XXIII.] VARIETIES PASS FROM NOTICE. 367 



No one can expect that the greater part of tnese 

 foundlings will find a permanent place in cultivation. 

 In 1869 twenty-eight new strawberries were intro- 

 duced or prominently mentioned, of which only two — 

 the Charles Downing and Kentucky — are at present 

 known. In that year, also, thirty -six new raspberries 

 were introduced or prominently advertised, of which 

 only the Philadelphia and Turner are now known, and 

 these are rapidly passing from sight. Of the eight 

 newer blackberries of that year, five still persist, how- 

 ever, — the Kittatinny, Missouri Mammoth, Wachuset, 

 Western Triumph and Wilson Early. Of the twelve 

 or fifteen dewberries now named, only three are 

 prominent, and only one has gained a general repu- 

 tation. All these illustrations show that there are in 

 existence many more varieties than we need, and yet 

 there are few which really satisfy our expectations. 

 This failure has little relation to the mere date of 

 introduction of the varieties, that is, to their novelty, 

 but to the broader and more important facts that very 

 few varieties tend to surpass others which have come 

 into existence earlier, and that variations run largely 

 in similar directions, giving us many essential dupli- 

 cations in leading characters. If these statements are 

 true, it ma}^ appear strange that men should introduce 

 so many of these comparatively unimportant varieties. 

 Why have they ever become known and disseminated f 

 It is largely for the reason, I think, that the varieties 

 mislead us, and in several ways : 



1, New varieties are often not fixed or permanent in 

 their characteristics, or do not show their full attributes 

 at once. New tomatoes illustrate this fact forcibly. 

 A year ago a chance tomato plant appeared in one 



