THE APPLE. 



47 



as Ribston Pippin, Blenheim Pippin, Dumelow's 

 Seedling, and Devonshire Quarrenden, which 

 have no recorded parentage, while Claygate 

 Pearmain is said to have been found in a hedge, 

 Keswick Codlin on a rubbish heap, and Cornish 

 Gilliflower in a cottager's garden. In a few 

 cases the name of the seed parent is known, 

 as for example, Cox's Orange Pippin is from 

 Eibston Pippin, Worcester Pearmain from 

 Devonshire Quarrenden, and Waltham 

 Abbey Seedling from Golden Noble. 

 Many more could be given, but this will 

 suffice to illustrate that the advance of the 

 Apple has been chiefly due to chance seed- 

 lings and selection rather than to any deli- 

 berate attempts to secure better varieties. 



Systematic Improvement of the Appte. — 

 Raising seedlings, even from varieties of 

 proved merit, is an uncertain task; the 

 prizes are few and the blanks many. We 

 cannot rely upon perpetuating any good 

 qualities the parent tree may possess, but 

 we can be sure of having a large propor- 

 tion of seedlings that are utterly worthless. 

 It is slow and unsatisfactory work, and the 

 improvement of so valuable a fruit as the 

 Apple deserves more systematic and scien- 

 tific treatment. It may be said : Why seek 

 to obtain more varieties when there are too 

 many at the present time? Varieties of 

 poor quality, or those with insufficiently 

 marked characters, are indeed too numer- 

 ous, but we have not too many good Apples, 

 and there is still room for material advance 

 in the right directions. Thus early Apples 

 of better quality are required, the produc- 

 tiveness and constitutional strength of many 

 shy and weakly varieties of high merit 

 could be improved, first class, richly flavoured, 

 late-keeping dessert sorts are not too numerous, 

 and might well be increased. The flavours of 

 the fruits could also be diversified. In fact, there 

 is plenty of work for those who have the time, 

 the opportunity, and the desire to do it. 



Thomas Andrew Knight, at the end of the 

 eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth 

 century, set an admirable example to horticul- 

 turists in the systematic improvement of fruits, 

 including Apples, but until comparatively recent 

 years very little has been done on the same 

 lines. Mr. Knight feared that the old varieties 

 of Apples were dying out owing to repeated 

 propagation by grafting and budding, and he 

 sought to obtain a re-invigorated race by calling 

 in the aid of the varieties that approached more 

 nearly to the original stock. In several instances 



vigorous, hardy-constitutioned, and fertile forms 

 resulted, but they could only rank as high-class 

 Cider Apples. The most notable of these were 

 the Siberian Bittersweet and the Siberian Har- 

 vey, both of which originated in crosses between 

 the Yellow Siberian Crab and Golden Harvey 

 or Brandy Apple, the latter being the pollen 

 parent. Foxley was another of the same type, 



Fig. 845.— Siberian Crab (Pyrus baccata). (§.) 



and resulted from a cross between the Scarlet 

 Siberian Crab Pyrus baccata (fig. 845) and the 

 Golden Pippin. If these crosses had been ex- 

 tended to another generation or two, some re- 

 markable results might have been obtained. 

 The best of Mr. Knight's other seedling Apples 

 are Downton Pippin from Isle of Wight Orange 

 Pippin fertilized with Golden Pippin (Yellow 

 and Red Ingestrie are from a similar cross), 

 and Bringewood Pippin from Golden Pippin 

 crossed with Golden Harvey. 



Not only was the principle of systematic cross- 

 fertilization thus introduced amongst fruits, but 

 the greatest care was adopted to prevent self- 

 fertilization, by removing the stamens from the 

 seed parent before the anthers were mature. 

 It is also essential that the flowers be protected 

 by small muslin or paper bags before and after 



