XVIII.] ADAPTATIONS IN VARIOUS FRUITS. 317 



varieties standing 9 and 10 for market. All these 

 facts are indications that even in pears the American 

 varieties are prominent and are increasing in number, 

 and they suggest the possibility that European vari- 

 eties may eventually practically disappear from our 

 horticulture. 



What is true of apples and pears appears to be 

 true also of other fruits. Of the seventj^ peaches 

 which Mr. Lyon catalogues, only five are foreign 

 among those rating 9 and 10 for dessert and market, 

 and of this number only one — the Rivers — is promi- 

 nent. Next to the pear, the common plum is the 

 most peculiarly European of any fruit of the eastern 

 and central United States, yet of the fourteen varieties 

 admitted by Mr. Lyon as 9 and 10 for dessert, one- 

 half are American, and of the six market sorts, four 

 are American. It is interesting to note, also, that 

 the region of adaptation of the common plum is not 

 large, and that the varieties of the nartive species are 

 evidently destined to cover a very wide range of our 

 southern and interior territory. (See Essay XXVI.) 



If any conclusion can be drawn from all the fore- 

 going figures and remarks, it is to the effect that, 

 as a rule, American varieties are best adapted to 

 American conditions, notwithstanding the fact that 

 there are some foreign varieties which thrive over 

 large areas of this country. 



The question of the adaptations of the Russian 

 fruits to this country at once arises, and this brings 

 up a more vital question, — the adaptability of our 

 own eastern fruits to the great interior basin. On a 

 former occasion* I made an examination of the 



* On the Longevity of Apple Trees, page 334. 



