PLANTS continued--FRUITS--ORNAMENTAL TREES--FLOWERS.
FRUITS.
GRAPES.
VARY IN ODD AND TRIFLING PARTICULARS.
MULBERRY.
THE ORANGE GROUP.
SINGULAR RESULTS FROM CROSSING.
PEACH AND NECTARINE.
BUD-VARIATION.
ANALOGOUS VARIATION.
RELATION TO THE ALMOND.
APRICOT.
PLUMS.
VARIATION IN THEIR STONES.
CHERRIES.
SINGULAR VARIETIES OF.
APPLE.
PEAR.
STRAWBERRY.
INTERBLENDING OF THE ORIGINAL FORMS.
GOOSEBERRY.
STEADY INCREASE IN SIZE OF THE FRUIT.
VARIETIES OF.
WALNUT.
NUT.
CUCURBITACEOUS PLANTS.
WONDERFUL VARIATION OF.
ORNAMENTAL TREES.
THEIR VARIATION IN DEGREE AND KIND.
ASH-TREE.
SCOTCH-FIR.
HAWTHORN.
FLOWERS.
MULTIPLE ORIGIN OF MANY KINDS.
VARIATION IN CONSTITUTIONAL PECULIARITIES.
KIND OF VARIATION.
ROSES.
SEVERAL SPECIES CULTIVATED.
PANSY.
DAHLIA.
HYACINTH.
HISTORY AND VARIATION OF.
[THE VINE (Vitis vinifera) (Grapes).
The best authorities consider all our grapes as the descendants of one
species which now grows wild in western Asia, which grew wild during the
Bronze age in Italy (10/1. Heer 'Pflanzen der Pfahlbauten' 1866 s. 28.),
and which has recently been found fossil in a tufaceous deposit in the
south of France. (10/2. Alph. De Candolle 'Geograph. Bot.' page 872; Dr. A.
Targioni-Tozzetti in 'Jour. Hort. Soc.' vol 9 page 133. For the fossil vine
found by Dr. G. Planchon see 'Nat. Hist. Review' 1865 April page 224. See
also the valuable works of M. de Saporta on the 'Tertiary Plants of
France.') Some authors, however, entertain much doubt about the single
parentage of our cultivated varieties, owing to the number of semi-wild
forms found in Southern Europe, especially as described by Clemente (10/3.
Godron 'De l'Espece' tome 2 page 100.) in a forest in Spain; but as the
grape sows itself freely in Southern Europe, and as several of the chief
kinds transmit their characters by seed (10/4. See an account of M.
Vibert's experiments by Alex. Jordan in 'Mem. de l'Acad. de Lyon' tome 2
1852 page 108.), whilst others are extremely variable, the existence of
many different escaped forms could hardly fail to occur in countries where
this plant has been cultivated from the remotest antiquity. That the vine
varies much when propagated by seed, we may infer from the largely
increased number of varieties since the earlier historical records. New
hot-house varieties are produced almost every year; for instance (10/5.
'Gardener's Chronicle' 1864 page 488.) a golden-coloured variety has been
recently raised in England from a black grape without the aid of a cross.
Van Mons (10/6. 'Arbres Fruitiers' 1836 tome 2 page 290.) reared a
multitude of varieties from the seed of one vine, which was completely
separated from all others, so that there could not, at least in this
generation, have been any crossing, and the seedlings presented "les
analogues de toutes les sortes," and differed in almost every possible
character both in the fruits and foliage.
The cultivated varieties are extremely numerous; Count Odart says that he
will not deny that there may exist throughout the world 700 or 800, perhaps
even 1000 varieties, but not a third of these have any value. In the
catalogue of fruit cultivated in the Horticultural Gardens of London,
published in 1842, 99 varieties are enumerated. Wherever the grape is grown
many varieties occur: Pallas describes 24 in the Crimea, and Burnes
mentions 10 in Cabool. The classification of the varieties has much
perplexed writers, and Count Odart is reduced to a geographical system; but
I will not enter on this subject, nor on the many and great differences
between the varieties. I will merely specify a few curious and trifling
peculiarities, all taken from Odart's highly esteemed work (10/7. Odart
'Ampelographie Universelle' 1849.) for the sake of showing the diversified
variability of this plant. Simon has classed grapes into two main
divisions, those with downy leaves, and those with smooth leaves, but he
admits that in one variety, namely the Rebazo, the leaves are either
smooth, or downy; and Odart (page 70) states that some varieties have the
nerves alone, and other varieties their young leaves, downy, whilst the old
ones are smooth. The Pedro-Ximenes grape (Odart page 397) presents a
peculiarity by which it can be at once recognised amongst a host of other
varieties, namely, that when the fruit is nearly ripe the nerves of the
leaves or even the whole surface becomes yellow. The Barbera d'Asti is well
marked by several characters (page 426), amongst others, "by some of the
leaves, and it is always the lowest on the branches, suddenly becoming of a
dark red colour." Several authors in classifying grapes have founded their
main divisions on the berries being either round or oblong; and Odart
admits the value of this character; yet there is one variety, the Maccabeo
(page 71), which often produces small round, and large oblong, berries in
the same bunch. Certain grapes called Nebbiolo (page 429) present a
constant character, sufficient for their recognition, namely, "the slight
adherence of that part of the pulp which surrounds the seeds to the rest of
the berry, when cut through transversely." A Rhenish variety is mentioned
(page 228) which likes a dry soil; the fruit ripens well, but at the moment
of maturity, if much rain falls, the berries are apt to rot; on the other
hand, the fruit of a Swiss variety (page 243) is valued for well sustaining
prolonged humidity. This latter variety sprouts late in the spring, yet
matures its fruit early; other varieties (page 362) have the fault of being
too much excited by the April sun, and in consequence suffer from frost. A
Styrian variety (page 254) has brittle foot-stalks, so that the clusters of
fruit are often blown off; this variety is said to be particularly
attractive to wasps and bees. Other varieties have tough stalks, which
resist the wind. Many other variable characters could be given, but the
foregoing facts are sufficient to show in how many small structural and
constitutional details the vine varies. During the vine disease in France
certain old groups of varieties (10/8. M. Bouchardat in 'Comptes Rendus'
December 1, 1851 quoted in 'Gardener's Chronicle' 1852 page 435. See also
C.V. Riley on the manner in which some few of the varieties of the American
Labruscan Vine escape the attacks of the Phylloxera: 'Fourth Annual Report
on the Insects of Missouri' 1872 page 63 and 'Fifth Report' 1873 page 66.)
have suffered far more from mildew than others. Thus "the group of
Chasselas, so rich in varieties, did not afford a single fortunate
exception;" certain other groups suffered much less; the true old Burgundy,
for instance, was comparatively free from disease, and the Carminat
likewise resisted the attack. The American vines, which belong to a
distinct species, entirely escaped the disease in France; and we thus see
that those European varieties which best resist the disease must have
acquired in a slight degree the same constitutional peculiarities as the
American species.
WHITE MULBERRY (Morus alba).
