54 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



our earliest recollections were the Russet trees on our father's 

 farm, one of which was sufficiently large to bear several bar- 

 rels of apples. Even now in imagination we can see the tree 

 loaded with large fair fruit, yellowed with golden russet, 

 tinged mth red from the rays of the sun ; and, when kept 

 till spring, they tasted quite as well as they looked on the 



tree. 



There was the Rhode-Island Greening (which came, as we 

 have been informed, from Rhode Island), which produced, like 

 the Russet, very beautiful fruit, but which now, like the 

 Russet, has greatly deteriorated. There was but little encour- 

 agement at that early day to cultivate apples for market, as 

 Salem was the only market ; and the manner of conveyance 

 was such that it was not easy to convey them there. The 

 most of the marketing was done at that time on horseback. We 

 well remember seeing the horses loaded with sacks contain- 

 ing the products of the farm, such as butter, cheese, eggs, 

 poultry, and other light articles; and sometimes grain was 

 carried on horseback. The good women also sometimes 

 went, carrying the products of the dairy, the spinning-wheel, 

 and loom. These companies would naturally remind one of 

 the children of Israel carrying corn in sacks out of Egypt. 



It will be seen at once that apples would be an inconven- 

 ient article to carry on horseback; and, as there were no 

 wagons, our father adopted the following plan for carrying 

 his apples to market. He took the top of his chaise from 

 the carriage, then placed boards on the axle and crossbars, 

 on which he placed his bags of apples and other things he 

 carried to market. 



As to the price of apples at that early day, we recollect 

 hearing our father say that he got a barrel of flour for four 

 bushels of apples. He sold his apples for two dollars per 

 bushel, and paid eight dollars per barrel for the flour. 



A man who is our senior in years related the following 

 incident. He says the flrst wagon he recollects ever seeing 

 was a new one, hired by his mother before it was painted, to 

 go to Salem to market ; and he went for the first time with 

 her, she having been previously accustomed to go to market 

 on horseback. Among other things carried to market at this 

 time were some checkered handkerchiefs of her own manu- 

 facture for the soldiers in the service of the war of 1812. 



