DEGENERATION OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. 89 



Disease is distinct from degeneration. The Flemisli Beauty 

 pear cracks ; is tliis degeneration or disease ? He notices tlie crack- 

 ing of apples more every year ; the wound seems to heal inside and 

 they seem to recover, but the fruit is still worthless ; he thought 

 this was disease but could not tell what produced it. 



Tlie fruit of the Baldwin apple trees that were on his laud when 

 he bought it is different from that produced by the trees he has 

 planted. There is no fixed type of this apple, but in propagating 

 he has always taken his grafts from trees bearing yellow fleshed 

 fruit. A grape vine climbed into one of his best Baldwin apple 

 trees and ruined the fruit b}- causing it to mildew, but he has cut 

 away the vine and expects the fruit to recuperate. The modes 

 of cultivation and peculiarities of the seasons are continually affect- 

 ing fruit. Of sixty or seventy' varieties of small fruits described 

 a few years ago only four are in cultivation now. 



E. W. Wood said that the question of degeneration had been 

 much discussed, but no one could denj' the fact, whether he attrib- 

 uted it to disease or other causes, He thought the essayist's com- 

 parison of vegetable with, animal life might have been carried fur- 

 ther. Man adapts himself to changes of climate b}' changes of 

 clothing, and if we could do the same by trees we might be sure 

 of good crops everj'where and in every season. Cultivation under 

 glass effects this result, and hence peaches in houses retain their 

 health and produce regular crops. He did not agree with Mr. 

 Hovey in regard to the peach, but thought we cannot cultivate it 

 as formerl}'. His recollection is that for a series of twenty years 

 the crops were as regular as those of pears are now, or those of 

 apples ever}' two years, but if we attempt to cultivate the same 

 varieties todaj' we find a marked difference. He felt sure that 

 plants do suffer from continued propagation by grafts or cuttings ; 

 he has grown remarkably strong verbena plants from seed, but 

 they soon ran out when propagated by cuttings. 



The Hovey strawberry was perhaps more generally grown in 

 New England than any other variety thirty or forty years ago, and 

 there is no better kind now if we could grow it, but vre cannot. 

 Mr. Hovey's own specimens are not up to the standard of twenty- 

 five years ago. In later years the Wilson has been more generally 

 grown than any other kind, but it is now being discarded. 



Mr. Hovey said that he had seen Crawford peaches sold for a 

 dollar and a half per dozen, and he had seen a basket full sold for 