I mention this plant because it has varied in certain characters, namely,
in the texture and quality of the leaves, fitting them to serve as food for
the domesticated silkworm, in a manner not observed with other plants; but
this has arisen simply from such variations in the mulberry having been
attended to, selected, and rendered more or less constant. M. de
Quatrefages (10/9. 'Etudes sur les Maladies actuelles du Ver a Soie' 1859
page 321.) briefly describes six kinds cultivated in one valley in France:
of these the AMOUROUSO produces excellent leaves, but is rapidly being
abandoned because it produces much fruit mingled with the leaves: the
ANTOFINO yields deeply cut leaves of the finest quality, but not in great
quantity: the CLARO is much sought for because the leaves can be easily
collected: lastly, the ROSO bears strong hardy leaves, produced in large
quantity, but with the one inconvenience, that they are best adapted for
the worms after their fourth moult. MM. Jacquemet-Bonnefont, of Lyon,
however, remark in their catalogue (1862) that two sub-varieties have been
confounded under the name of the roso, one having leaves too thick for the
caterpillars, the other being valuable because the leaves can easily be
gathered from the branches without the bark being torn.
In India the mulberry has also given rise to many varieties. The Indian
form is thought by many botanists to be a distinct species; but as Royle
remarks (10/10. 'Productive Resources of India' page 130.), "so many
varieties have been produced by cultivation that it is difficult to
ascertain whether they all belong to one species;" they are, as he adds,
nearly as numerous as those of the silkworm.
THE ORANGE GROUP.
We here meet with great confusion in the specific distinction and parentage
of the several kinds. Gallesio (10/11. 'Traite du Citrus' 1811. 'Teoria
della Riproduzione Vegetale' 1816. I quote chiefly from this second work.
In 1839 Gallesio published in folio 'Gli Agrumi dei Giard. Bot. di Firenze'
in which he gives a curious diagram of the supposed relationship of all the
forms.), who almost devoted his life-time to the subject, considers that
there are four species, namely, sweet and bitter oranges, lemons, and
citrons, each of which has given rise to whole groups of varieties,
monsters, and supposed hybrids. One high authority (10/12. Mr. Bentham
'Review of Dr. A. Targioni-Tozzetti, Journal of Hort. Soc.' volume 9 page
133.) believes that these four reputed species are all varieties of the
wild Citrus medica, but that the shaddock (Citrus decumana), which is not
known in a wild state, is a distinct species; though its distinctness is
doubted by another writer "of great authority on such matters," namely, Dr.
Buchanan Hamilton. Alph. De Candolle (10/13. 'Geograph. Bot.' page 863.),
on the other hand--and there cannot be a more capable judge--advances what
he considers sufficient evidence of the orange (he doubts whether the
bitter and sweet kinds are specifically distinct), the lemon, and citron,
having been found wild, and consequently that they are distinct. He
mentions two other forms cultivated in Japan and Java, which he ranks
undoubted species; he speaks rather more doubtfully about the shaddock,
which varies much, and has not been found wild; and finally he considers
some forms, such as Adam's apple and the bergamotte, as probably hybrids.
I have briefly abstracted these opinions for the sake of showing those who
have never attended to such subjects, how perplexing they are. It would,
therefore, be useless for my purpose to give a sketch of the conspicuous
differences between the several forms. Besides the ever-recurrent
difficulty of determining whether forms found wild are truly aboriginal or
are escaped seedlings, many of the forms, which must be ranked as
varieties, transmit their characters almost perfectly by seed. Sweet and
bitter oranges differ in no important respect except in the flavour of
their fruit, but Gallesio (10/14. 'Teoria della Riproduzione' pages 52-57.)
is most emphatic that both kinds can be propagated by seed with absolute
certainty. Consequently, in accordance with his simple rule, he classes
them as distinct species; as he does sweet and bitter almonds, the peach
and nectarine, etc. He admits, however, that the soft-shelled pine-tree
produces not only soft-shelled but some hard-shelled seedlings, so that a
little greater force in the power of inheritance would, according to this
rule, raise a soft-shelled pine-tree into the dignity of an aboriginally
created species. The positive assertion made by Macfayden (10/15. Hooker
'Bot. Misc.' volume 1 page 302; volume 2 page 111.) that the pips of sweet
oranges produced in Jamaica, according to the nature of the soil in which
they are sown, either sweet or bitter oranges, is probably an error; for M.
Alph. De Candolle informs me that since the publication of his great work
he has received accounts from Guiana, the Antilles, and Mauritius, that in
these countries sweet oranges faithfully transmit their character. Gallesio
found that the willow-leafed and the Little China oranges reproduced their
proper leaves and fruit; but the seedlings were not quite equal in merit to
their parents. The red-fleshed orange, on the other hand, fails to
reproduce itself. Gallesio also observed that the seeds of several other
singular varieties all reproduced trees having a peculiar physiognomy,
partly resembling their parent-forms. I can adduce another case: the myrtle
leaved orange is ranked by all authors as a variety, but is very distinct
in general aspect: in my father's greenhouse, during many years, it rarely
yielded any fruit, but at last produced one; and a tree thus raised was
identical with the parent-form.
Another and more serious difficulty in determining the rank of the several
forms is that, according to Gallesio (10/16. 'Teoria della Riproduzione'
page 53.) they largely intercross without artificial aid; thus he
positively states that seeds taken from lemon-trees (C. lemonum) growing
mingled with the citron (C. medica), which is generally considered as a
distinct species, produced a graduated series of varieties between these
two forms. Again, an Adam's apple was produced from the seed of a sweet
orange, which grew close to lemons and citrons. But such facts hardly aid
us in determining whether to rank these forms as species or varieties; for
it is now known that undoubted species of Verbascum, Cistus, Primula,
Salix, etc., frequently cross in a state of nature. If indeed it were
proved that plants of the orange tribe raised from these crosses were even
partially sterile, it would be a strong argument in favour of their rank as
species. Gallesio asserts that this is the case; but he does not
distinguish between sterility from hybridism and from the effects of
culture; and he almost destroys the force of this statement by another
(10/17. Gallesio 'Teoria della Riproduzione' page 69.) namely, that when he
impregnated the flowers of the common orange with the pollen taken from
undoubted VARIETIES of the orange, monstrous fruits were produced, which
included "little pulp, and had no seeds, or imperfect seeds."
In this tribe of plants we meet with instances of two highly remarkable
facts in vegetable physiology: Gallesio (10/18. Ibid page 67.) impregnated
an orange with pollen from a lemon, and the fruit borne on the mother tree
had a raised stripe of peel like that of a lemon both in colour and taste,
but the pulp was like that of an orange and included only imperfect seeds.
The possibility of pollen from one variety or species directly affecting
the fruit produced by another variety of species, is a subject which I
shall fully discuss in the following chapter.
The second remarkable fact is, that two supposed hybrids (10/19. Gallesio
'Teoria della Riproduzione' pages 75, 76.) (for their hybrid nature was not
ascertained), between an orange and either a lemon or citron, produced on
the same tree leaves, flowers, and fruit of both pure parent-forms, as well
as of a mixed or crossed nature. A bud taken from any one of the branches
and grafted on another tree produces either one of the pure kinds or a
capricious tree reproducing the three kinds. Whether the sweet lemon, which
includes within the same fruit segments of differently flavoured pulp
(10/20. 'Gardener's Chronicle' 1841 page 613.), is an analogous case, I
know not. But to this subject I shall have to recur.
I will conclude by giving from A. Risso (10/21. 'Annales du Museum' tome 20
page 188.) a short account of a very singular variety of the common orange.
