10 
are valuable, to guide the operations of future experimentalists. 
This able naturalist soon turned his active mind to the raising 
new varieties of fruit from seed, and we will give a few of the 
results of his experiments, to guide the young fruitist in his 
path, and to shorten the distance he may have to travel to 
favourable results. He says : — 
“ When I first began to suspect that my endeavours to pro- 
pagate the old fruits would not be successful, I selected the 
seeds of some of the best kinds, with an intention to propagate 
new ones. But I soon found that many of the young plants, 
(particularly those from the Golden Pippin) were nearly as 
much diseased as the trees which produced them. I several 
times raised three or four plants from seeds, taken from one 
apple, and when this had been produced by a diseased tree, I 
have had not only as many distinct varieties as there were seeds, 
but some were much diseased, and others apparently healthy ; 
though the seeds were sown on the same soil, and the plants 
afterwards grew within two feet of each other in the nursery. 
Grafts having been inserted from each, retained the habits of 
the tree from which they were taken. Few’, however, if any of 
them appeared to possess a sufficient degree of vigour to promise 
me much success in their cultivation (except in very favourable 
situations) should their fruit be such as answered my wishes.” 
“Having before observed that all the old fruits were free from 
disease when trained to a south wall, 1 thought it not improb- 
able that seedling plants raised from them would be equally 
healthy ; and that this would not be the sole advantage attend- 
ing this mode of propagation ; as the trees in this situation 
would enjoy all the benefits of a better climate, whilst their 
blossoms, being expanded before those of the neighbouring 
orchards, would escape all chance of being impregnated by the 
liirina of inferior kinds. With a view to try the effects of this 
experiment, I prepared stocks of the best kind of apple I knew, 
which could be propagated by cuttings, and planting them 
against a south wall, in extremely rich mould, 1 grafted them 
with the Stire, Golden Pippin, and a few other fruits whose time 
of ripening suited the situation in w hich I wished to plant. In 
the course of the ensuing winter the young trees were dug up, 
and (their roots having been retrenched) were again planted in 
the same places. This mode of treatment had the desired effect 
