ON THE APPLE 



might be excused if he supposed these two apples, 

 along with numberless other specialized varieties, 

 to represent forms as distinct from each other as, 

 let us say, blackberries are distinct from rasp- 

 berries or oranges from lemons. 



But in reality the status of even the best market 

 "varieties" of apples is quite different from this. 

 It would scarcely be an exaggeration to say that 

 each "variety" of apple manifests the peculiari- 

 ties of an individual rather than those of a race. 



We have already had our attention called more 

 than once to the fact that the apple, in common 

 with most other cultivated fruits, does not breed 

 true from the seed. 



It has been pointed out that we could not se- 

 cure an orchard of Baldwins by planting the seeds 

 of the Baldwin. 



In a word, the fact has been emphasized that 

 the conventional and necessary method of propa- 

 gating the different varieties of apples is by bud- 

 ding or grafting, or by the equivalent method of 

 sprouting slips or twigs. And attention has fur- 

 thermore been drawn to the fact that this method 

 of propagation may be regarded as the division 

 of an individual that has the property of restoring 

 lost parts and continuing its growth indefinitely 

 rather than propagation through a succession of 

 generations. 



[179] 