It is the "citrus aurantium fructu variabili," which on the young shoots
produces rounded-oval leaves spotted with yellow, borne on petioles with
heart-shaped wings; when these leaves fall off, they are succeeded by
longer and narrower leaves, with undulated margins, of a pale-green colour
embroidered with yellow, borne on footstalks without wings. The fruit
whilst young is pear-shaped, yellow, longitudinally striated, and sweet;
but as it ripens, it becomes spherical, of a reddish-yellow, and bitter.
PEACH AND NECTARINE (Amygdalus persica).
The best authorities are nearly unanimous that the peach has never been
found wild. It was introduced from Persia into Europe a little before the
Christian era, and at this period few varieties existed. Alph. De Candolle
(10/22. 'Geograph. Bot.' page 882.), from the fact of the peach not having
spread from Persia at an earlier period, and from its not having pure
Sanscrit or Hebrew names, believes that it is not an aboriginal of Western
Asia, but came from the terra incognita of China. The supposition, however,
that the peach is a modified almond which acquired its present character at
a comparatively late period, would, I presume, account for these facts; on
the same principle that the nectarine, the offspring of the peach, has few
native names, and became known in Europe at a still later period.
(FIGURE 42.-PEACH AND ALMOND STONES, of natural size, viewed edgeways. 1.
Common English peach. 2. Double, crimson-flowered, Chinese Peach. 3.
Chinese Honey Peach. 4. English Almond. 5. Barcelona Almond. 6. Malaga
Almond. 7. Soft-shelled French Almond. 8. Smyrna Almond.)
Andrew Knight (10/23. 'Transactions of Hort. Soc.' volume 3 page 1 and
volume 4 page 396 and note to page 370. A coloured drawing is given of this
hybrid.), from finding that a seedling-tree, raised from a sweet almond
fertilised by the pollen of a peach, yielded fruit quite like that of a
peach, suspected that the peach-tree is a modified almond; and in this he
has been followed by various authors. (10/24. 'Gardener's Chronicle' 1856
page 532. A writer, it may be presumed Dr. Lindley, remarks on the perfect
series which may be formed between the almond and the peach. Another high
authority, Mr. Rivers, who has had such wide experience, strongly suspects
('Gardener's Chronicle' 1863 page 27) that peaches, if left to a state of
nature, would in the course of time retrograde into thick-fleshed almonds.)
A first-rate peach, almost globular in shape, formed of soft and sweet
pulp, surrounding a hard, much furrowed, and slightly flattened stone,
certainly differs greatly from an almond, with its soft, slightly furrowed,
much flattened, and elongated stone, protected by a tough, greenish layer
of bitter flesh. Mr. Bentham (10/25. 'Journal of Hort. Soc.' volume 9 page
168.) has particularly called attention to the stone of the almond being so
much more flattened than that of the peach. But in the several varieties of
the almond, the stone differs greatly in the degree to which it is
compressed, in size, shape, strength, and in the depth of the furrows, as
may be seen in figure 42 (Nos. 4 to 8) of such kinds as I have been able to
collect. With peach-stones also (Nos. 1 to 3) the degree of compression and
elongation is seen to vary; so that the stone of the Chinese Honey-peach
(No. 3) is much more elongated and compressed than that of the (No. 8)
Smyrna almond. Mr. Rivers, of Sawbridgeworth, to whom I am indebted for
some of the specimens above figured, and who has had such great
horticultural experience, has called my attention to several varieties
which connect the almond and the peach. In France there is a variety called
the Peach-Almond, which Mr. Rivers formerly cultivated, and which is
correctly described in a French catalogue as being oval and swollen, with
the aspect of a peach, including a hard stone surrounded by a fleshy
covering, which is sometimes eatable. (10/26. Whether this is the same
variety as one lately mentioned ('Gardener's Chronicle' 1865 page 1154) by
M. Carriere under the name of persica intermedia, I know not; this variety
is said to be intermediate in nearly all its characters between the almond
and peach; it produces during successive years very different kinds of
fruit.) A remarkable statement by M. Luizet has recently appeared in the
'Revue Horticole' (10/27. Quoted in 'Gardener's Chronicle' 1866 page 800.),
namely, that a Peach-almond, grafted on a peach, bore, during 1863 and 1864
almonds alone, but in 1865 bore six peaches and no almonds. M. Carriere, in
commenting on this fact, cites the case of a double-flowered almond which,
after producing during several years almonds, suddenly bore for two years
in succession spherical fleshy peach-like fruits, but in 1865 reverted to
its former state and produced large almonds.
Again, as I hear from Mr. Rivers, the double-flowering Chinese peaches
resemble almonds in their manner of growth and in their flowers; the fruit
is much elongated and flattened, with the flesh both bitter and sweet, but
not uneatable, and it is said to be of better quality in China. From this
stage one small step leads us to such inferior peaches as are occasionally
raised from seed. For instance, Mr. Rivers sowed a number of peach-stones
imported from the United States, where they are collected for raising
stocks, and some of the trees raised by him produced peaches which were
very like almonds in appearance, being small and hard, with the pulp not
softening till very late in the autumn. Van Mons (10/28. Quoted in 'Journal
de La Soc. Imp. d'Horticulture' 1855 page 238.) also states that he once
raised from a peach-stone a peach having the aspect of a wild tree, with
fruit like that of the almond. From inferior peaches, such as these just
described, we may pass by small transitions, through clingstones of poor
quality, to our best and most melting kinds. From this gradation, from the
cases of sudden variation above recorded, and from the fact that the peach
has not been found wild, it seems to me by far the most probable view, that
the peach is the descendant of the almond, improved and modified in a
marvellous manner.
One fact, however, is opposed to this conclusion. A hybrid, raised by
Knight from the sweet almond by the pollen of the peach, produced flowers
with little or no pollen, yet bore fruit, having been apparently fertilised
by a neighbouring nectarine. Another hybrid, from a sweet almond by the
pollen of a nectarine, produced during the first three years imperfect
blossoms, but afterwards perfect flowers with an abundance of pollen. If
this slight degree of sterility cannot be accounted for by the youth of the
trees (and this often causes lessened fertility), or by the monstrous state
of the flowers, or by the conditions to which the trees were exposed, these
two cases would afford a good argument against the peach being the
descendant of the almond.
Whether or not the peach has proceeded from the almond, it has certainly
given rise to nectarines, or smooth peaches, as they are called by the
French. Most of the varieties, both of the peach and nectarine, reproduce
themselves truly by seed. Gallesio (10/29. 'Teoria della Riproduzione
Vegetale' 1816 page 86.) says he has verified this with respect to eight
races of the peach. Mr. Rivers (10/30. 'Gardener's Chronicle' 1862 page
1195.) has given some striking instances from his own experience, and it is
notorious that good peaches are constantly raised in North America from
seed. Many of the American sub-varieties come true or nearly true to their
kind, such as the white-blossom, several of the yellow-fruited freestone
peaches, the blood clingstone, the heath, and the lemon clingstone. On the
other hand, a clingstone peach has been known to give rise to a freestone.
(10/31. Mr. Rivers 'Gardener's Chronicle' 1859 page 774.) In England it has
been noticed that seedlings inherit from their parents flowers of the same
size and colour. Some characters, however, contrary to what might have been
expected, often are not inherited; such as the presence and form of the
glands on the leaves. (10/32. Downing 'The Fruits of America' 1845 pages
475, 489, 492, 494, 496. See also F. Michaux 'Travels in N. America'
English translation page 228. For similar cases in France see Godron 'De
l'Espece' tome 2 page 97.) With respect to nectarines, both cling and
freestones are known in North America to reproduce themselves by seed.
