HISTORY OF THE APPLE. 49 



In his Pomona Herefordiensis, be tells us_that "those ap- 

 ples, which have been long in cultivation, are on the de- 

 cay. The Redstreak and Golden Pippin can no longer 

 be propagated with advantage. The fruit, like the parent 

 tire, is affected by the debilitated old age of the variety." 

 And in his treatise on the culture of the apple and pear, 

 he says : " The Moil and its successful rival, the Red- 

 streak, with the Must and Golden Pippin, are in the last 

 stage of decay, and the Stire and Foxwhelp are hasten- 

 ing rapidly after them." In noticing the decay of apple 

 trees, Pliny probably refers to particular trees, rather than 

 the whole of any variety, when he says that " apples be- 

 come old sooner than any other tree, and the fruit be- 

 comes smaller and is subject to be cankered and worm- 

 eaten, even while on the trees." r-Lib. XVI, Chap. 27.' 



Speechly combated the views of Mr. Knight, and says : 

 " It is much to be regretted that this apparently visionary 

 notion of the extinction of certain kinds of apples should 

 have been promulgated by authors of respectability, since 

 the mistake will, for a time at least, be productive of sev- 

 eral ill consequences." 



Some of the old English varieties that were supposed 

 to be worn out or exhausted, appear to have taken a new 

 lease of life in this country, but we have not yet had a 

 long enough experience to decide this question. Many of 

 the earlier native favorites of the orchard have, for some 

 reason, disappeared from cultivation whether they have 

 run out, were originally deficient in vigor, or have merely 

 been superseded by more acceptable varieties, does not 

 appear. 



Mr. Phillips, in his Companion, states " that in 1819, he 

 3 



