XXII.] THE MERIT IN NOVELTIES. 359 



it at the present time. It is certainly as old as com- 

 mercial horticulture ; and, for all I know, Noah, 

 when taking the animals into the ark, may have 

 asked if so many kinds paid. If novelties have 

 furnished all advancement up to the present time, it' 

 would seem that they must continue to do so in the 

 future ; and the only reason for discussing the ques - 

 tion at all must be a prevalent belief that varieties 

 are now so many and so good that the limit of prof- 

 itable evolution has been reached. 



I have said that all advancement in types of 

 cultivated plants has come about through the origina- 

 tion and introduction of new forms. It is necessary, 

 then, that this advancement be defined. A novelty 

 does not necessarily need to surpass every or even 

 any old variety in order that it may have merit. It 

 may possess attributes which fit it for some entirely 

 new condition or use. A currant or gooseberry 

 which is sweet and tender enough to supply the 

 dessert may be a useful novelty, while in all other 

 respects it may be inferior to all existing varieties. 

 And this is a point that we should keep constantly 

 in mind, — that we need new varieties for unfilled 

 gaps, for new regions, various soils, new markets, 

 and new household uses. If, therefore, a variety is 

 successful, or profitable, with one person only, and 

 fails with all others, it is worth introducing. The 

 trouble is not so much that novelties are unworthy, 

 as it is that they are recommended promiscuously, and 

 that their particular and distinctive merits are not 

 discovered. Now, I like to think that the evolution 

 of cultivated varieties follows the same laws as the 

 evolution of new types in nature ; and it is pretty 



