1876.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



143 



over the tree. Fruit medium, roundish-oblate, 

 golden yellow ; flesh yellow, half fine, tender, 

 juicy, mild, rich sub-acid, slightly aromatic; core 

 small. 



Pyle's Red Winter. — A promising new winter 

 apple, from Wm. C. Burk, Glen Mills, Pa., who 

 states that it was a chance seedling on the farm 

 of B. Pyle, Thornbury township, Pa. Tree vig- 

 orous, spreading, an earlj^ and abundant bearer 

 of large fair fruit, of excellent quality, and keep- 

 ing well. The fruit is large, roundish-oblate; 

 skin pale yellow, shaded with light purplish red, 

 and some obscure splashes and stripes of a 

 darker hue; flesh whitish, half fine, crisp, ten- 

 der, jviicy, sprightly, sub-acid. 



Piedmont Pippin. — Origin on the farm of Jas. 

 Woods, Rockford township, Virginia, and is 

 supposed to be a seedling of the Albemarle, or 

 Yellow Newtown Pippin, and by some regarded 

 as equal to its parent, and in some respects 

 superior. Tree a strong, upright, forky grower, 

 bearing large crops alternate years, ripening the 

 latter part of winter. Fruit large, roundish- 

 oblate, slightly conic, angular, sometimes ob- 

 lique ; skin greenish yellow, flesh whitish yellow, 

 half fine, tender, juicy, mild, rich sub-acid, 

 slightly aromatic. 



Mellinger. — This originated on the premises 

 now owned by Dr. Mellinger, Manor township, 

 Pa. ; and although not a new apple, is but little 

 known out of its locality, where it is esteemed 

 as one of the most valuable and showy apples of 

 its season — October and November. The tree is 

 a healthy, strong grower, with spreading branches, 

 producing large crops alternate years, and a 

 light one the intervening ones. * The fruit is me- 

 dium to large, roundish conical, with stripes and 

 broken splashes of light and dark red nearly over 

 the whole surface — some of the splashes are pur- 

 plish red ; flesh quite white, half fine, tender, 

 juicy, sprightly, sub-acid. 



Smith's Seedling. — A new Mississippi apple, 

 raised by Hiram Smith, Woodville, Miss., from 

 whom we received specimens, and who informs 

 us that it is one of the best grown in that lati- 

 tude, and is popular where known, ripening the 

 last of July. Fruit large, oblate, slightly angvi- 

 lar; skin palo greenish yellow, flesh whitish 

 yellow, a little coarse, tender, moderately juicy, 

 mild, sub- acid, rather rich, with pleasant flavor. 



Picket. — This was received from W. M. Sam- 

 uels, of Clinton, Ky., and originated with Wm. 

 Picket, Arlington, Ky., where it is esteemed a 

 valuable acquisition, keeping as late as the 



Winesap. Tree a strong and upright grower^ 

 bearing early and abundantly; fruit large, round- 

 ish oblate, slightly oblique, flattened at the ends; 

 skin pale yellow, nearly covered with pale pur- 

 plish red ; flesh whitish yellow, a little coarse, 

 half tender, juicy, mild, pleasant, sub-acid, very 

 good. 



Mcintosh Red. — Originated with John Mcin- 

 tosh, Dundela, Ontario, some seventy years since, 

 but is not widely known ; the tree is said to be 

 very hardy, long-lived, vigorous, with a spread- 

 ing head ; a good annual bearer of fair, hand- 

 some fruit of excellent quality, and valuable for 

 home use and market. Fruit medium or above, 

 roundish oblate, regular; skin smooth, whitish 

 yellow, nearly covered with rich red or crimson, 

 almost purplish in the sun, moderately sprinkled 

 with light dots ; stalk rather short, small, cavity 

 medium ; calyx closed, basin rather small, 

 slightly plaited; flesh white, fine, very juicy, 

 mild, sub-acid, refreshing, with a peculiar slight 

 quince-like flavor ; core medium. November to 

 February. 



Classification of the Apple. — If a person is 

 already acquainted with the flower and seed ves- 

 sels of a cabbage or turnip, and come across a 

 wall-flower or a stockgilly for the first time, he 

 sees at once a similarity of general appearance 

 and analytical characters, that tell him at once 

 almost the page in his botanical manual where 

 he will find it, and learn all about it. This is the 

 result of what is known as the natural system of 

 botany. It takes no one character on which to 

 make a system, but considers all the characters 

 and comes down from that. Before this system 

 came into vogue. Botany was a fearful study. 

 Single characters, or nearly so, made the divi- 

 sions, and the result was that the mOst hetero- 

 geneous forms w^ere found in company with one 

 another, and as these characters were not con- 

 stant, the system was of very little use. It was 

 pretty much as though we should take all white 

 flowers, red flowers, and blue flowers, and put 

 them, every color by themselves; or sweet flow- 

 ers, or inodorous flowers, or spring flowers, or 

 summer flowers, and make separate classes of 

 these. It was not exactly like this, of course, but 

 not far diSerent. 



Fruit classification is in about the same straits 

 just now. We name sweet fruits and sour fruits, 

 winter fruits and summer fruits,— long fruits and 

 short fruits, — and the consequence is no one can 

 make anything out of the systems. It is not too 



