REPRODUCTION OF PLANTS. 107 



varieties, but that none of either would vegetate 

 with vigour much, if at all, beyond the life of 

 the parent stock. I am confirmed in this opin- 

 ion by the books on this subject ; of the apples 

 mentioned and described by Parkinson, the 

 names only remain, and those since applied to 

 other kinds now also worn out ; but many of 

 Evelyn's still remain (1795), particularly the 

 red streak. This apple, he informs us, was 

 raised from seed by Lord Scudamore in the be- 

 ginning of the last century. We have many 

 trees of it, but they appear to have been in a 

 state of decay during the last forty years .... 

 . . . the durability of the pear is probably some- 

 thing more than double that of the apple." 

 Many of the readers of this paragraph will pro- 

 bably recall to mind the gradual and complete 

 extinction of the unrivalled " Golden Pippin," 

 which has evidently afforded a proof of the truth 

 of Mr. Knight's deductions. His experiments 

 on seedling apples, while the excellence of seve- 

 ral of the sorts affords much encouragement to 

 gardeners and landed proprietors to imitate his 

 example, and endeavour to replace by new fruit 

 trees of equal goodness, the kinds w r hose limit 

 of duration may be pretty nearly guessed, also 



