250 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



tion, into one of our most valuable esculents, has, by the skilful 

 efforts of Vilmorin, been made to produce a variety containing 

 nearly twice as much sugar as its ancestors, and which promises 

 to be readily perpetuated. 



These improvements, so gratifying in themselves, and so full 

 of hope for the future, have not been the work of a day, or the 

 result of any spasmodic effort. They have been brought about 

 by men whose enthusiam has been a life-long passion, and who 

 have brought to their work an amount of observation, patience, 

 and skill that demand our admiration and gratitude. 



Let us glance for a moment at some of the experiments of 

 that indefatigable horticulturist, Mr. Knight. 



Wishing to obtain new varieties or stocks, possessing, as 

 nearly as possible, the qualities of some of the old kinds of 

 apples, he adopted the following plan. He prepared stocks of 

 the best kinds that could be propagated by cuttings, planting 

 them against a south wall, (for it was in England,) in a -very 

 rich soil. These were, the next year, grafted with the kind he 

 wished to propagate. The following winter the trees were taken 

 up, roots pruned, and replaced. By this treatment, they were 

 brought into bearing at two years old. Only one or two apples 

 were allowed to each tree, in order to get the largest and best 

 matured fruit. The seeds from this fruit were then planted, 

 with the expectation of getting seedlings of the desired quality. 

 Of course, uniformity in the quality of fruit produced by these 

 seeds was not obtained, but selection and a repetition of the 

 process would constantly bring him nearer the object of his 

 desire. 



Here are four years spent in obtaining suitable seed, and, 

 perhaps, twice as many more in establishing the variety sought 

 for. It was a slow lesson to learn, but the knowledge once 

 gained was gained for all time, and was capable of endless 

 applications. 



The same process has been, and is now going on in the culti- 

 vation of the grape. The object sought for is the production of 

 a vine from our native stock, that shall be at once hardy, early, 

 healthy and prolific, and whose fruit shall be of a quality fit for 

 wine-making, or the table, — a combination of properties most 

 desirable, it is true, but extremely difficult to realize in one 

 individual. The success which lias attended the efforts of 



