342 DARWINIAN A. 



"The fact," he says, fifty years ago, "that certain varieties 

 of some species of fruit which have been long cultivated cannot 

 now be made to grow in the same soils and under the same 

 mode of management, which was a century ago so perfectly 

 successful, is placed beyond the reach of controversy. Every 

 experiment which seemed to afford the slightest prospect of 

 success was tried by myself and others to propagate the old 

 varieties of the apple and pear which formerly constituted the 

 orchards of Herefordshire, without a single healthy or efficient 

 tree having been obtained ; and I believe all attempts to propa- 

 gate these varieties have, during some years, wholly ceased to 

 be made." 



To this it was replied, in that and the next gen- 

 eration, tnat cultivated vines have been transmitted by 

 perpetual division from the time of the Romans, and 

 that several of the sorts, still prized and prolific, are 

 well identified, among them the ancient Gnecula, con- 

 sidered to be the modem Corinth or currant grape, 

 which has immemorially been seedless ; that the old 

 nonpareil apple was known in the time of Queen 

 Elizabeth; that the white beurre pears of France have 

 been propagated from the earliest times ; and that 

 golden pippins, St. Michael pears, and others said to 

 have run out, were still to be had in good condition. 



Coming down to the present year, a glance through 

 the proceedings of pomological societies, and the de- 

 bates of farmers' clubs, brings out the same difference 

 of opinion. The testimony is nearly equally divided. 

 Perhaps the larger number speak. of the deterioration 

 and failure of particular old sorts ; but when the ques- 

 tion turns on " wearing out," the positive evidence of 

 vigorous trees and sound fruits is most telling. A lit- 

 tle positive testimony outweighs a good deal of nega- 



