202 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



neighbor of mine had twelve barrels from a tree. It was aston- 

 ishing how it did bear. I think one man picked ten barrels in 

 a day. A gentleman from Brighton was at an exhibition we 

 had at Lowell, and bought some of them to put on an exhibi- 

 tion table in Boston. He said they were the finest he ever 

 saw. I cannot say whether he took the premium or not, but I 

 believe that was the purpose for which he bought them. It is a 

 little against the rules, but I know people do such things some- 

 times. 



Mr. Stedman. How does the Blue Pearmain strike its roots ? 



Mr. Clement. They strike downward. The Northern Spy, 

 I think, strikes its roots very similar to the Hubbardston. 

 There are some modifications to this rule. You will find that 

 all trees strike their roots deeper in a warm, open soil than in a 

 heavy, wet soil. They do not like a cold, hard soil ; and if the 

 soil is very wet and heavy, almost all apple trees will strike 

 their roots out near the surface. 



I would like to make an inquiry of the gentlemen present- in 

 regard to the Haskell or Ipswich Sweet ? 



A Member. The Haskell or Ipswich Sweet was originated, 

 years ago, by Dr. Haskell. Mr. Cole described it in his book as 

 the Haskell or Sassafras Sweet. 



Mr. Dodge. I have seen the original tree. I think I carried 

 the apple to Mr. Cole. " Sassafras Sweet " is a fancy name he 

 gave it. Some of his family said it tasted like sassafras, but I 

 could never see it. It went to New York and appeared in 

 Thomas's book under the head, " Haskell's Sweet." That tree 

 is on a farm in the further part of Ipswich from here, and is a 

 very fine grower. The, fruit lasts but a short time ; it is gen- 

 erally gone by Thanksgiving ; but while it does last it is very 

 juicy ; you cannot eat it without having the juice run out of 

 your mouth like that from a cider-mill. 



Mr. Clement. I have left them as long as they would hang, 

 and I find they are vastly better to hang until they bleach out. 

 They will be quite light-colored, and have more of this high 

 flavor, and the juice will run out of the mouth, as you say. It 

 is a most capital apple. I have had some of them until within 

 a week. I never saw better fruit, and scarcely any tree more 

 prolific, for the spurs set from where the brandies start from the 

 stem throughout. The spurs grow all round the tree in just 



