78 The Ottawa Naturalist. [July 



Middlesex canal, discovered the Pecker apple tree, later named 

 the Baldwin." 



The apple trees that were grown from seed planted by the 

 early settlers and cultivated by the pioneers, in many in- 

 stances proved long lived, some reaching the age of 200 years, or 

 more. These trees attained great size and bore immense crops 

 of what was termed natural fruit. Even now we find in the 

 older portions of the province isolated individuals and remnants 

 of these early plantings ; among them, fruits possibly not always 

 of high flavour but frequently surpassing in keeping properties 

 any of the propagated varieties now common to the district. 



Mr. Hadwen, an eminent pomologist of Massachutts, says : 

 ' The process of degeneration or decay of the apple seems to be 

 less rapid than that of the pear Out of 60 varieties mostly of 

 American origin, grown fifty years ago, more than 40 are still 

 cultivated and esteemed. There is little doubt that the now 

 almost universal practice of propagating by grafting and bud- 

 ding has more directly affected the longevity of our large fruits 

 than any other factor, though the change is less marked, as 

 already stated, in the case of the apple than with the pear and 

 peach." At the same time we have all had reason to notice how 

 much disappointment frequently arises in our attempts to multi- 

 ply the individuals of a seedling of special merit by the usual 

 methods, grafting and budding. Pfowever healthy, vigorous and 

 profilic the original tree may be there is no absolute assurance 

 that when grafted either upon the root or top of another indi- 

 vidual, it will maintain all its original and desirable character- 

 istics. As some trees are sensative in this direction, so again 

 others are apparently entirely oblivious to congeniality of stock 

 and root, sustaining their own strong individuality through life 

 despite varying soil and climatic conditions. The Duchess of 

 Oldenburg, a Russian apple, is an excellent example |of this 

 class, bearing freely and regularly whereyei; planted. 



