THE VAN MONS METHOD. 5 



yellow corn plants, that they have the next season a progeny, 

 not of yellow corn alone, but composed of every color and size, 

 yellow, white and black, large and small, upon the farm. Now 

 many of the varieties of fruit trees have a similar power of 

 intermixing with each other while in blossom, by the dust or 

 pollen of their flowers, carried through the air, by the action 

 of bees and other causes. It will readily occur to the reader, 

 in considering this fact, what an influence our custom of plant- 

 ing the difi'erent varieties of plum or of cherry together in a 

 garden or orchard, must have upon the constancy of habit in 

 the seedlings of such fruits. 



But there is still another reason for this habit, so perplexing 

 to the novice, who, having tasted a luscious fruit, plants, watches 

 and rears its seedling, to find it, perhaps, wholly different in most 

 respects. This is the influence of grafting. Among the great 

 number of seedling fruits produced in the United States, there is 

 found occasionally a variety, perhaps a plum or a peach, which 

 will nearly always reproduce itself from seed. From some for- 

 tunate circumstances in its origin, unknown to us, this sort, in 

 becoming improved, still retains strongly this habit of the natu- 

 ral or wild form, and its seeds produce the same. We can call 

 to mind several examples of this ; fine fruit trees whose seeds 

 have established the reputation in the neighborhood of fidelity 

 to the sort. But when a graft is taken from one of these trees, 

 and placed upon another stock, this grafted tree is found to lose 

 its singular power of producing the same by seed, and becomes 

 like all other worked trees. The stock exercises some, as yet, 

 unexplained power, in dissolving the strong natural habit of the 

 variety, and becomes like its fellows, subject to the laws of its 

 artificial life. 



When we desire to raise new varieties of fruit, the common 

 practise is to collect the seeds of the finest table fi^uits — those 

 sorts whose merits are every where acknowledged to be the 

 highest. In proceeding thus we are all pretty well aware, that 

 the chances are generally a hundred to one against our obtain- 

 ing any new variety of great excellence. Before we offer any 

 advice on rearing seedlings let us examine briefly the practice 

 and views of two distinguished horticulturists abroad, who have 

 paid more attention to this subject than any other persons what- 

 ever ; Dr. Van Mons of Belgium, and Thos. Andrew Knight, 

 Esq., the late President of the Horticultural Society of London. 



The Van Mons Theory. 



Dr. Van Mons, Professor at Louvain, devoted the greater part 

 of his life to the amelioration of fruits. His nurseries contained 

 in 1823, no less than two thousand seedlings of merit. His 

 perseverance was indefatigable, ard experimenting mainly on 