(10/33. Brickell 'Nat. Hist. of N. Carolina' page 102 and Downing 'Fruit
Trees' page 505.) In England the new white nectarine was a seedling of the
old white, and Mr. Rivers (10/34. 'Gardener's Chronicle' 1862 page 1196.)
has recorded several similar cases. From this strong tendency to
inheritance, which both peach and nectarine trees exhibit,--from certain
slight constitutional differences (10/35. The peach and nectarine do not
succeed equally well in the some soil: see Lindley 'Horticulture' page
351.) in their nature,--and from the great difference in their fruit both
in appearance and flavour, it is not surprising, notwithstanding that the
trees differ in no other respects and cannot even be distinguished, as I am
informed by Mr. Rivers, whilst young, that they have been ranked by some
authors as specifically distinct. Gallesio does not doubt that they are
distinct; even Alph. De Candolle does not appear perfectly assured of their
specific identity: and an eminent botanist has quite recently (10/36.
Godron 'De l'Espece' tome 2 1859 page 97.) maintained that the nectarine
"probably constitutes a distinct species."
Hence it may be worth while to give all the evidence on the origin of the
nectarine. The facts in themselves are curious, and will hereafter have to
be referred to when the important subject of bud-variation is discussed. It
is asserted (10/37. 'Transact. Hort. Soc.' volume 6 page 394.) that the
Boston nectarine was produced from a peach-stone, and this nectarine
reproduced itself by seed. (10/38. Downing's 'Fruit Trees' page 502.) Mr.
Rivers states (10/39. 'Gardener's Chronicle' 1862 page 1195.) that from
stones of three distinct varieties of the peach he raised three varieties
of nectarine; and in one of these cases no nectarine grew near the parent
peach-tree. In another instance Mr. Rivers raised a nectarine from a peach,
and in the succeeding generation another nectarine from this nectarine.
(10/40. 'Journal of Horticulture' February 5, 1866 page 102.) Other such
instances have been communicated to me, but they need not be given. Of the
converse case, namely, of nectarine-stones yielding peach-trees (both free
and clingstones), we have six undoubted instances recorded by Mr. Rivers;
and in two of these instances the parent nectarines had been seedlings from
other nectarines. (10/41. Mr. Rivers in 'Gardener's 'Chronicle' 1859 page
774, 1862 page 1195; 1865 page 1059; and 'Journal of Hort.' 1866 page 102.)
With respect to the more curious case of full-grown peach-trees suddenly
producing nectarines by bud-variation (or sports as they are called by
gardeners), the evidence is superabundant; there is also good evidence of
the same tree producing both peaches and nectarines, or half-and-half
fruit; by this term I mean a fruit with the one-half a perfect peach, and
the other half a perfect nectarine.
Peter Collinson in 1741 recorded the first case of a peach-tree producing a
nectarine (10/42. 'Correspondence of Linnaeus' 1821 pages 7, 8, 70.) and in
1766 he added two other instances. In the same work, the editor, Sir J.E.
Smith, describes the more remarkable case of a tree in Norfolk which
usually bore both perfect nectarines and perfect peaches; but during two
seasons some of the fruit were half and half in nature.
Mr. Salisbury in 1808 (10/43. 'Transact. Hort. Soc.' volume 1 page 103.)
records six other cases of peach-trees producing nectarines. Three of the
varieties are named; viz., the Alberge, Belle Chevreuse, and Royal George.
This latter tree seldom failed to produce both kinds of fruit. He gives
another case of a half-and-half fruit.
At Radford in Devonshire (10/44. Loudon's 'Gardener's Mag.' 1826 volume 1.
page 471.) a clingstone peach, purchased as the Chancellor, was planted in
1815, and in 1824, after having previously produced peaches alone, bore on
one branch twelve nectarines; in 1825 the same branch yielded twenty-six
nectarines, and in 1826 thirty-six nectarines, together with eighteen
peaches. One of the peaches was almost as smooth on one side as a
nectarine. The nectarines were as dark as, but smaller than, the Elruge.
At Beccles a Royal George peach (10/45. Loudon's 'Gardener's Mag.' 1828
page 53.) produced a fruit, "three parts of it being peach and one part
nectarine, quite distinct in appearance as well as in flavour." The lines
of division were longitudinal, as represented in the woodcut. A nectarine-
tree grew five yards from this tree.
Professor Chapman states (10/46. Ibid 1830 page 597.) that he has often
seen in Virginia very old peach-trees bearing nectarines.
A writer in the 'Gardener's Chronicle' says that a peach tree planted
fifteen years previously (10/47. 'Gardener's Chronicle' 1841 page 617.)
produced this year a nectarine between two peaches; a nectarine-tree grew
close by.
In 1844 (10/48. 'Gardener's Chronicle' 1844 page 589.) a Vanguard peach-
tree produced, in the midst of its ordinary fruit, a single red Roman
nectarine.
Mr. Calver is stated (10/49. 'Phytologist' volume 4 page 299.) to have
raised in the United States a seedling peach which produced a mixed crop of
both peaches and nectarines.
Near Dorking (10/50. 'Gardener's Chronicle' 1856 page 531.) a branch of the
Teton de Venus peach, which reproduces itself truly by seed (10/51. Godron,
'De l'Espece' tome 2 page 97.), bore its own fruit "so remarkable for its
prominent point, and a nectarine rather smaller but well formed and quite
round."
The previous cases all refer to peaches suddenly producing nectarines, but
at Carclew (10/52. 'Gardener's Chronicle' 1856 page 531.) the unique case
occurred, of a nectarine-tree, raised twenty years before from seed and
never grafted, producing a fruit half peach and half nectarine;
subsequently bore a perfect peach.
To sum up the foregoing facts; we have excellent evidence of peach-stones
producing nectarine-trees, and of nectarine-stones producing peach-trees,--
of the same tree bearing peaches and nectarines,--of peach-trees suddenly
producing by bud-variation nectarines (such nectarines reproducing
nectarines by seed), as well as fruit in part nectarine and in part peach,-
-and, lastly, of one nectarine-tree first bearing half-and-half fruit, and
subsequently true peaches. As the peach came into existence before the
nectarine, it might have been expected from the law of reversion that
nectarines would have given birth by bud-variation or by seed to peaches,
oftener than peaches to nectarines; but this is by no means the case.
Two explanations have been suggested to account for these conversions.
First, that the parent trees have been in every case hybrids (10/53. Alph.
De Candolle 'Geograph. Bot.' page 886.) between the peach and nectarine,
and have reverted by bud-variation or by seed to one of their pure parent
forms. This view in itself is not very improbable; for the Mountaineer
peach, which was raised by Knight from the red nutmeg-peach by pollen of
the violette hative nectarine (10/54. Thompson in Loudon's 'Encyclop. of
Gardening' page 911.), produces peaches, but these are said SOMETIMES to
partake of the smoothness and flavour of the nectarine. But let it be
observed that in the previous list no less than six well-known varieties
and several unnamed varieties of the peach have once suddenly produced
perfect nectarines by bud variation: and it would be an extremely rash
supposition that all these varieties of the peach, which have been
cultivated for years in many districts, and which show not a vestige of a
mixed parentage, are, nevertheless, hybrids. A second explanation is, that
the fruit of the peach has been directly affected by the pollen of the
nectarine: although this certainly is possible, it cannot here apply; for
we have not a shadow of evidence that a branch which has borne fruit
directly affected by foreign pollen is so profoundly modified as afterwards
to produce buds which continue to yield fruit of the new and modified form.
