PROCEEDINGS OF THE ANNUAL MEETING HI 



along, in the lall, \\;isliiii;j,l(iii Slrawbcny caiiic', and a large number of 

 other fall apples. In ilic winter we had Spitzenburg, Jonathan, King, 

 Greening, Newtown, and many oilier varieties that one scarceix' sees today 

 in the market. It is hard to Und ihem in perfection. The few specimens 

 we get are usually very imperfect. In our state we now have many Bald- 

 wins. There is no one but what will say the Baldwin is a successful apple 

 in certain lines. At the same time, there is no man here who cares to 

 eat the ISaldwin if he can get something else. Ben Davis is still worse in 

 quality. Still, it is a very successful apple. So is Wealthy and many other 

 varieties we have today. Take our summer apples. Ohh^nburgh is one of 

 the most successful vaiieties, I think, that we have in Michigan, for a 

 summer apple. Still it is not lit to eat. Bed Astrachan is not a successful 

 apple in any sense, so far as I know — and so on through our list. 



Are those old varieties failing, or is it the fact that Ave have gone off on 

 a new lead, that we are looking for something else and have ])iaclically 

 discarded them? Who knows of a young, vigorous, growing orchard that 

 is planted with the older varieties — Koxbury Kusset, Newtown Pippin, 

 Spitzenburg, King — a lot of those varieties we used to consider No. 1, 

 and do yet, when we can find the fruit? Is there any one who knows of a 

 thrifty young orchard planted to those varieties? Or is it planted to Ben 

 Davis, Baldwin, and those we consider modern kinds? 



Take our stone fruits, for instance, our peaches. We do not see that 

 variation. So long ago as I can remember we had the Crawfords at the 

 head of the list of peaches, and are they not at the head of the list today? 



In thinking this matter over, I picked up Mr. Lyon's catalogue. In that 

 the Crawfords are rated from 9 to 10 in quality, size, and all that, and 

 double-starred in more sections than any other peach in the list, and it is 

 one of our oldest sorts. To be sure, thirty years ago we had comparatively 

 few varieties, while today we have good ones by hundreds. 



When I first began to study the question of peach varieties or to know 

 anything about it, as a bo}', about the earliest peach we had that was good 

 for anything was Serrated York. We do not consider it good for much 

 now, but it is just as good today as it ever was, compared with other 

 varieties ripening at the same season. We do not consider it a very 

 good variety of peach; but it is not run out, it has not failed, it is just as 

 good as it ever was by itself alone. Then came Large Early York, George 

 Fourth, INIorris White, Barnard, the Crawfords, Beers Smock, and so on. 

 All of those varieties are just as good today as they ever were, notwith- 

 stjjnding they have been propagated and repropagated, probably from 

 inferior stock, for vears and v^^ars. I sav thev are iust as good todav as 

 ever. As compared with some others of the same season they are not, but 

 we have never found anything any better, in my judgment, than Crawford. 

 Oldmixon is still a good peach. It ranks high as a white peach of its 

 class and season. Honest John is still a first-class peach, and a very good 

 market peach even; as to quality it is all right. The varieties of peach do 

 not seem to have run out nor failed in any sense, and the same will hold 

 true of the plum. I know of no old variety of plum but is as good today, 

 as a variety, as it ever was. To be sure, as compared with others of its 

 season it has been discarded in some instances. 



Now, as to successful new varieties of peach, we have a great many 

 that are successful, some of national reputation, but far more of local. 

 Through the peach section of western ]Michigan we have almost discarded 



