362 BRITISH HUSBANDRY. [Cb. XXXI. 



the orchards of Herefordshire, without a single healthy or efficient tree 

 having been obtained ; and I believe all attempts to propagate those varie- 

 ties have, during some years, wholly ceased to be made.'' 



" It has been urged that old age is the cause of debility and decay in 

 those varieties of fruit which have been very long cultivated, and that 

 many of the seedling offspring of such varieties are as much diseased as 

 their parents ; and it is contended that the failure of our old species has 

 arisen from a succession of unfavourable seasons. The fact that many of 

 the seedling offspring of old diseased varieties of fruit are as much dis- 

 eased as the parents from whence they spring, is unquestionable ; but this, 

 I conceive, proves nothing more than that disease is hereditary in the vege- 

 table as in the animal world, and it is scarcely reasonable to expect that 

 healthy and robust offspring can be obtained from parents whose lives have 

 been extended beyond their natural periods. In short, a tree, like an 

 animal, has its infancy, its flowery spring, its summer's ardent strength, its 

 sober autumn fading into age, and its pale concluding winter*." 



Still, although admitting the justice of Mr. Knight's remarks upon the 

 debility communicated to the offspring of aged trees, yet that, we conceive, 

 cannot affect the young plants which have been propagated from those in 

 their vigour, and therefore the greatest care should be taken in the selec- 

 tion of the healthiest trees of every species. The practice of grafting 

 is now, however, becoming very general, and Mr. Knight has many 

 seedling apple-trees produced between the Siberian crab and our richest 

 apples, which display the most astonishing strength. Jn this manner efforts 

 are successfully made for the production of new varieties ; but as the opera- 

 tion can only be properly performed by scientific gardeners, we should 

 deem any directions on the subject to be here misplaced. 



Various kinds of apples have been recommended, — some as being the 

 best adapted for the table ; others for baking, or for winter preservation ; 

 and others, again, for the manufacture of cider. The choice of these we 

 must leave to common opinion ; but we believe the safest rule for the 

 selection of fruit-trees is, to prefer those kinds ichich succeed best in the 

 neighbourhood ; for it is certainly true, that some sorts of fruit are affected 

 by one description of soil and local climate more than others. 



The species of apples generally used for cider are not those suited to the 

 table, as they are ])Ossessed of a certain degree of astringency approach- 

 ing to harshness. The strongest liquor is certainly ])roduced from fruit of 

 that quality, but the rough cider of the farm-house, though more esteemed 

 by good judges in the counties where it is grown, is not so generally liked 

 by those who are not accustomed to it as that of a weak and sweetish flavour. 

 The varieties which are still cultivated are too numerous for detail, and 

 their names would hardly be intelligible out of the several districts in which 

 they are grown. The old sorts most generally known are the " stire-apple,'' 

 the "cocagee," the " golden-pippin," the " redstreak,'' the " hagloe-crab," 

 the " woodcock," the " Harvey," the '' brandy-apple," the " jennet," the 

 " red. white, and yellow musks," the " Dymock-red," and the old '' pear- 

 mains," which always maintain a superior reputation ; though some of the 

 species appear to be falling to decay, but are replaced by the introduction of 

 numerous new varieties. The colour of good cider fruits is, however, 

 invariably red and yellow, the green affording a liquor of the poorest qua- 

 lity, and the merit of the cider will always depend on the rind of that 



* R. P. Knight '' on the Effects of the Age of Fruit-trees." Load. Hort. Soc, 

 vol. V. Art. Ix. 



