The daily gazette. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1874-1883, 1879-08-23
SECOND EDITION
Tne Limlt Of I,n D rov . me mt .

The Limit Of Ian pFOvehncmt.
Those who are fond of science and
believe especially that one species Is
formed from or grown out OF another,
of en- refer to farm or garden experience
TO show how things change in the course
of time. thus Mr.. Darwin takes lot
Of pigeons, refers to the fact that ,nere
was once but the one uniform villa kihd,
aud then points to the many breeds we
have, aud triumphsntly conc udes Ina.
If we were ~ find these very diherent
kinds wild we should regard them as
speci g, Just as surely as we regard the
original a species from which they al
spranp, This seems strong point, ana
is satisfactory to a good many STRONG
men.
but when we review the history OF
our fruits and vegetables, 1t is not clear
that mach can be made from these Oar
vinian views. The true species seelas
10 90 right along, and when the paleon-
tol0pist looks into the rocks, and exam
ines the remains of ages long since pass
ed away, he finds the plants of that time
yery different from the plants he nnds
living now. We find variations in our
animals, vegetables aud fruits truly, va
riatiJns which if found in nature we
might we'll regard sometimes as species,
but they do not get far before they seem
to refuse point blank 10 evolve at all !!
We may get from choke pear to a
Seckel, or Bartlett, from sour crab to
a Baldwin or Smokehouse, or in vege-
tables, from miserable little "Love ap-
pie" to a spanking Trophy tomato but
about there il seems to end. From these
we cannot improve. The stubborn things
stand still, and when we "lDpr0ye" we
have to go back to something worse, and
in measure to begin again. Instead
of evolution in line with these improved
fruits and vegel ables, it is merely dash
within circle. We throw stone In
the water, and the circle expands, but
the farther it goes the weaker it gals, till
it dies away altogether in the no distant
end.
One cannot but think Of these things
as the swarm of new fruits, especially at
this sea on, crowd upon us. Some OF
the novelties are good, very good The
young enthusiast in fruit culture be-
lieves he has something far beyond what
ever was. His advertisements tell you
plainly so. The earliest, the largest, the
sweetest, the most productive-he is moi
sparing with his adjectives, especially i
some good-natured editor prints his ad
yertisement as communication from
sour esteemed correspondent" But the
one who has been over the whole ground
who was there just years ago, and who
knows what has been as well as what is,
smiles as he reads, for it is not just the
same thing all over again? There is oul
old Dutch red currant. to-day one OF the
oldest varieties We have, and perhaps the
first or II ar the first that ''evo uted'
from the old wild stock, and We have the
cherry, the Versailles Of they be dis
tinct), the white grape, and the many
others with Frenchy names and yet a,
regards value We yet have TO fall bach
on our Red Dutch friend: and il VT
want to improve we should doubtless
have 20 go back here for good starting
point.
We shall probably never get straw
berry larger, earlier, sweeter or NOR
productive than some we already have o
have had but yet there will always b,
some variations within the boundarie
over which We cannot go. here wi
always be something which seems neN
TO the most of us, and this somethin
will give value to it; and thong
we may smile at the pretensions of son
who regard tleir little paintings as IL
finest chickens ever known, there wi
generally be enough Of novelty eve
am jng the oldest races of fruits to max
new kinds wo til trying for.--Gerntd'
to,cn Telegraph.