Now it is known that when a bud on a peach-tree has once borne a nectarine
the same branch has in several instances gone on during successive years
producing nectarines. The Carclew nectarine, on the other hand, first
produced half-and-half fruit, and subsequently pure peaches. Hence we may
confidently accept the common view that the nectarine is a variety of the
peach, which may be produced either by bud-variation or from seed. In the
following chapter many analogous cases of bud-variation will he given.
The varieties of the peach and the nectarine run in parallel lines. In both
classes the kinds differ from each other in the flesh of the fruit being
white, red, or yellow; in being clingstones or freestones; in the flowers
being large or small, with certain other characteristic differences; and in
the leaves being serrated without glands, or crenated and furnished with
globose or reniform glands. (10/55. 'Catalogue of Fruit in Garden of Hort.
Soc.' 1842 page 105.) We can hardly account for this parallelism by
supposing that each variety of the nectarine is descended from a
corresponding variety of the peach; for though our nectarines are certainly
the descendants of several kinds of peaches, yet a large number are the
descendants of other nectarines, and they vary so much when thus reproduced
that we can scarcely admit the above explanation.
The varieties of the peach have largely increased in number since the
Christian era, when from two to five varieties were known (10/56. Dr. A.
Targioni-Tozzetti 'Journal Hort. Soc.' volume 9 page 167. Alph. de Candolle
'Geograph. Bot.' page 885.) and the nectarine was unknown. At the present
time, besides many varieties said to exist in China, Downing describes, in
the United States, seventy-nine native and imported varieties of the peach;
and a few years ago Lindley (10/57. 'Transact. Hort. Soc.' volume 5 page
554. See also Carriere 'Description et Class. des Varietes de Pechers.')
enumerated one hundred and sixty-four varieties of the peach and nectarine
grown in England. I have already indicated the chief points of difference
between the several varieties. Nectarines, even when produced from distinct
kinds of peaches, always possess their own peculiar flavour, and are smooth
and small. Clingstone and freestone peaches, which differ in the ripe flesh
either firmly adhering to the stone, or easily separating from it, also
differ in the character of the stone itself; that of the freestones or
melters being more deeply fissured, with the sides of the fissures smoother
than in clingstones. In the various kinds the flowers differ not only in
size, but in the larger flowers the petals are differently shaped, more
imbricated, generally red in the centre and pale towards the margin:
whereas in the smaller flowers the margin of the petal is usually more
darkly coloured. One variety has nearly white flowers. The leaves are more
or less serrated, and are either destitute of glands, or have globose or
reniform glands (10/58. Loudon's 'Encyclop. of Gardening' page 907.) and
some few peaches, such as the Brugnen, bear on the same tree both globular
and kidney-shaped glands. (10/59. M. Carriere in 'Gardener's Chronicle'
1865 page 1154.) According to Robertson (10/60. 'Transact. Hort. Soc.'
volume 3 page 332. See also 'Gardener's Chronicle' 1865 page 271 to same
effect. Also 'Journal of Horticulture' September 26, 1865 page 254.) the
trees with glandular leaves are liable to blister, but not in any great
degree to mildew; whilst the non-glandular trees are more subject to curl,
to mildew, and to the attacks of aphides. The varieties differ in the
period of their maturity, in the fruit keeping well, and in hardiness,--the
latter circumstance being especially attended to in the United States.
Certain varieties, such as the Bellegarde, stand forcing in hot-houses
better than other varieties. The flat-peach of China is the most remarkable
of all the varieties; it is so much depressed towards the summit, that the
stone is here covered only by roughened skin and not by a fleshy layer.
(10/61. 'Transact. Hort. Soc.' volume 4 page 512.) Another Chinese variety,
called the Honey-peach, is remarkable from the fruit terminating in a long
sharp point; its leaves are glandless and widely dentate. (10/62. 'Journal
of Horticulture' September 8, 1853 page 188.) The Emperor of Russia peach
is a third singular variety, having deeply double-serrated leaves; the
fruit is deeply cleft with one-half projecting considerably beyond the
other: it originated in America, and its seedlings inherit similar leaves.
(10/63. 'Transact. Hort. Soc.' volume 6 page 412.)
The peach has also produced in China a small class of trees valued for
ornament, namely the double-flowered; of these, five varieties are now
known in England, varying from pure white, through rose, to intense
crimson. (10/64. 'Gardener's Chronicle' 1857 page 216.) One of these
varieties, called the camellia-flowered, bears flowers above 2 1/4 inches
in diameter, whilst those of the fruit-bearing kinds do not at most exceed
1 1/4 inch in diameter. The flowers of the double-flowered peaches have the
singular property (10/65. 'Journal of Hort. Soc.' volume 2 page 283.) of
frequently producing double or treble fruit. Finally, there is good reason
to believe that the peach is an almond profoundly modified; but whatever
its origin may have been, there can be no doubt that it has yielded during
the last eighteen centuries many varieties, some of them strongly
characterised, belonging both to the nectarine and peach form.
APRICOT (Prunus armeniaca).
It is commonly admitted that this tree is descended from a single species,
now found wild in the Caucasian region. (10/66. Alph. de Candolle
'Geograph. Bot.' page 879.) On this view the varieties deserve notice,
because they illustrate differences supposed by some botanists to be of
specific value in the almond and plum. The best monograph on the apricot is
by Mr. Thompson (10/67. 'Transact. Hort. Soc.' 2nd series volume 1 1835
page 56. See also 'Cat. of Fruit in Garden of Hort. Soc.' 3rd edition
1842.) who describes seventeen varieties. We have seen that peaches and
nectarines vary in a strictly parallel manner; and in the apricot, which
forms a closely allied genus, we again meet with variations analogous to
those of the peach, as well as to those of the plum. The varieties differ
considerably in the shape of their leaves, which are either serrated or
crenated, sometimes with ear-like appendages at their bases, and sometimes
with glands on the petioles. The flowers are generally alike, but are small
in the Masculine. The fruit varies much in size, shape, and in having the
suture little pronounced or absent; in the skin being smooth, or downy, as
in the orange-apricot; and in the flesh clinging to the stone, as in the
last-mentioned kind, or in readily separating from it, as in the Turkey-
apricot. In all these differences we see the closest analogy with the
varieties of the peach and nectarine. In the stone we have more important
differences, and these in the case of the plum have been esteemed of
specific value: in some apricots the stone is almost spherical, in others
much flattened, being either sharp in front or blunt at both ends,
sometimes channelled along the back, or with a sharp ridge along both
margins. In the Moorpark, and generally in the Hemskirke, the stone
presents a singular character in being perforated, with a bundle of fibres
passing through the perforation from end to end. The most constant and
important character, according to Thompson, is whether the kernel is bitter
or sweet: yet in this respect we have a graduated difference, for the
kernel is very bitter in Shipley's apricot; in the Hemskirke less bitter
than in some other kinds; slightly bitter in the Royal; and "sweet like a
hazel-nut" in the Breda, Angoumois, and others. In the case of the almond,
bitterness has been thought by some high authorities to indicate specific
difference.
