Mr. O. B. Had-wen, gave an admirable address on this topic before a recent meeting of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, which he summarized as follows:

First

Each fruit-bearing tree and plant seems endowed with a certain given period of life, influenced by favorable and unfavorable conditions.

Second

Each species and variety of fruit-bearing tree and plant seems governed by conditions pertaining exclusively to its growth, maturity and decay.

Third

Some fruits appear to degenerate, while others give but little evidence in that direction, and the same may be said of vegetables during this century.

"And while there is undoubtedly a limit to the life of every plant and fruit, neither science nor philosophy affords the data by which we can deduce with any degree of accuracy the duration of any of the larger fruits or vegetables.

'•Charles M. Hovey was called on by the Chair, and said that it is well known that fruits degenerate, but whether from unfavorable climates or other causes is not settled. The old varieties of peaches are still in perfection in England: within a week the speaker had seen the Grosse Mignonne and George IV. recommended for cultivation as among the best varieties there. Of strawberries, the Keens' Seedling, introduced in 1821, and the British Queen, originated about forty years ago, are still favorite varieties in England. The Hovey's Seedling and the Boston Pine were raised by the speaker in 1833, and in his ground still give as good crops of fruit as ever. The Wilson, which has been more widely cultivated than any other variety, is still very good. We cannot raise the Flemish Beauty and Easter Beurre pears; they have degenerated here, but in California are as good as ever. Mr. Knight's opinion, that every tree propagated from a seedling was a part of that tree, and perished when the lifetime of the original tree expired, has proved fallacious.

"E. W. Wood said that no one could deny that fruits degenerate, whether from disease or other causes. He did not agree with Mr. Hovey in regard to the peach, but thought we cannot cultivate it as formerly.

" The Hovey strawberry was perhaps more gen-erally grown in New England than any other variety thirty or forty years ago, and there is no better variety to-day, if we could grow it, but we cannot. Mr. Hovey's own specimens are not up to the standard of twenty-five years ago. In later years the Wilson has been more generally grown than any other kind, but it is now being discarded".