ON THE APPLE 



duced in a combination of good qualities. Some 

 of the individuals improve in certain points from 

 year to year, and reveal new strength in certain 

 valued characters, while others may fail to fulfil 

 their early promise. The test must extend over a 

 series of years, after the trees have commenced 

 to bear, and each new strength or weakness in 

 every direction must be noted with unflinching 

 fidelity. 



With the record of my own experiments as a 

 guide, let us briefly glance over the field, to gain 

 such clues as we may to the opportunities that still 

 lie open for the betterment of this fruit. 

 A FEW PRACTICAL HINTS 



Great emphasis has been laid on the fact that 

 apples do not breed true from seed. It should be 

 noted, however, that some, varieties are much more 

 nearly fixed than others. The Fameuse, Graven- 

 stein, Garden Royal, and Golden Russet may be 

 named among those that tend to reproduce a good 

 many of their characteristics in their seedlings. 

 Yet from any of these there may be produced 

 apples showing almost every possible variation 

 as to size, shape, acidity, flavor, and color. And 

 so the growth of seedlings will be undertaken only 

 for the purpose of securing new variations or to 

 supply stocks on which to graft cions from old 

 ones. 



[191] 



