170 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



for so much," naming the price for the second-class apples, and by this mode 

 of tactics secures large quantities of apples at a less price than ho ought to. 

 The grower finds out the fraud and ''comes up" with the dealer by placing in 

 the barrels apples that should never go to market. I tell you, gentlemen, no 

 grower should put No. 2 apples on the market, and then this difficulty would 

 not arise, with its temptations. 



A short letter Avasread from Mr. F. B. Johnson of Lansing, on 



MARKET APPLES IN CENTRAL MICHIGAN. 



It is with pleasure that I comply with the request of Secretary Garfield in 

 giving my views as to the best market apple for central Michigan. I believe 

 that Michigan is the surest, and the most to be depended on, of any State in 

 the union for this most important of fruits, and will always be more or less 

 depended on for apples for other sections of the country. Therefore I believe 

 that one of the most important duties of this society is, if possible, to give to 

 the people a very few varieties out of the hundreds (and I might say thousands) 

 of varieties that will take the place of all others for market. 



My experience with packing, keeping, and marketing apples commenced 

 with last year's crop, when there was a surplus in all sections of the country 

 where apples are grown at all, and all markets glutted through the whole 

 season. Then, again, this year, when there is a demand from every part of 

 the country for our Michigan fruit at large prices, and I have had on my mind 

 all the time this one great question : What are the best two or three varieties 

 that will take the place of all others? While there are a great many kinds 

 that we should dislike very much to discard from oar own tables, and, in fact, 

 would bring equally good prices in market, yet, if we let our own tastes direct 

 us in setting orchards for market, we fall into the great, inconvenient mistake 

 of too many varieties. Now, when I say I have settled down to two varieties 

 of apples for marketing from this section, no doubt you would think this a 

 little too fine, but this is the ground I take, and (as I said at our Ingham County 

 Society meeting) if I were to plant an orchard of one thousand, or ten thousand, 

 trees in this location, I would put one-half to Canada Ked, the other half to 

 Ehode Island Greening, or what is better, put out Spy or Astrachan stock and 

 then top-graft to these two varieties, for I believe in the double work for these 

 kinds we get better results, and also in so doing we get better trees and 

 hardier stock than they will make of their own kind. I choose these because 

 in them we get two varieties that seem to grow more nearly perfect, more 

 uniform in size, nearer the genuine color peculiar to the variety, the most 

 regular bearers and always bring the top of the market anywhere you put them. 



Now, as there is perhaps not one in this society that would agree with me, I 

 will give my reasons for leaving out some of the great favorites of a majority of 

 the people. First among them would be the Spy and the Baldwin. The Spy 

 is all right if packed and gotten into market in good shape, and nothing but 

 the large, well-colored ones taken ; but they will not stand handling like other 

 varieties, for a bruise on a Spy always rots, — never dries, and from the fact that 

 they are so large and solid, one dislikes to pack or press them in barrels. They 

 do well in this section and if put into market in good shape (which is difficult) 

 bring a good price. 



The Baldwin, unlike those grown in western Michigan, are inferior, wanting 

 in size and color. Wagener good in its season, but soon discolors and loses its 

 flavor; no sense in raising it where the Canada Ked will grow. Spitzenburgh 



