THE NORTHERN SPY. 205 



patient, they would get fruit. What do you know in regard to 

 the Northern Spy ? 



Mr. Clement. Some fourteen or fifteen years ago, an 

 acquaintance of mine said he could furnish me with some 

 Northern Spy scions. I had heard a little of the apple, and said 

 I would like a few ; but when the scions came, my trees having 

 all been grafted, I had no stocks to work them in except one 

 pretty large Blue Pearmain tree. I cut the head from that, 

 and worked the Northern Spy into it. It did not bear, until 

 the seventh year, more than half a dozen apples, then it bore an 

 excellent crop ; as fine a crop as I desire to see on any tree. It 

 rested a year then, like the Baldwins, which bear alternate 

 years ; and that is the case with almost all varieties which bear 

 so fully as does the Baldwin. The second year, it bore another 

 most excellent crop ; they were very large, very tender and nice. 

 I noticed that some of the apples would break upon falling from 

 the tree. The skin is tender, like the Porter, and, like the 

 Porter, they must be handled very carefully. I noticed at that 

 time, that before they were fully grown, many of tbem began to 

 decay, so that at harvesting time, tyere were a good many 

 speckled a little, and a good many more that appeared as though 

 they would be before long. We managed to sort them and sell 

 them off early, and got a good price for them. But the next 

 year when it should have fruited, which was a year ago, our 

 apple crop was very generally a failure ; and though the North- 

 ern Spy fruited, I think, as well as the Baldwin, it did not do so 

 well ; it had some apples, but they rotted a little. This year, it 

 fruited again. I supposed, if it had borne a full crop last year, 

 it would not have fruited this, but it did, and bore a pretty fair 

 crop. But it had that old habit — a good many of the apples 

 decayed ; and I noticed, the day before I started to come here, 

 that there were quite a number that were beginning to speck. 

 I am a little doubtful in regard to that apple. I would not 

 recommend anybody to propagate the tree extensively. It might 

 be well enough to have one or two trees, but I am apprehensive 

 it is not a profitable apple, not because it does not bear enough, 

 but because it does not keep well enough. It appears to be a 

 good, healthy tree. It is a clean growing, nice tree, has no black 

 wood, and is late in putting out in the spring. We can lift them 

 in the nursery up almost to the last of May. It is a little later 



