Quite the same conclusion is afforded by apples. The facts are to some extent of another character, and the rule of the derivation of the present cultivated varieties from original wild forms can be illustrated in this case in a more direct way. Of course we must limit ourselves to the varieties of pure ancestry and leave aside all those which are of hybrid or presumably hybrid origin. Before considering their present state of culture, something must be, said about the earlier history and the wild state of the apples. The apple-tree is a common shrub in woods throughout all parts of Europe, with the only exception of the extreme north. Its distribution extends to Anatolia, the Caucasus and Ghilan in Persia. It is found in nearly all forests of any extent and often in relatively large numbers of individuals. It exhibits varietal characters, which have led to the recognition of several spontaneous forms, especially in France and in Germany. The differentiating qualities relate to the shape and indumentum of the leaves. Nothing is known botanically as to differences between [74] the fruits of these varieties, but as a matter of fact the wild apples of different countries are not at all the same. Alphonse De Candolle, who made a profound study of the probable origin of most of our cultivated plants, comes to the conclusion that the apple tree must have had this wide distribution in prehistoric times, and that its cultivation began in ancient times everywhere. This very important conclusion by so high an authority throws considerable light on the relation between cultivated and wild varieties at large. If the historic facts go to prove a multiple origin for the cultivation of some of the more important useful plants, the probability that different varieties or elementary species have been the starting points for different lines of culture, evidently becomes stronger. Unfortunately, this historic evidence is scanty. The most interesting facts are those concerning the use of apples by the Romans and by their contemporaries of the Swiss and middle European lake-dwellings. Oswald Heer has collected large numbers of the relics of this prehistoric period. Apples were found in large quantities, ordinarily cut into halves and with the signs of having been dried. Heer distinguished two varieties, one with large and one with small fruits. The first about 3 and [75] the other about 1.5-2 cm. in diameter. Both are therefore very small compared with our present ordinary varieties, but of the same general size as the wild forms of the present day. Like these, they must have been of a more woody and less fleshy tissue. They would scarcely have been tasteful to us, but in ancient times no better varieties were known and therefore no comparison was possible.