338 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



The late Gov. Win. Wood bridge owned a farm adjoining Detroit on the west. 

 It is now a part of the city of Detroit. About the year 1825 Gov. Woodbridge 

 bought of Grant Thorburn two thousand apple trees and some pear trees, and 

 planted them on his farm, making two good orchards. He had the leading 

 varieties of that day, viz.: The Rhode Island Greening, Baldwin, Yellow Belle- 

 flower, White Belleflower, Gloria Mundi, Spitzenberg, Roxbury Russet, 

 Twenty-Ounce apple. Fall Pippin, Early Harvest, Black Gilliflower, and many 

 others. He also had the Snow apple, White and Red Calville, Detroit Red, or 

 Black apple, and Pomme Gris, or Grey apple. The scions of the six varieties 

 last named he procured from some of the old orchards in Windsor and Sand- 

 wich, Canada, opposite Detroit, and engrafted them into some of the trees he 

 bought of Mr. Thorbnrn. 



In other orchards in the vicinity of Detroit, where these apples are grown, I 

 find that, for the most part, scions were taken from Canadian orchards near 

 Detroit, and engrafted into the old trees. The fartherest back that I have 

 been able to trace these apples towards their orgin is 1796. 



Some years since, as I was passing through the orchard of Francis Baby, of 

 Windsor, C. W., for the purpose of getting specimens of apples for exhibition, 

 I noticed a very handsome bright red apple, at that time, September, not ripe. 

 Its name Mr. Baby did not know. Mr. James Dougall, son-in-law of Mr. Baby, 

 and a near neighbor, who was well acquainted with the orchard, had never 

 noticed this tree or its fruit, so we concluded to wait till it was ripe and then 

 take another look. A short time afterward I received from Mr. Dougall speci- 

 mens of this fruit, accompanied by a note, in which he says : " Mr. Baby 

 informs me that he received the original trees, which are yet standing, and 

 from which I take the specimens I send you, from Montreal in 1796, along 

 with other kinds. He thinks it had no particular name, but says it is one of 

 the Calvilles. Captain Cowan, who commanded a small vessel on the lakes, 

 and who had formerly been a gardener to General Washington previous to his 

 being President, brought up the trees in his vessel for Mr. Baby from Fort 

 Erie, and being an excellent grafter, he took scions from each variety received 

 by Mr. Baby, for the purpose of engrafting them into trees in Detroit ; I find 

 some of them are very good, while others from the same tree are very inferior ; 

 some of the fruit is stained red to the core, and some specimens are white 

 throughout. The specimens with stained flesh are always the best. This 

 remark holds good as against the Red Calville and the Rosseau, which apples 

 belong to the same class." 



In this orchard, among the trees brought from Montreal in 1796, were the 

 Snow, Calville, Pomme Gris, and other apples that were leading varieties in 

 the orchards in Canada. I afterward found this handsome but nameless apple 

 in some of the orchards on Grosse Isle, under the name of Bourassa. The 

 only work in which I find the Bourassa apple mentioned is the Fruit Cultur- 

 ist, by J. J. Thomas. The apple of which I am speaking does not correspond 

 with his description. 



In an English fruit book by William Forsyth, published in 1802, in his list 

 of apples introduced into England from France, I find mentioned Le Calville 

 d' Automne, which, judging from Forsyth's description, I think must be the 

 apple alluded to. Besides this variety he mentions the Pomme Gris, from 

 Canada, and the Red and the White Calville as being highly esteemed in Eng- 

 land. The Snow apple or Pomme de Neige, or Fameuse, known by all these 

 names, is also mentioned by Forsyth. All the fruit books speak of it as a native 

 of Canada. 



