74 Elementary Species 



tlie fruits of these varieties, but as a matter of 

 fact the wild apples of different countries are 

 not at all the same. 



Alphonse De Candolle, who made a profound 

 study of the probable origin of most of our cul- 

 tivated plants, comes to the conclusion that the 

 apple-tree must have had this wide distribution 

 in prehistoric times, and that its cultivation be- 

 gan in ancient times everywhere. 



This very important conclusion by so high an 

 authority throws considerable light on the rela- 

 tion between cultivated and wild varieties at 

 large. If the historic facts go to prove a mul- 

 tiple origin for the cultivation of some of the 

 more important useful plants, the probability 

 that different varieties or elementary species 

 have been the starting points for different lines 

 of culture, evidently becomes stronger. 



Unfortunately, this historic evidence is 

 scanty. The most interesting facts are those 

 concerning the use of apples by the Romans 

 and by their contemporaries of the Swiss and 

 middle European lake-dwellings. Oswald Heer 

 has collected large numbers of the relics of this 

 prehistoric period. Apples were found in 

 large quantities, ordinarily cut into halves and 

 with the signs of having been dried. Heer dis- 

 tinguished two varieties, one with large and 

 one with small fruits. The first about 3 and 