In N. America the Roman apricot endures "cold and unfavourable situations,
where no other sort, except the Masculine, will succeed; and its blossoms
bear quite a severe frost without injury." (10/68. Downing 'The Fruits of
America' 1845 page 157: with respect to the Alberge apricot in France see
page 153.) According to Mr. Rivers (10/69. 'Gardener's Chronicle' 1863 page
364.), seedling apricots deviate but little from the character of their
race: in France the Alberge is constantly reproduced from seed with but
little variation. In Ladakh, according to Moorcroft (10/70. 'Travels in the
Himalayan Provinces' volume 1 1841 page 295.) ten varieties of the apricot,
very different from each other, are cultivated, and all are raised from
seed, excepting one, which is budded.
PLUMS (Prunus insititia).
(FIGURE 43. PLUM STONES, of natural size, viewed laterally. 1. Bullace
Plum. 2. Shropshire Damson. 3. Blue Gage. 4. Orleans. 5. Elvas. 6. Denyers
Victoria. 7. Diamond.)
Formerly the sloe, P. spinosa, was thought to be the parent of all our
plums; but now this honour is very commonly accorded to P. insititia or the
bullace, which is found wild in the Caucasus and N.-Western India, and is
naturalised in England. (10/71. See an excellent discussion on this subject
in Hewett C. Watson 'Cybele Britannica' volume 4 page 80.) It is not at all
improbable, in accordance with some observations made by Mr. Rivers (10/72.
'Gardener's Chronicle' 1865 page 27.), that both these forms, which some
botanists rank as a single species, may be the parents of our domesticated
plums. Another supposed parent-form, the P. domestica, is said to be found
wild in the region of the Caucasus. Godron remarks (10/73. 'De l'Espece'
tome 2 page 94. On the parentage of our plums see also Alph. De Candolle
'Geograph. Bot.' page 878. Also Targioni-Tozzetti 'Journal Hort. Soc.'
volume 9 page 164. Also Babington 'Manual of Brit. Botany' 1851 page 87.)
that the cultivated varieties may be divided into two main groups, which he
supposes to be descended from two aboriginal stocks; namely, those with
oblong fruit and stones pointed at both ends, having narrow separate petals
and upright branches; and those with rounded fruit, with stones blunt at
both ends, with rounded petals and spreading branches. From what we know of
the variability of the flowers in the peach and of the diversified manner
of growth in our various fruit-trees, it is difficult to lay much weight on
these latter characters. With respect to the shape of the fruit, we have
conclusive evidence that it is extremely variable: Downing (10/74. 'Fruits
of America' pages 276, 278, 284, 310, 314. Mr. Rivers raised ('Gardener's
Chronicle' 1863 page 27) from the Prune-peche, which bears large, round,
red plums on stout, robust shoots, a seedling which bears oval, smaller
fruit on shoots that are so slender as to be almost pendulous.) gives
outlines of the plums of two seedlings, namely, the red and imperial gages,
raised from the greengage; and the fruit of both is more elongated than
that of the greengage. The latter has a very blunt broad stone, whereas the
stone of the imperial gage is "oval and pointed at both ends." These trees
also differ in their manner of growth: "the greengage is a very short-
jointed, slow-growing tree, of spreading and rather dwarfish habit;" whilst
its offspring, the imperial gage, "grows freely and rises rapidly, and has
long dark shoots." The famous Washington plum bears a globular fruit, but
its offspring, the emerald drop, is nearly as much elongated as the most
elongated plum figured by Downing, namely, Manning's prune. I have made a
small collection of the stones of twenty-five kinds, and they graduate in
shape from the bluntest into the sharpest kinds. As characters derived from
seeds are generally of high systematic importance, I have thought it worth
while to give drawings of the most distinct kinds in my small collection;
and they may be seen to differ in a surprising manner in size, outline,
thickness, prominence of the ridges, and state of surface. It deserves
notice that the shape of the stone is not always strictly correlated with
that of the fruit: thus the Washington plum is spherical and depressed at
the pole, with a somewhat elongated stone, whilst the fruit of the Goliath
is more elongated, but the stone less so, than in the Washington. Again,
Denyer's Victoria and Goliath bear fruit closely resembling each other, but
their stones are widely different. On the other hand, the Harvest and Black
Margate plums are very dissimilar, yet include closely similar stones.
The varieties of the plum are numerous, and differ greatly in size, shape,
quality, and colour,--being bright yellow, green, almost white, blue,
purple, or red. There are some curious varieties, such as the double or
Siamese, and the Stoneless plum: in the latter the kernel lies in a roomy
cavity surrounded only by the pulp. The climate of North America appears to
be singularly favourable for the production of new and good varieties;
Downing describes no less than forty, of which seven of first-rate quality
have been recently introduced into England. (10/75. 'Gardener's Chronicle'
1855 page 726.) Varieties occasionally arise having an innate adaptation
for certain soils, almost as strongly pronounced as with natural species
growing on the most distinct geological formations; thus in America the
imperial gage, differently from almost all other kinds, "is peculiarly
fitted for DRY LIGHT soils where many sorts drop their fruit," whereas on
rich heavy soils the fruit is often insipid. (10/76. Downing 'Fruit Trees'
page 278.) My father could never succeed in making the Wine-Sour yield even
a moderate crop in a sandy orchard near Shrewsbury, whilst in some parts of
the same county and in its native Yorkshire it bears abundantly: one of my
relations also repeatedly tried in vain to grow this variety in a sandy
district in Staffordshire.
Mr. Rivers has given (10/77. 'Gardener's Chronicle' 1863 page 27. Sageret
in his 'Pomologie Phys.' page 346 enumerates five kinds which can be
propagated in France by seed: see also Downing 'Fruit Trees of America'
page 305, 312, etc.) a number of interesting facts, showing how truly many
varieties can be propagated by seed. He sowed the stones of twenty bushels
of the greengage for the sake of raising stocks, and closely observed the
seedlings; all had the smooth shoots, the prominent buds, and the glossy
leaves of the greengage, but the greater number had smaller leaves and
thorns." There are two kinds of damson, one the Shropshire with downy
shoots, and the other the Kentish with smooth shoots, and these differ but
slightly in any other respect: Mr. Rivers sowed some bushels of the Kentish
damson, and all the seedlings had smooth shoots, but in some the fruit was
oval, in others round or roundish, and in a few the fruit was small, and,
except in being sweet, closely resembled that of the wild sloe. Mr. Rivers
gives several other striking instances of inheritance: thus, he raised
eighty thousand seedlings from the common German Quetsche plum, and "not
one could be found varying in the least, in foliage or habit." Similar
facts were observed with the Petite Mirabelle plum, yet this latter kind
(as well as the Quetsche) is known to have yielded some well-established
varieties; but, as Mr. Rivers remarks, they all belong to the same group
with the Mirabelle.
CHERRIES (Prunus cerasus, avium, etc.).
