I9I4 



BETTER FRUIT 



Page 7 



old trees are usually smaller and more 

 highly colored than apples from normal 

 plants. Apples are almost always bet- 

 ter colored on trees in which the 

 growth is short, stout and firm, and on 

 which the leaves are neither consi)icu- 

 ously abundant or overly luxuriant. A 

 sailor drinking beer from one hand and 

 whisky I'rom the other was asked why 

 he thus mixed his drinks. His reply 

 was that il' he drank only whisky he 

 became drunk too soon; if only beer he 

 became full too soon. But when he 

 took a drink of one and then of the 

 other he got just the right proijorlions 

 of fullness and drunkenness. It seems 

 that the desires of fruitarowers to have 

 large fruits and well-colored fruits 

 must be satisfied by i)hilosophy similai" 

 to that of the sailor. Orchards nnist 

 be tilled, fertilized and cared for on the 

 one hand to secure size of fruit by pro- 

 moting growth, wliile such operations 

 as will reduce size, retard growth and 

 hasten maturity nuist be practiced to 

 increase color. 



What about the inlluence of other 

 chemicals than those commonly usetl 

 as fertilizers? Iron, especially in the 

 form of iron suli)hate, is supposed to 

 be potent in intensifying Ihc color of 

 fruits. We cannot lind the least bit of 

 evidence to prove that such is the case. 

 Orchard soils are so abundantly sup- 

 plied with iron as a rule that it is like 

 "gilding gold" to add more iron. 

 Neither does there seem to be evidence 

 to confirm the oft-made statement that 

 manganese added to the soil increases 

 color. Some spraying materials no 

 doubt have an inlluence on the color of 

 apples and pears. This is the expe- 

 rience of all who have carried on com- 

 parative tests of any considerable num- 

 ber of spraving materials. Yet so far 

 we have nothing more than geneialities 

 as regards the elfects of sprays on 

 color. Materials ai)i)lied as sprays may 

 change the color either by absoibing 

 and so intensifying sunlight, or they 

 may so cover the apple or pear as to 

 protect the fruit from light. These, 

 however, are but surmises. A great 

 many fruit growers are hoping to im- 

 prove the color of their fruits in new 

 orchards by having young trees projja- 

 gated from scions taken from trees se- 

 lected for the high cohn- of their fruit — 

 so-called "pedigreed stock." Once in a 

 very great while strains of varieties 

 having high color do arise and the high 

 color is transmissible, but such cases 

 are exceedingly rare. Differences in 

 color in a variety are practically al- 

 ways fluctuating variations due. as 1 

 have tried to show, to climate, soil, till- 

 age, or some slimulation or retardation 

 of growth. Unless, therefore, it is cer- 

 tain that high color in a tree of any 

 variety is transmissible — to be proved 

 only by com|)aring fruits from trees 

 grown from its scions — it is a waste of 

 time to projiagale from bearing trees 

 with the hope of getting better color. 



We come now to a discussion of (jual- 

 ity. What is ([ualify? The word is 

 rolled under the tongue by both fruit- 

 growers and consumers alike, but like 

 "good cheei" in the fable, is "fish lo 



one, flesh to another, and fowl to a 

 third." We need, therefore, to define 

 the terms. In brief, quality is that 

 combination of flavor, aroma, juiciness 

 and tender flesh which makes fruits 

 agreeable to the palate, but this is not 

 all. The thing that gives charm to tfie 

 attractions of the world, whettier 

 books, or pictures, or music, or peopfe, 

 or fruits, is that subtle, undefinabfe 

 thing cailed personality. .\ Northern 

 Spy, a Mcintosh, a Yellow Newtown, a 

 Seckel pear, a Crawford peach, a Green 

 Gage plum and an lona grape, for ex- 

 amples, all have distinct and charming 

 personalities which contribute no small 

 part to the high ipiality of these fruits. 

 But many fruits do not have distin- 

 guishable individuality and the sorts 

 named fose it when grown under some 

 conditions. This personality may be 

 ciuite aside from any tangible ([ualilies. 

 It is akin to the charm of a woman in 

 which the heroine in a current pfay 

 says, "If a woman has it, she needs 

 nothing else in the w-orld, and if she 

 has it not, nothing eise in the world is 

 of any use." A high (|ualit\ fruit must 

 have a pfeasing personalitx. High 

 (juality does not have the commercial 

 value that it shouid, but it is coming to 

 be worth more and more. There are 

 two kinds of taste, naturaf taste antf 

 acquired taste. Only savages have a 

 natural taste; to them crude, unrefined, 

 taslefess foods answer all i)urposes. 

