448 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



I do not believe that any variety of apples should be cultivated simply 

 because it will sell well, nor simply because it is a good bearer. If we have'a 

 variety of excellent quality — I say excellent, not merely good, and I wish to 

 emphasize that — if we have a variety of excellent quality and at the same 

 time it is a good bearer, so much the better. But if we can have only one let 

 us have quality, not quantity. 



In regard to the selling properties of an apple, that should not be consid- 

 ered in the least. For if " it sells well " is the only recommend an apple has 

 be sure the one who buys it and takes it home will find it out, and you may be 

 sure, too, that next time he either will not buy at all or else will take another 

 kind, and if for a few successive times he gets one of the ''it sells well" 

 kind he will make up his mind that he does not like apples anyway and will 

 cease to buy apples at all. 



I would not for a moment consider such apples as the Ben Davis, the White 

 Pippin or Willow Twig. Possibly you may find a market for this class of 

 apples for a few years, but if you do your conscience will surely accuse you 

 for swindling the poor fellows whom you expect will eat them. And again, 

 in planting an apple orchard we should remember that we are planting not 

 for the market of to-day but for Avhat the market will be ten, twenty, thirty, 

 forty and fifty years hence. Do not for a moment let yourself suppose that 

 such sorts of apples as I have just mentioned will be even tolerated in market 

 in just a little while. Why, your swine will hardly eat them now ! How long 

 then will human beings tolerate them, and buy them at that? Surely not 

 long. This is also true of evaporated fruit. The sooner the evaporators seek 

 to build up a reputation of putting up and selling under their true names 

 choice varieties, the sooner they will be established on correct principles. 



There is only one distinction which I should make between an apple for 

 home use and a market apple, viz.: the market apple should handle well. I 

 am speaking now, remember, of the apple to be grown in this section, and no 

 apple will sell to any extent in this section that will not bear transporting 

 long distances. And inasmuch as we ought to raise both for market and for 

 family use, we should plant very sparingly of those that are not good ship- 

 pers. It will do to put in a few of the perishable sorts, but we should be 

 careful about getting more than we can consume at home. 



The matter of soil, too, should be taken into consideration in the planting 

 of an orchard. The varieties which will thrive well in one field may not bo 

 just the thing for the adjoining one, so sudden and so great is the change in 

 soil. I will not now undertake to make the distinction that should be made 

 in the selection of varieties for the different soils, but will treat the varieties 

 as if each were to have the soil best suited to itself. I trust, too, that none 

 will question me too closely in regard to this branch of the subject, for I 

 freely admit that I have not given the matter sufficient study to be qualified 

 to answer. 



I will in conclusion give a hastily prepared list which I think would be a 

 fair selection for an orchard. Perhaps the per cent of each kind might be 

 varied slightly to suit the taste of tiie planter without materially affecting 

 the quality of the orchard. The following list gives the percentage: 



Northern Spy, *-iO; Red Canada, 15; Golden Russet, 15; Baldwin, 15; 

 Esopus Spitzenburgh, 10; Rhode Island Greening, 5; Peck's Pleasant, 5; 

 Talman Sweet, 5; Red Astrachan, 2; Early Harvest, 1; Hawley, 1; St. 

 Lawrence, 1; Golden Sweet, 1; Shiawassee Beauty, 3; Garden Royal, 1. 



