282 THE SURVIVAL OF THE UNLIKE. [XVI. 



that the eastern states, because of their age and the 

 great diversity in soils and climates and methods of 

 colonization, possess a great number of local varie- 

 ties. New York undoubtedly leads the states in the 

 actual variety of apples cultivated within its borders, 

 and Pennsylvania is probably entitled to second place. 

 Yet no part of our country has developed endemic or 

 peculiar varieties so quickly as Wisconsin and Minne- 

 sota have, the fruit lists of those states already con- 

 taining manj'^ varieties of apples and other fruits which 

 are unknown outside that general region. All this 

 indicates that fruits, like other plants, quickly adapt 

 themselves to new conditions through variation into 

 adaptive varieties, — a conclusion to which a closer 

 study of the above lists brings strong additional evi- 

 dence. 



In the above lists there are ninety -nine New York 

 varieties, thirteen in Illinois, fifty -five in Wisconsin, 

 nineteen in Washington and thirteen in New South 

 Wales. Taking the New York list as the basis, we 

 find that 60 per cent of the Illinois varieties occur in 

 it, and less than 20 per cent of the Wisconsin, about 

 50 per cent of the Washington, and about 20 per 

 cent of the New South Wales varieties. These figures 

 show that Wisconsin and New South Wales have an 

 apple flora very • different from that of New York, 

 and moreover, these floras are peculiar, — that is, dif- 

 ferent, also, from the apple flora of other geographical 

 regions. The Wisconsin - Minnesota apples are more 

 unlike the New York apples in type than the Au- 

 stralian ones are, and they have been developed very 

 largely from an independent stock. If we were to 

 examine the Quebec apples critically we should find 



