FIELD NOTES IN SEED TIME. 2I3 



of one a bonbon, and of the other a pill of worm- 

 wood. The whites might well have been named 

 the corpse apple, their cheeks are so pallid. All 

 the sunshine of the Indian Summer has not the 

 power to bring the glow of health on them. The 

 meat has a sickish taste, too, producing a nausea 

 if eaten too freely. But what a relish Nature has 

 given to this water core ; as if she had wrapped 

 up a bit of iced sherbert close to the carpels ! 

 The tree that bears it stands by the roadside, and 

 so enjoys a village reputation. The children iill 

 their pockets with it, and those of larger growth 

 stop their teams and alight to taste the fruit that 

 is not forbidden them. 



Thus throughout the orchard of more than a hun- 

 dred trees, each one bears its own peculiar fruit ; 

 varieties so strongly marked, and presenting such 

 distinct characteristics, as to lead one almost to 

 the belief that they are incipient species of a large 

 and extensive genus. 



The fact that the wild apple presents so many 

 individual differences, and that the seeds of each 

 produce a new variety, is a curious and interesting 

 one. No other fruit or berry in the family Mos- 

 acece has, I believe, such a natural tendency to vary. 

 Nature has in this case given us an exhibition of 



