478 THE THEORY OF WEARING OUT 



Harvey Apples are among the number quoted. The first of 

 these is little known to us, and we have no evidence about it ; 

 but the Golden Pippin and Golden Harvey are certainly not 

 capable of being employed in support of Knight's theory. 

 Both are to be found in various places at this moment in as 

 perfect health as they ever enjoyed. In the United States we 

 are assured by American writers that all our diseased European 

 Apples and Pears exist in the highest vigour. The Golden 

 Pippin is among the most healthy Apples of Madeira : the 

 Golden Harvey is in many good gardens. Of the former, 

 healthy trees were many years since shown to exist ia Norfolk ; 

 in warm dry places it had no particular appearance of suffer- 

 ing. Eecruited by the fine climate of France, the Golden 

 Pippin has been received back to this country in as healthy 

 a state as ever, and is now growing in the garden of the 

 Horticultural Society. The old Nonpareil was well known iu 

 the time of Queen Elizabeth ; in cold places it cankers, and no 

 doubt always has cankered; but what can be more healthy 

 than that variety in favourable places? One writer infers 

 because the Gooseberry growers of Lancashire find the weight 

 of their fruit diminishes " after the varieties have been cultiva- 

 ted some time," that therefore these varieties are dying of old 

 age, and he has expended no inconsiderable quantity of learn- 

 ing in attempting to fit this speculation to the Potato. So 

 impressed, indeed, is he with a conviction jjf its truth, that he, 

 as well as others, recommends people to be sent to Peru, or 

 wherever else the Potato grows wild, in order to get seeds and 

 tubers of vigorous wild plants. But what is called evidence 

 breaks down wherever it is examined ; and this part of the 

 argument about the wearing out of races, proves to be baseless. 



' ' Certain French writers, about this time, gla,dly seized Knight' 3 theory 

 as an explanation of the miserable state into which the fine old sorts of 

 Pears had fallen about Paris, owing to bad culture and propagation. 

 They sealed the death-warrant, in like manner, of the Brown Beurr§, 

 Doyennfe, Chaumontel, and many others. ITotwithstanding this, and 

 that ten or fifteen years have since elapsed, it is worthy of notice that 

 the repudiated Apples and Pears still hold their place among all the 

 best cultivators in both England and France. Nearly half the Pear- 

 trees annually introduced into this country (the United States) from 



