206 THE SURVIVAL OF THE UNLIKE. [iX. 



All this is evidence of the greatest and most sub- 

 stantial progress, and much of it is recent ; and there 

 is every reason to believe that this rapid adaptation of 

 plants to new conditions is still in progress in all cul- 

 tivated species. In fact, the initial and conspicuous 

 stage of such adaptation is just now taking place in 

 the Russian apples in America, in which the Ameri- 

 can seedlings are even now gaining a gi*eater prominence 

 than some of their parents. Both the parent stock and 

 the seedling brood are radical and progressive departures 

 of recent date. The same modification to suit American 

 environments is seen in every plant which has been 

 cultivated here for a score or more of years. The 

 mulberries are striking examples, for our fruit -bearing 

 varieties are not only different from those of Europe, 

 whence they came, but many of them belong to a species 

 which in Europe is not esteemed for fruit. The Euro- 

 pean varieties of almonds are now being superseded in 

 California by native seedlings, which are said to be 

 much better adapted to our Pacific climate than their 

 recent progenitors are. These facts of rapid adaptation 

 are everywhere so patent, upon reflection, that I need 

 not consider them further at this time. They are in- 

 disputable evidence that there is permanent contempo- 

 raneous progress, and upon them alone I am willing to 

 rest my whole argument. 



There is another feature of this contemporaneous 

 variation which must be considered at this point, — the 

 great increase in numbers of varieties. This increase 

 is in part simply an accumulation of the varieties of 

 many years, so that our manuals are apt to contain 

 descriptions of more varieties than are actually culti- 

 vated at the time. But much of this increase is an 



