364 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



soil, has proved valiuiblc, or ever will. Yet I know of hunclreds of 

 acres of nursery stock standing to-daj in Maine on just that kind of 

 soil. If you want a healthy stock, grow a health}' tree on 3'our 

 high, rocky, natuial soil. I was glad to hear in the paper by Mr. 

 Bennoch a recommendation to farmers to grow their own trees. I 

 will not dwell upon that point, hut you can see the advantage of 

 growing them upon soil where you can produce a tree which will be 

 healthy after it is grown. You may take such stock as that, take 

 the Ben Davis ; take your Haas ; take man\' others of those varieties 

 which people have had forced upon them at fancy prices, and graft 

 them with what you want. Now what do you want? I don't know 

 of how many of the celebrated orchardists of this State I have asked 

 this question : '• AVhatare your most profitable varieties of apples?" 

 and have almost invariably received this ''old fogy" answer : "Bald- 

 win R. I. Greening, Bellflower" — and there the}' stop. If that is the 

 sum of the wisdom of the best orchardists of Maine, that they obtain 

 the best results from an orchard of Baldwins, Bellflowers, and R. I. 

 Greenings, why in the name of Heaven are we chasing after russets, 

 crab apples, and the Lord knows what? Is it business-like? Is it 

 sensible? We want to apph' our good common sense to this ques- 

 tion as we do to other matters where our business is successful, and 

 not be in trouble all the time about new things. 



Question. Would you not add Northern Spy and Roxbury 

 Russet ? 



Gilbert. I was talking with a gentleman who has been a suc- 

 cessful farmer in every sense of the word, in the southern part of 

 Penobscot county, and he said the most profitable enterprise he ever 

 engaged in was raising Baldwin apples. This winter it was my 

 privilege to see a very creditable exhibition of fruit. I met a man 

 well versed in fruit-growing, and asked him what were the most 

 profitable varieties for commercial purposes? And the answer was, 

 " Baldwins, R. I. Greenings, Bellflowers." I went into the southern 

 part of Franklin county and talked with successful orchardists there. 

 I raised the question, " What is the most profitable single variety of 

 fruit for commercial purposes in Franklin county ?" They said " the 

 Baldwin." I asked what would you add? Answer. "R.I. Green- 

 ings and Bellflowers, and the Roxbury Russet in localities where 

 the soil is adapted to it." That to a \'oung American, or to a man 

 starting out for the first time in fruit growing, would sound old 

 fogyish ; but within the last fifty or seventy-five years we have been 



