STATC POMOLOCICAL SOCIETY. 79 



Another fact tending to suggest a European origin for Fame- 

 use is that it is usually found in the old gardens, in company 

 with well known European varieties of pears, apples and other 

 fruits. 



On the other hand the testimony of European pomologists is 

 mostly against the theory of a European origin. The variety is 

 known in the larger collections of all the countries of Europe, 

 just as Ben Davis is, and has been known there for many years. 

 But most European authors unhesitatingly assign a Canadian 

 origin to the variety ; and the variety seems too little known, too 

 little appreciated, and too little at home with European surround- 

 ings for us to believe it originated there. Those who call it a 

 European apple usually assign its nativity to France ; but Leroy 

 the greatest of all French, and perhaps of all European authori- 

 ties, did not know the variety. Most of the so called Snow 

 apples of Europe, in fact, are white skinned and totally different 

 from the Snow, or Fameuse, of America. 



It is agreed that, vv^hether the Fameuse came from Europe or 

 not, it was distributed by the earliest of the French missionaries 

 and planted by the first settlers. Quebec was founded shortly 

 before 1600 and Montreal in 1641. The seigniory du Cote de 

 Beaupre, said to be the oldest seignory in Quebec, was granted 

 in 1636 and promptly colonized. Thus we have almost a hun- 

 dred years of French settlement and missionary activity prior 

 to 1700, the approximate date at which, according to Mr. Good- 

 rich, the Fameuse was brought to Vermont. This seems to 

 allow ample time for a Canadian origin for the variety and for 

 its wide distribution in Quebec, Ontario and the northern states. 



The early distribution of apples, either from Europe to 

 Canada, or from place to place on this continent, was accom- 

 plished chiefly, almost exclusively, by seeds. Some of the mis- 

 sionaries knew the art of grafting, but there was small encour- 

 agement to practice it. Erom these considerations, and others 

 which cannot be fully argued here, the writer is firmly convinced 

 that the Fameuse originated in Canada from seed brought from 

 France. 



Variation. — Whether the first Fameuse was born in Europe 

 .>r in America, it is perfectly certain that there have been many 

 rebirths of the variety. One of the striking things about this 

 type is its strong tendency to reproduce itself from seed. This 



