XI 



THE VARIETIES OF APPLE 



Every seedling of the pomological apples is a new 

 variety. §ome of these seedlings are so good that they 

 are named and introduced into cultivation. They are 

 grafted on other stocks, and become part of the great 

 inheritance of desirable apples. 



It is to be expected that in the long processes of time 

 in many countries the number of varieties will accumu- 

 late to high numbers. No one knows all the kinds that 

 have been named and propagated, but they run into many 

 thousands. No one book contains them all, although 

 some of the manuals are voluminous. Varieties drop out 

 of existence, being no longer propagated; new varieties 

 come in. 



So the lists of varieties gradually change. A list of 

 one hundred years ago would contain many names 

 strange to us. Thus, of the sixty apples in "A Select List 

 of Fruit-Trees" by Bernard M'Mahon, published in "The 

 American Gardener's Calendar," in 1806, not more than 

 six or eight would be understandable to a planter of the 

 present day. 



With the standardizing of practices in the commercial 

 growing of fruits, the tendency is to reduce the number 

 of varieties to small proportions ; it is these varieties that 



66 



