HISTORY OF THE APPLE. 41 



object of culture to diminish the extreme vigor of the 

 tree so as to produce early fruitage, and at the same time 

 to enlarge and to refine the pulpy portion of the fruit. 

 He claimed, as a principle, that our plants of culture had 

 always a tendency to run back toward the original or wild 

 type, when they were grown from seeds. This tendency 

 is admitted to exist in many cases, but it is also claimed, 

 that when a break is once made from the normal type, 

 the tendency to improve may be established. Van Mons 

 asserted that the seeds from old trees would be still more 

 apt to run back toward the original type, and that " the 

 older the tree, the nearer will the seedlings raised from 

 it approach the wild state," though he says they will not 

 quite reach it. But the seeds from a young tree, having 

 itself the tendency to melioration, are more likely to pro- 

 duce improved! sorts. 



He thinks there is a limit to perfection, and that, when 

 this is reached, the next generation will more probably 

 produce bad fruit than those grown from an inferior sort, 

 which is on the upward road of progression. He claims 

 that the seeds of the oldest varieties of good fruit yield 

 inferior kinds, whereas those taken from new varieties of 

 bad fruit, and reproduced for several generations, will cer- 

 tainly give satisfactory results in good fruit. 



He began with seeds from a young seedling tree, not 

 grafted upon another stock; he cared nothing for the 

 quality of the fruit, but preferred that the variety was 

 showing a tendency to improvement or variation. These 

 were sowed, and from the plants produced, he selected 

 such as appeared to him to have evidence of improvement, 

 (it is supposed by their less wild appearance), and 



