered ours 

 before they were at their best, else we would have none for our- 

 selves. The tree that bears the nicest apples stands only a few 

 feet back from the road fence. One warm evening-, a few years 

 ago, soon after all of the family had retired, my mother, who was 

 still awake, heard a wire sing ; then, shortly, the soft thud of falling 

 apples ; immediately, imitating a masculine voice, she called out, 

 "we are watching for you," and with a veil of defiance, away ran 

 the boys. Quickly lighting a lantern we soon had those apples safe 

 in the house. I pity the boys obliged to rob a neighbor's orchard 

 to satisfy the natural craving for fruit. Too bad that they have none 

 at their own homes ! 



The Duchess of Oldenburg yields us the most returns, although 