Botanists believe that our cultivated cherries are descended from one, two,
four, or even more wild stocks. (10/78. Compare Alph. De Candolle
'Geograph. Bot.' page 877. Bentham and Targioni-Tozzetti in 'Hort. Journal'
volume 9 page 163; Godron 'De l'Espece' tome 2 page 92.) That there must be
at least two parent species we may infer from the sterility of twenty
hybrids raised by Mr. Knight from the morello fertilised by pollen of the
Elton cherry; for these hybrids produced in all only five cherries, and one
alone of these contained a seed. (10/79. 'Transact. Hort. Soc.' volume 5
1824 page 295.) Mr. Thompson (10/80. Ibid second series volume 1 1835 page
248.) has classified the varieties in an apparently natural method in two
main groups by characters taken from the flowers, fruit, and leaves; but
some varieties which stand widely separate in this classification are quite
fertile when crossed; thus Knight's Early Black cherries are the product of
a cross between two such kinds.
Mr. Knight states that seedling cherries are more variable than those of
any other fruit-tree. (10/81. ) In the Catalogue of the Horticultural
Society for 1842 eighty varieties are enumerated. Some varieties present
singular characters: thus, the flower of the Cluster cherry includes as
many as twelve pistils, of which the majority abort; and they are said
generally to produce from two to five or six cherries aggregated together
and borne on a single peduncle. In the Ratafia cherry several flower-
peduncles arise from a common peduncle, upwards of an inch in length. The
fruit of Gascoigne's Heart has its apex produced into a globule or drop;
that of the white Hungarian Gean has almost transparent flesh. The Flemish
cherry is "a very odd-looking fruit," much flattened at the summit and
base, with the latter deeply furrowed, and borne on a stout, very short
footstalk. In the Kentish cherry the stone adheres so firmly to the
footstalk, that it could be drawn out of the flesh; and this renders the
fruit well fitted for drying. The Tobacco-leaved cherry, according to
Sageret and Thompson, produces gigantic leaves, more than a foot and
sometimes even eighteen inches in length, and half a foot in breadth. The
weeping cherry, on the other hand, is valuable only as an ornament, and,
according to Downing, is "a charming little tree, with slender, weeping
branches, clothed with small, almost myrtle-like foliage." There is also a
peach-leaved variety.
Sageret describes a remarkable variety, LE GRIOTTIER DE LA TOUSSAINT, which
bears at the same time, even as late as September, flowers and fruit of all
degrees of maturity. The fruit, which is of inferior quality, is borne on
long, very thin footstalks. But the extraordinary statement is made that
all the leaf-bearing shoots spring from old flower-buds. Lastly, there is
an important physiological distinction between those kinds of cherries
which bear fruit on young or on old wood; but Sageret positively asserts
that a Bigarreau in his garden bore fruit on wood of both ages. (10/82.
These several statements are taken from the four following works, which
may, I believe, be trusted: Thompson in 'Hort. Transact.' see above;
Sageret 'Pomologie Phys.' 1830 pages 358, 364, 367, 379; 'Catalogue of the
Fruit in the Garden of Hort. Soc.' 1842 pages 57, 60; Downing 'The Fruits
of America' 1845 pages 189, 195, 200.)
APPLE (Pyrus malus).
The one source of doubt felt by botanists with respect to the parentage of
the apple is whether, besides P. malus, two or three other closely allied
wild forms, namely, P. acerba and praecox or paradisiaca, do not deserve to
be ranked as distinct species. The P. praecox is supposed by some authors
(10/83. Mr. Lowe states in his 'Flora of Madeira' quoted in 'Gardener's
Chronicle' 1862 page 215 that the P. malus, with its nearly sessile fruit,
ranges farther south than the long-stalked P. acerba, which is entirely
absent in Madeira, the Canaries, and apparently in Portugal. This fact
supports the belief that these two forms deserve to be called species. But
the characters separating them are of slight importance, and of a kind
known to vary in other cultivated fruit-trees.) to be the parent of the
dwarf paradise stock, which, owing to the fibrous roots not penetrating
deeply into the ground, is so largely used for grafting; but the paradise
stocks, it is asserted (10/84. See 'Journ. of Hort. Tour, by Deputation of
the Caledonian Hort. Soc.' 1823 page 459.) cannot be propagated true by
seed. The common wild crab varies considerably in England; but many of the
varieties are believed to be escaped seedlings. (10/85. H.C. Watson 'Cybele
Britannica' volume 1 page 334.) Every one knows the great difference in the
manner of growth, in the foliage, flowers, and especially in the fruit,
between the almost innumerable varieties of the apple. The pips or seeds
(as I know by comparison) likewise differ considerably in shape, size, and
colour. The fruit is adapted for eating or for cooking in various ways, and
keeps for only a few weeks or for nearly two years. Some few kinds have the
fruit covered with a powdery secretion, called bloom, like that on plums;
and "it is extremely remarkable that this occurs almost exclusively among
varieties cultivated in Russia." (10/86. Loudon's 'Gardener's Mag.' volume
6 1830 page 83.) Another Russian apple, the white Astracan, possesses the
singular property of becoming transparent, when ripe, like some sorts of
crabs. The API ETOILE has five prominent ridges, hence its name; the API
NOIR is nearly black: the TWIN CLUSTER PIPPIN often bears fruit joined in
pairs. (10/87. See 'Catalogue of Fruit in Garden of Hort. Soc.' 1842 and
Downing 'American Fruit Trees.') The trees of the several sorts differ
greatly in their periods of leafing and flowering; in my orchard the COURT
PENDU PLAT produces leaves so late, that during several springs I thought
that it was dead. The Tiffin apple scarcely bears a leaf when in full
bloom; the Cornish crab, on the other hand, bears so many leaves at this
period that the flowers can hardly be seen. (10/88. Loudon's Gardener's
Magazine' volume 4 1828 page 112.) In some kinds the fruit ripens in mid-
summer; in others, late in the autumn. These several differences in
leafing, flowering, and fruiting, are not at all necessarily correlated;
for, as Andrew Knight has remarked (10/89. 'The Culture of the Apple' page
43. Van Mons makes the same remark on the pear 'Arbres Fruitiers' tome 2
1836 page 414.), no one can judge from the early flowering of a new
seedling, or from the early shedding or change of colour of the leaves,
whether it will mature its fruit early in the season.
The varieties differ greatly in constitution. It is notorious that our
summers are not hot enough for the Newtown Pippin (10/90. Lindley's
'Horticulture' page 116. See also Knight on the Apple-Tree, in 'Transact.
of Hort. Soc.' volume 6 page 229.), which is the glory of the orchards near
New York; and so it is with several varieties which we have imported from
the Continent. On the other hand, our Court of Wick succeeds well under the
severe climate of Canada. The Caville rouge de Micoud occasionally bears
two crops during the same year. The Burr Knot is covered with small
excrescences, which emit roots so readily that a branch with blossom-buds
may be stuck in the ground, and will root and bear a few fruit even during
the first year. (10/91. Transact. Hort. Soc.' volume 1 1812 page 120.) Mr.
