UNIQUE QUALITY FRUITS 27 



progeny of the "sport" thus produced tends to 

 revert to the original type. And in fact it is 

 observed that all plants with variegated foliage 

 have a very strong tendency to produce green- 

 leaved seedlings. 



The fruit of the common myrtle is small, black, 

 and hardly edible. I have imported many species 

 and varieties from Chile and Patagonia, how- 

 ever, which, although appearing very much like 

 the common myrtle, bear fruit quite different in 

 appearance, being pink, white, or yellow. The 

 individual berries are usually as large as huckle- 

 berries, sometimes considerably larger, and have 

 delightful aromas and flavors. 



Some of these new fruiting myrtles will grow 

 on very dry ground; others require soil that is 

 constantly moist. 



One of the Chilean and Patagonian species, 

 M. Maytens, is used for timber, and grows to a 

 height of fifteen feet, with a breadth of ten to 

 twenty-five feet. The branches droop grace- 

 fully like those of the weeping willow, and are 

 heavily loaded with oval, small, glossy green 

 leaves. These are not the fruiting species, 

 which grow to a height of two to four feet, and 

 of equal breadth. 



Another species that bears fruit when quite 

 young, sometimes even in the second year, has 



