264 SrSTFMATir POMOLOCY 



acute, nuimTous; tU-sh vcllow, crisji, ectarsr, tender, very juicy, subacid, 

 aromatic; ^'ood to very ^ood ; .January to June. 



407. Ben Davis [Fig. S!)) is least of all api)los subject to local 

 ])rejiulices as to soils and climates, about the latest in season, 

 and stands shippinjr and handlinjj: better than any other .stand- 

 ard ai)i)le. Nurserymen like the variety be- 

 cause the young trees make a rai)id and pre- 

 sentable frrowth. The trees are vigorous, 

 tln-ifty, hardy, healthy, bear young, annually, 

 and abundantly, blossom late, and arc ideal 

 in every respect except that they are short- 



FiG SO. Beu Davis, lived and produce small apples as they grow 

 old. The apples are large, uniform in size 

 and shape, and are handsomely mottled, striped and splashed 

 with bright red on a yellow background. The fruits are poor 

 in quality, acceptable only for cooking. Ben Davis has been 

 cultivated in parts of the South since about 1800. 



Tree medium in size, very vigorous, upright-spreading. Fruit medium 

 to large, conic to oblong, broad, rounded at the base, sides sometimes un- 

 equal; stem long, slender; cavity acute, deep, symmetrical, often with rays 

 of thin greenish-russet; calyx closed, with short, acute lobes; basin abrupt, 

 medium in width and depth, obtuse, oblique; skin tough, waxy, bright, 

 smooth, glossy, yellow, mottled and washed with bright red, striped and 

 splashed with carmine; dots inconspicuous, scattering; calyx-tube short, 

 cone-shaped, with a long cylinder, frequently with a fleshy projection of 

 pistil point into its base; stamens median; core axile, closed or partly open; 

 core-lines clasping; carpels flat, obovate, emarginate, mueronate; seeds 

 large, long, irregular, wide, plump, acute, dark brown; flesh yellow, firm, 

 coarse, aromatic, juicy, mild subacid; good; January to June. 



408. Black Ben Davis. . Gano.— Black Ben Davis is either a 

 seedling or a bud-mutation of Ben Davis, from which it differs 

 in bearing dark red apples scarcely broken in color, whereas in 

 Ben Davis the red fruits are striped, splashed, and mottled. 

 Despite the fact that the evidence seems to show that they are 

 of distinct origin, Black Ben Davis and Gano may be con- 

 sidered identical. The variety is said to have originated on the 

 farm of M. Black, Washington County, Arkansas, about 1800. 

 Its culture as an apple of commerce is restricted to its native 

 and nearby states. 



