December 1, 1905.] 



SCIENCE. 



715 



ounces to fifteen pounds, and which loses its 

 colors and spots when it enters the sea or 

 when it reaches a large size. Similar changes 

 are shown in each of the four coastwise species 

 of trout of the Pacific coast. 



The explanation is apparently this. The 

 trout in Loch Leven is identical as to species 

 with the ordinary brook trout of England. 

 The character of the food supply and of the 

 water of the lake determine its color and 

 appearance. These acquired characters are 

 not hereditary, but are results of conditions 

 in the growth of the individual. The lake 

 trout planted in the brooks grow as other brook 

 trout do. In estuaries of rivers they assume 

 still other characters, and these are equally 

 temporary. 



I have no doubt that Dr. Day is right in 

 regarding the large salmon trout of the Eng- 

 lish bays {Salmo trutta L., Salmo eriox L., 

 8almo camhricus, Salmo albus, Salmo phinoc, 

 Salmo hi'acliypoma), the golden trout of the 

 estuaries {Salmo estuarius, Salm,o orcadensis, 

 Salmo gallivensis, etc.), the silvery trout of 

 the various lakes {Salmo levinensis, Salmo 

 ccecifer), the great black lake trout {Salmo 

 ferox, Salmo nigripinnis) , the ' gillaroo,' with 

 the stomach coats thickened {Salmo stomach- 

 icus), and the common trout of the brooks 

 of northern Europe {Salmo fario L., Salmo 

 ausonii, Salmo gaimardi, Salmo cornubiensis) 

 as all forms of one and the same species. A 

 member of one of these so-called species would 

 be changed to one of the others if it grew up 

 under the same surroundings. These forms 

 are not subspecies, for that implies a diverg- 

 ence which should be hereditary, however 

 slight. They are, if this view is correct, local 

 variations of one species, for which the oldest 

 name is the half-forgotten one of Salmo eriox 

 Linnasus. 



A practical question with fish-culturists 

 arises here. " The riparian proprietor," says 

 Dr. Day, " sends for, let us say, Salmo ferox, 

 to improve the strain of his local race by cross- 

 ing, and after a year or two he feels confident 

 that the imported forms are only brook trout. 

 Naturally indignant, he may come to the er- 

 roneous conclusion that the purveyor has im- 



posed on him and it will not be until he under- 

 stands this is a simple variety attaining a large 

 size, due to certain local' circumstances, that 

 he will comprehend how his money has been 

 thrown away. He had far better look to the 

 food and condition of the water on his estate 

 before attempting to improve the indigenous 

 breed." David Starr Jordan. 



Stais'ford University. 



the relation of soil texture to apple 

 production. 



The problem of the intelligent selection of 

 an orchard site by a person who contemplates 

 engaging in the production of api^les on a 

 commercial scale, or even in a small way, re- 

 solves itself into several factors. The climate 

 must be suitable and the physiographic fea- 

 tures, including exposure and the attending 

 surface conditions, aeration and drainage, must 

 be favorable. The relation borne to variety 

 by climate, and to a lesser degree by physio- 

 graphic position, must be carefully deter- 

 mined, for whereas a considerable part of the 

 United States is suited to apple production, 

 certain important varieties, as the Albemarle 

 Pippin, may be successfully grown only in very 

 restricted areas. Other varieties, such as the 

 Baldwin, succeed over a large scope of terri- 

 tory, but still are adapted to only a small part 

 of the general apple belt, while the extent of 

 the range of adaptability of countless other 

 varieties may be said to lie somewhere between 

 those of the two varieties mentioned. Such 

 limitations of variety, however, are known in 

 a general way and with this fund of past ex- 

 perience available the planter need not go far 

 astray in the selection of varieties for his 

 orchard. In the Albemarle area, Virginia, 

 for example, Mooney found that the York 

 Imperial grew to the best advantage in a val- 

 ley ; whereas ' on the eastern side of the Blue 

 Ridge it ripens early, and falls, and does not 

 have as good keeping qualities.' 



Again, the Albemarle Pippin^ thrives on 



^ See Report on the Albemarle Area, U. S. Dept. 

 of Agriculture, Field Operations of the Bureau of 

 Soils, 1902. Report on the Mount Mitchell Area, 

 U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Field Operations of 

 the Bureau of Soils, 1902. Report on the Bed- 



