lOO STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



August W'eismann, the noted German scientist, whose decease 

 we noted with regret only a few days ago, was the father of a 

 theory of life that meets with the approval of scientists the 

 world over. W'eismann said that all life was composed of two 

 great portions, body plasm and germ plasm. All life has its 

 origin in a simi)le cell and this cell is composed of these two 

 plasms. One of these, the body plasm, may be modified by en- 

 vironment such as heat, cold, food or other external factors ; 

 but these external factors can have no influence whatever upon 

 the germ plasm. All characters that are modified by external 

 causes cannot be passed on to the offspring. Only those char- 

 acters which are represented in the germ plasm can be carried 

 on from one generation to another. The only way in which 

 the characters of the germ plasm may be permanently modi- 

 fied is by the intervention of sex and the resulting mingling of 

 two different streams of germ plasms. In animals, the germ 

 plasm is centered in the reproductive organs. In plants, it is 

 not only present in the organs of sex but is also, to a great 

 extent, permeates the tissues of the plant. If this were not so 

 we would be unable to reproduce a plant by grafting, budding 

 or cuttings. Some plants show evidence of a wide spread of 

 germ plasm throughout the tissues, while in others its range 

 appears to be greatly restricted. The begonia can be propagated 

 from leaf cuttings while some trees it is hard to propagate in 

 any way other than by seed. Thus we can see that in taking 

 buds or scions from our chosen fruit trees we are simply con- 

 tinuing the old original stream of germ plasm that was in the 

 original plant of the variety. The resulting plants from bud or 

 graft propagation may vary slightly but these variations never 

 fluctuate very far either side of a certain definite type. That is 

 to say, the heritable characters go on from generation to genera- 

 tion of fruit trees without any appreciable fundamental change. 

 We have a great range of variability in the trees, due to external 

 influences upon the body plasm. These variations may take 

 the form of increased production, deeper colors, more vigorous 

 growth, etc., etc. ; but such variations are but will-o'-the-wisps, 

 the mere passing whims of nature, who allows the passing wind 

 of environment to ruffle her surface ; while, unless sex should 

 intervene, deep down in her placid depths, as represented by 



