STONELESS PRUNES 93 



will be so slow as hardly to be noticeable. Poorer 

 varieties of all fruits are gradually replaced 

 by the better; so gradually that the change is 

 scarcely noticed. 



Odd forms are constantly coming up in na- 

 ture like the little, deformed bullace that was 

 the parent of the new stoneless plums. Some- 

 times their inherent prospective value is recog- 

 nized oftener not. A hornless animal appeared 

 as a sport or sudden variation in Argentina half 

 a century or so ago. Possibly this freak may 

 have appeared a hundred times before. But in 

 this instance some one having imagination 

 noticed the mutant and fostered it, and we 

 now have hornless stock from that Argentine 

 variation, not only of the original but of nearly 

 all breeds. 



Among fruits, changes no less marked are 

 constantly arising, and as time goes on these 

 will be more and more recognized, and appreci- 

 ated and used. As a greater knowledge of plant 

 improvement is becoming disseminated, more 

 pronounced changes for the better will be made 

 the elimination of stones and seeds being one 

 of the most important of the many improvements 

 required. 



The appearance of the stoneless plum, not as 

 a chance sport, but as the product of an arduous 



