5o6 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



lists of kinds on exhibition and praises the 

 men who are rapidly bring-ing- the little 

 Island to the front as a fruit country. 



" There was one group " he says, " which 

 could always be found gathered around 

 these tables in the centre of the building. 

 It consisted of Rev. Father Burke, the 

 aggressive pesident of their Association, 

 beaming on everyone as the surprise of the 

 visitors was voiced ; Secretary Dewar ; In- 

 spectors Richard Burke and G. H. Vroom, 

 who have this summer been strong in preach- 

 ing the gospel of good orcharding on the 

 Island; Senator Ferguson; and John Robert- 

 son, of Inkerman, the largest orchardist of 

 the province, we are told. These men have 

 a right to be enthusiastic. The possibilities 

 of orcharding there are beginning to reveal 

 themselves and the future is one of great 

 promise. Father Burke informed us that 

 next season will witness a readjustment of 

 their prize list and a weeding out therefrom 

 of all but the commercial varieties. He 

 argues, and is supported by his executive, 

 in favor of an exhibition work which shall 

 not only be illustrative but educative in that 

 it will endeavor to discourage orcharding 

 which is other than of the dollars and cents 

 description. This is as it should be." 



Some who go to apple shows to see all 

 the different varieties on exliibition may not 



be over pleased with this resolve of the prac- 

 tical officials of the F. G. A., but, on the 

 whole, its wisdom will commend it to all 

 fruitmen. 



The prize list appears to have comprehend- 

 ed about all the commercial varieties and an 

 exhaustive list of others. It will be interest- 

 ing to see what those gentlemen discard as 

 a means of comparison with their own 

 tastes and necessities in this important 

 matter. To the surprise of many the Island 

 beat Nova Scotia in their own Gravenstein. 

 And she may excel us in growing Ontario 

 apples. 



Already P. E. I. has sent forward a 

 considerable shipment of fruit, apples prin- 

 cipally, to Great Britain in the Manchester 

 Trader. She has many more to send and 

 may be now regarded as established in the 

 business. Large orchards of a single kind 

 are coming on and soon it will be a pleasure 

 for the buyer to extend his operations to 

 " The Garden of the Gulf." We hope the 

 good name it enjoys for honest packing may 

 never be impaired and that the commendable 

 efforts of its progressive F. G.. A. officials 

 may continne to bear good fruit. A large 

 commercial concern for preserving and can- 

 ning is now on its feet On the Island, and 

 must assist those patriotic men to the im- 

 mediate expansion of the fruit industry. 



RECENT RESEARCHES IN THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES. 



SINCE) Darwin advanced his theory of 

 the origin of all species of plants by 

 natural selection, scientists have, to 

 a great extent, spent their time in speculat- 

 ing as to the various factors in evolution 

 and the methods of inheritance and descent. 

 A few, however, have depended largely upon 

 the result of direct experiment with the 

 plants and animals themselves. Instead of 

 looking around for a ready answer in nature 

 to every question they find in their re- 



searches, these men take the living things 

 and, by years of experimental research with 

 them, secure the desired information. Among 

 such men are Dr. White, of the Smithsonian 

 Institution, Washington, and Prof. Hugo 

 de Vries, Director of the Amsterdam Bot- 

 anical Garden. As a result of his labors, 

 de Vries now gives to the world a new 

 theory, that ot the origin of species by imi- 

 tation or sudden change. 



In support of this theory. Dr. White, in 