Rivers has recently described (10/92. 'Journal of Horticulture' March 13,
1866 page 194.) some seedlings valuable from their roots running near the
surface. One of these seedlings was remarkable from its extremely dwarfed
size, "forming itself into a bush only a few inches in height." Many
varieties are particularly liable to canker in certain soils. But perhaps
the strangest constitutional peculiarity is that the Winter Majetin is not
attacked by the mealy bug or coccus; Lindley (10/93. 'Transact. Hort. Soc.'
volume 4 page 68. For Knight's case see volume 6 page 547. When the coccus
first appeared in this country it is said (volume 2 page 163) that it was
more injurious to crab-stocks than to the apples grafted on them. The
Majetin apple has been found equally free of the coccus at Melbourne in
Australia ('Gardener's Chronicle' 1871 page 1065). The wood of this tree
has been there analysed, and it is said (but the fact seems a strange one)
that its ash contained over 50 per cent of lime, while that of the crab
exhibited not quite 23 per cent. In Tasmania Mr. Wade ('Transact. New
Zealand Institute' volume 4 1871 page 431) raised seedlings of the Siberian
Bitter Sweet for stocks, and he found barely one per cent of them attacked
by the coccus. Riley shows ('Fifth Report on Insects of Missouri' 1873 page
87) that in the United States some varieties of apples are highly
attractive to the coccus and others very little so. Turning to a very
different pest, namely, the caterpillar of a moth (Carpocapsa pomonella),
Walsh affirms ('The American Entomologist' April 1869 page 160) that the
maiden-blush "is entirely exempt from apple-worms." So, it is said, are
some few other varieties; whereas others are "peculiarly subject to the
attacks of this little pest.") states that in an orchard in Norfolk
infested with these insects the Majetin was quite free, though the stock on
which it was grafted was affected: Knight makes a similar statement with
respect to a cider apple, and adds that he only once saw these insects just
above the stock, but that three days afterwards they entirely disappeared;
this apple, however, was raised from a cross between the Golden Harvey and
the Siberian Crab; and the latter, I believe, is considered by some authors
as specifically distinct.
The famous St. Valery apple must not be passed over; the flower has a
double calyx with ten divisions, and fourteen styles surmounted by
conspicuous oblique stigmas, but is destitute of stamens or corolla. The
fruit is constricted round the middle, and is formed of five seed-cells,
surmounted by nine other cells. (10/94. 'Mem. de La Soc. Linn. de Paris'
tome 3 1825 page 164; and Seringe 'Bulletin Bot.' 1830 page 117.) Not being
provided with stamens, the tree requires artificial fertilisation; and the
girls of St. Valery annually go to "faire ses pommes," each marking her own
fruit with a ribbon; and as different pollen is used the fruit differs, and
we here have an instance of the direct action of foreign pollen on the
mother plant. These monstrous apples include, as we have seen, fourteen
seed-cells; the pigeon-apple (10/95. Gardener's Chronicle' 1849 page 24.)
on the other hand, has only four, instead of, as with all common apples,
five cells; and this certainly is a remarkable difference.
In the catalogue of apples published in 1842 by the Horticultural Society,
897 varieties are enumerated; but the differences between most of them are
of comparatively little interest, as they are not strictly inherited. No
one can raise, for instance, from the seed of the Ribston Pippin, a tree of
the same kind; and it is said that the "Sister Ribston Pippin" was a white
semi-transparent, sour-fleshed apple, or rather large crab. (10/96. R.
Thompson, in 'Gardener's Chronicle' 1850 page 788.) Yet it was a mistake to
suppose that with most varieties the characters are not to a certain extent
inherited. In two lots of seedlings raised from two well-marked kinds, many
worthless crab-like seedlings will appear, but it is now known that the two
lots not only usually differ from each other, but resemble to a certain
extent their parents. We see this indeed in the several sub-groups of
Russetts, Sweetings, Codlins, Pearmains, Reinettes, etc. (10/97. Sageret
'Pomologie Physiologique' 1830 page 263. Downing 'Fruit Trees' pages 130,
134, 139, etc. Loudon's 'Gardener's Mag.' volume 8 p. 317. Alexis Jordan
'De l'Origine des diverses Varietes' in 'Mem. de l'Acad. Imp. de Lyon' tome
2 1852 pages 95, 114. 'Gardener's Chronicle' 1850 pages 774, 788.), which
are all believed, and many are known, to be descended from other varieties
bearing the same names.
PEARS (Pyrus communis).
I need say little on this fruit, which varies much in the wild state, and
to an extraordinary degree when cultivated, in its fruit, flowers, and
foliage. One of the most celebrated botanists in Europe, M. Decaisne, has
carefully studied the many varieties (10/98. 'Comptes Rendus' July 6,
1863.); although he formerly believed that they were derived from more than
one species, he now thinks that all belong to one. He has arrived at this
conclusion from finding in the several varieties a perfect gradation
between the most extreme characters; so perfect is this gradation that he
maintains it to be impossible to classify the varieties by any natural
method. M. Decaisne raised many seedlings from four distinct kinds, and has
carefully recorded the variations in each. Notwithstanding this extreme
degree of variability, it is now positively known that many kinds reproduce
by seed the leading characters of their race. (10/99. 'Gardener's
Chronicle' 1856 page 804; 1857 page 820; 1862 page 1195.)
STRAWBERRIES (Fragaria).
This fruit is remarkable on account of the number of species which have
been cultivated, and from their rapid improvement within the last fifty or
sixty years. Let any one compare the fruit of one of the largest varieties
exhibited at our Shows with that of the wild wood strawberry, or, which
will be a fairer comparison, with the somewhat larger fruit of the wild
American Virginian Strawberry, and he will see what prodigies horticulture
has effected. (10/100. Most of the largest cultivated strawberries are the
descendants of F. grandiflora or chiloensis, and I have seen no account of
these forms in their wild state. Methuen's Scarlet (Downing 'Fruits' page
527) has "immense fruit of the largest size," and belongs to the section
descended from F. virginiana; and the fruit of this species, as I hear from
Prof. A. Gray, is only a little larger than that of F. vesca, or our common
wood-strawberry.) The number of varieties has likewise increased in a
surprisingly rapid manner. Only three kinds were known in France, in 1746,
where this fruit was early cultivated. In 1766 five species had been
introduced, the same which are now cultivated, but only five varieties of
Fragaria vesca, with some sub-varieties, had been produced. At the present
day the varieties of the several species are almost innumerable. The
species consist of, firstly, the wood or Alpine cultivated strawberries,
descended from F. vesca, a native of Europe and of North America. There are
eight wild European varieties, as ranked by Duchesne, of F. vesca, but
several of these are considered species by some botanists. Secondly, the
green strawberries, descended from the European F. collina, and little
cultivated in England. Thirdly, the Hautbois, from the European F. elatior.
Fourthly, the Scarlets, descended from F. virginiana, a native of the whole
breadth of North America. Fifthly, the Chili, descended from F. chiloensis,
an inhabitant of the west coast of the temperate parts both of North and
South America. Lastly, the pines or Carolinas (including the old Blacks),
which have been ranked by most authors under the name of F. grandiflora as
a distinct species, said to inhabit Surinam; but this is a manifest error.
This form is considered by the highest authority, M. Gay, to be merely a
strongly marked race of F. chiloensis. (10/101. 'Le Fraisier' par le Comte
L. de Lambertye 1864 page 50.) These five or six forms have been ranked by
most botanists as specifically distinct; but this may be doubted, for
Andrew Knight (10/102. 'Transact. Hort. Soc.' volume 3 1820 page 207.) who
raised no less than 400 crossed strawberries, asserts that the F.
virginiana, chiloensis and grandiflora "may be made to breed together
indiscriminately," and he found, in accordance with the principle of
analogous variation, "that similar varieties could be obtained from the
seeds of any one of them."