VARIETIES. 



more often indebted to accident than to any plan of fyfte- 

 inatic culture ; and contents himfelf with mei-ely felefting 

 and propagating from the plant of the earlieit liabits, which 

 accident throws in his way, without inquiring from what 

 caufes thofe habits have arifen ; and few efforts have been 

 ir.ade to bring into exillence better varieties of thofe fruits 

 ■which are not generally propagated from feeds, and which, 

 when fo propagated, of neceffity exercife during many 

 years the patience of the cultivator, before he can hope to 

 fee the fruits of his labour, induftry, and attention." The 

 attempts which the writer has made to produce early va- 

 rieties of fruit are, it is believed, all that have yet been 

 made ; and though the refult of them is by no means fuf- 

 ficiently decifive to prove the truth of the hypothecs he is 

 endearouring to eftablifh, or the eligibility of the praftice 

 he has adopted, it is amply fuf&cient to encourage future 

 experiment on the fubjeft. 



It is noticed, that the firft fort of fruit which was fub- 

 jefted to experiment in this way, was the apple; fome 

 young trees of the defired varieties of which for propaga- 

 tion were trained to a fouth wall, until they afforded buds 

 containing blolToms. The branches of which then, in the 

 following winter, were detached from the wall, and re- 

 mored to as great a diftance from it as poflible, in which 

 ftate they continued till fo far advanced in their bloflbms in 

 the following fpring, as to be in danger from froft. Then 

 the branches were trained to the wall, where each bloflbm 

 allowed to remain quickly expanded, and formed fruit, 

 that in a few months attained perfeft maturity ; and the 

 feeds produced plants that have ripened the fruit much 

 earlier than other trees raifed at the fame time from feeds of 

 the fame fruit grown in the orchard. In this trial, the 

 bloffoms of each variety were fecundated by the farina of 

 another kind ; from which is fuppofed to have been at- 

 tained in this as well as other jimilar inftances a greater 

 vigour and luxuriance of growth ; but no earlier ripening 

 of the fruits than in the plants grown by the ordinary modes 

 of culture. The early maturity of thofe mentioned, is con- 

 fequently afcribed to the other pecuUarity of circum- 

 ftances under which the fruit and feeds ripened from which 

 they fprang. 



By the fame method of culture, feveral new varieties, 

 that are the offspring afforded by the Siberian crab and the 

 richeft apples of this country, were obtained in the inten- 

 tion of providing fruits for the prefs that might ripen well 

 in cold and expofed fitualions. The plants furnifhed in 

 this manner poffefs a remarkable hardnefs and luxuriance of 

 growth, appearing in every way perfectly fuited to anfwer 

 the intended purpofe. In each of thefe trials, fome of the 

 new varieties inherited the charafter of the male, and others 

 of the female parent, in the greatefl degree ; and of fome 

 varieties of fruit, efpecially of the golden pippin, a better 

 example was obtained by the introduftion of the farina into 

 •the bloffom of another apple, than by fowing their own 

 feeds. The new variety of the Downton pippm, obtained 

 in this manner from the farina of the golden pippin, will, it 

 is believed, be found, in a favourable feafon and fituation, 

 little if at all inferior to the golden pippin, when firft taken 

 from the tree ; but it is a good deal earlier, and probably 

 cannot be preferved fo long in a perfeft ftate. 



The next trials were on the grape, which, though lefs 

 fuccefsful than the above in producing new varieties, were 

 not lefs favourable to thefe conclufions. After fuppofing a 

 vinery without fires in the winter, to affbrd a climate to the 

 vine fimilar to that afforded by the fouthern parts of Siberia 

 to the apple or crab-tree ; the fame extenfive variation of 

 temperature taking place in it, and the fudden tranfition 



from great comparative cold to exceflive heat, as pvoduflive 

 of the fame rapid progrefs in the growth of the plants and 

 the advancement of the fruit to maturity ; lie ftates that his 

 firft attempt was to combine the liardineis ot the bloffom of 

 the black clufter, or Burgundy grape, with the large berry 

 and early maturity of the true fweetwater, often confounded 

 witli the white chaffelas and white mufcadine. In this cafe, 

 the feedUng plants produced fruit in his vinery at the age 

 of three or four years, and in fome of them it was very 

 early ; but the bunches were fhort and ill-formed, and the 

 bloflbms did not fet by any means fo well as he had 

 expefted. 



On fubftituting the white chaffelas for the fweetwater, 

 many varieties were obtained whofe bloffoms appeared per- 

 fedlly hardy, and capable of fetting well in the open air ; 

 and the fruit of fome of them ripening a good deal earlier 

 in the year than that of either of the parent plants. But 

 the berries are fmaller than thofe of the chaffelas, having 

 lefs tender and delicate Ikins : and though not without 

 much merit for the defert, they are generally better calcu- 

 lated for the prefs. In the latter intention, in a cold cli- 

 mate, it is fuppofed that one or two of them poffefs very 

 great excellence. From the white chaffelas and fweetwater, 

 plants have fmce been obtained, the appearance of which is 

 greatly more promifing : and the earheft variety of the 

 grape he has ever yet feen was produced from a feed of the 

 fweetwater, and the farina of the red Frontignac. It is a 

 very fine grape, refembling the Frontignac in colour and 

 the form of the bunch ; but it is feared that its bloffoms 

 will prove too tender to fucceed in the open air in this 

 country ; a fingle bunch confifting of a few berries is, how- 

 ever, all that has yet exifted of this kind. Two new varie- 

 ties of the vine, with ftriped fruit and variegated autumnal 

 leaves, have alfo been produced from the white chaffelas 

 and the farina of the AUipo vine : one of thefe has ripened 

 extremely early, and is thought a good grape. As in all 

 attempts to obtain new varieties of fruit, the propagator is 

 at a lofs to know the kinds which are beft fuited to anfwer 

 his purpofe, thofe varieties of the grape which he has 

 employed with the moft fuccefs are mentioned. In fhort, 

 the fafts which he has obtained on this fubjeft, leave no 

 doubt in his mind that varieties of the grape capable of 

 ripening perfeftly in our climate, when trained to a fouth 

 wall, as well as of other fruits better fuited to this climate 

 than thofe which are now cultivated, may be readily pro- 

 duced ; but whether the method of cultivation which he 

 has adopted and advifed be the moft eligible, muft be left 

 to the decifion of future and more extenfive practice and 

 experience. 



Trials fimilar to thefe have been made on the peach ; but 

 it is ftated that nothing more can yet be faid of the refult of 

 them, than that the plants are perfeftly healthy and luxu- 

 riant in their growth, affording fufRcient evidence in their 

 leaves of the good quaUty of the future fruit. And though 

 he is uncertain at what age plants of this fort become ca- 

 pable of producing bloffoms^the fudden changes in the cha- 

 rafter of the leaves and growth of thofe raifed by him, 

 which are now in their third year, lead him to believe 

 that they will be in a ftate to produce fruit at the age of 

 three or foiu- years. 



Upon the whole, from thefe and a clofe attention to the 

 fubjeft for years, it may be maintained that new varieties of 

 every particular fort of fruit will in general be better ob- 

 tained from the introduftion of the farina of one variety of 

 it into the bloffoms of another, than by propagating from 

 any fingle kind. Where trials of this nature are made be- 

 tween varieties of different fize and charafter, the farina of 



the 