 But civilized man has an acquired taste, 

 and with each succeeding stage of 

 civilization it becomes more (ielicate 

 and more refined. Once they but know 

 where it can be obtained, ))eople will 

 buy and pay for fruits of high (pialit\ — 

 fruits with delicate and refined flavors 

 and aromas, and juicy, tender flesh. 

 Such fruits should be the food of the 

 great mass of the American jjcople, 

 while coarse, turnipy fruits should go 

 only to those who cannot tell ffie dilfer- 

 ence between a .lonathan and a Ben 

 Davis, a Bartlctf and a Kielfer. People 

 need only to be educated as to what 

 varieties are of high cpiality and a 

 profitable demand will be created. Can 

 the quality of varieties of the ililferent 

 fruits be cfiangeif by cultural methods".' 

 Possibly somewhat, but not greatly. 

 Generally sjjeaking, whatever care and 

 cultuie make trees grow amf bear 

 normally tend to produce fruits of the 

 highest quality. As I have said before, 

 food and water seem to fiave decided 

 effects on ciuality. but what combina- 

 tion of these essentials is best for high- 

 est quality is a matter about which we 

 know little. "Paul plants and .\ppolos 

 wateis," bill (iod gives (uiality. In His 

 distribution of favors He has seen fit 

 to characterize the fruits of some re- 

 gions bv hiuher quality than those of 

 others, just as He has given large size 

 and handsome color to the products of 

 special regions. 



In what has been said 1 have soughl 

 lo establish Ihe fact that high qualifx 

 is Ihe chief of all the altrituifes of I'liiil. 

 But there is lillfe use in lliis discussion 

 if we cannol come to some understand- 

 ing as lo how the condition thai pre- 

 vails can be bettered, 'fo this end a 



few specific suggestions can be offered: 

 First — The long suit of the fruit- 

 grower is lo grow varieties of high 

 quality. A man should grow sorts for 

 the market that he is willing to eat 

 himself. If individuals make a reputa- 

 tion for the high quality of their fruits 

 a reputati(m will soon be established 

 for the region and for the fruit. 



Second — Let every fruitgrower depre- 

 cate above all things the oft-made 

 assertion that the public wants trashy 

 sfufl' — cares only for appearance and 

 not for cpiality. It is the fashion of the 

 times to decry the public. (A'ltain pa- 

 pers say the public wants only yellow 

 journalism; some writers hold that the 

 people will read only light or vulgar 

 fiction; rag-time music is supposed to 

 suit the pubfic; theatres will present 

 only sensational plays; following the 

 fashion, fruitgrowers hold that the 

 public has the tooth of a gorilla, the 

 taste of a buzzard, the stomach of an 

 ostrich, and by choice fills its maw on 

 Ben Davis apples and Kielfer pears. It 

 is not true that the i)iiblic likes poor 

 fruit; the better the fruit the more of 

 it will be eaten. Peoi)le are slow 

 moving, hut once they learn true worth 

 in fruit their appetite will be for the 

 good varieties. They will not be con- 

 tent with poor or mediocre sorts. If 

 the lover of choice viands, and who is 

 not, must wipe the tongue around the 

 mouth and fitiflate the palate in order 

 to find the flavor of fruits he will take 

 to other delicacies. 



Third — It is a good p(dicy not to 

 break rudely with the old but to run 

 smoothly into the new. It would 

 hardly be wise for any man to cut 

 down or graft over certain apples, or 

 pears, or plums, or pull out certain 

 grapes because they are of poor quai- 

 ity. But in the planting of new 

 orchards a man should look well lo the 

 dualifx' of the varieties he selects. 

 Speaking broadl>', fruits of fine flavor 

 can be grown as easily as the grosser 

 tasting ones. In planting for the fu- 

 ture, then, plant for (jualitx. 



Fourth — Never in the history of the 

 world have there been so many men 

 directing their eflorts toward the im- 

 provement of pfants. With the recent 

 discoveries in plant breetling and the 

 accumulated knowledge of centuries 

 the efforts that are being i)ut forth are 

 bound to result in many new introduc- 

 tions wiihiu the next few years. \ man 

 may he pardoned if he clings to some 

 of the mediocre varieties we now have, 

 for tliese are Ihe elder-born to whom 

 we have become attached in tcn<lerly 

 carr>ing them tfirough a helpless in- 

 fancy, but as the ph.\siciaiis and mid- 

 wives of horficufture bring in the new- 

 born let them be chary of a blessing 

 until their character for high (piality is 

 established. Let them be "born to 

 bfush unseen," and if christened let 

 them remain in the limbo of the nur- 

 seryman's catalog if high ipialify be not 

 among their accomplishmcnis. Let us 

 raise the standard of excellence by 

 accepting only new fruits which are su- 

 perior in (piality to ttieir predecessors. 



