112 EJPERIMENTAL FARMS 



9-10 EDWARD VII., A. 1910 



pink blush; dots moderately numerous on sunny side, green, distinct; skin thick, 

 moderately tender; flesh dull white or yellowish, crisp, juicy, a little coarse; core 

 medium; subacid, spicy, high flavour; good quality; season evidently November and 

 later. A promising apple on account of size, flavour and firmness. 



CHARACTERISTICS OF AVEALTIIY APPLE SEEDLINGS. 



The Wealthy apple is such a well known variety in North America and has 

 proved itself so generally desirable, that it is thought it will prove useful and. interest- 

 ing to record at this time some of the characteristics of seedlings of tlie Wealthy 

 fruited at the Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, Canada. 



In the year 1898 seed was saved from Wealthy fruit grown at Ottawa. No special 

 selection was made of the fruit, though seed was not taken from poor or small fruit. 

 The male parent or parents being imknown; but as the Wealthy trees grew near trees 

 of the Duchess of Oldenburg it is probable that in some cases the Wealthy was pol- 

 len ized by that variety, although from the fact that the Wealthy is self -fertile it is 

 likely that a large proportion of the flowers were self-fertilized. 



The seeds were sown in the autumn of 1898. They germinated the following 

 spring, and the trees were set out in nursery rows in the spring of 1899. In the spring 

 of 1901 and 1902 there were 153 in all of the best trees planted out. Most of these 

 ■were planted 15 feet apart, but about one-third of them were planted 10 feet fii)ait. 

 Of the 153 trees set out only 11 have died or been winter killed, and there have been 

 some severe winters since they were planted. Of the 14:'2 remaining trees, 93 have 

 fruited, and it is interesting to note when these trees began to bear. One tree fruited 

 in 1903, five years after sowing the seed; one tree fruited in 1904, 19 in 1905, 22 in 

 1906, 11 in 1907 and 4-1 in 1908. Of these 98 seedlings, 93 have been described; 

 descriptions having been made of good and bad alike. It is from the data available 

 on our description blanks that the following results have been tabulated. 



Some of the outstanding characteristics of these Wealthy seedlings are : First, 

 the hardiness of the trees, most of them appearing to be equal or superior to Wealthy 

 in hardiness; second, their early bearing habit; third, their great productiveness; 

 fourth, the very large proportion of seedlings bearing marketable fruit ; fifth, the 

 general resemblance to Wealthy in a large proportion of the seedlings, particularly in 

 colour and the rounded, regular outline of the fruit and character of flesh. 



While fuller descriptions were taken, the characteristics given here refer only to 

 size, form, colour, acidity, quality, season and degree of resemblance to Wealthy. All 

 the descriptions were made by the writer, hence, as near as possible, the same standard 

 was followed throughout, but even so, the descriptions of the characteristics dealt with 

 may not always be true, as one's opinion in regard to acidity or ilavour, for instance, 

 may vary somewhat from one year to another. With the majority of the seedlings, 

 however, the description taken one season has been confirmed or altered in a second 

 season, and sometimes in a third season, in order that it might be as a-'curate as 

 possible. 



The fruit of the Wealthy itself as grown at Ottawa may be described as medium 

 to almost large on young trees; roundish; yellow well splashed and washed and some- 

 times completely covered with crimson ; flesh yellowish, sometimes tinged with red, 

 crisp, tender, juicy, briskly subacid with a pleasant aromatic flavour; quality good to 

 very good; season late September, October and November. 



In the following table are given the percentages of different characteristics, based 

 on the descriptions of 93 seedlings : — 



