AN ORCHARD EXPERIENCE OF ONE-THIRD CENTURY. 263 



melons; when the hard shelled Kolb variety came on the market 

 the same thing appeared at another place, so nearly alike they 

 could not be distinguished apart. 



The President: If there is a difference it can easily be deter- 

 mined hereafter by taking one hundred of the Plumb Cider root 

 grafts and one hundred of Mr. Wilfert's, putting them side by side, 

 then note all the points of difference if any exist, the habit of 

 growth, the coloring and appearance of the foliage and then the 

 appearance of the fruit. Then place the apples side by side and 

 see which keeps the longest; see where there is any difference in 

 the taste, and then if no difference can be discerned you can say 

 that the two varieties are identical, but if there is any difference 

 then you have two different varieties. 



Mr. Yahnke : I feel a great interest in the Plumb Cider apple 

 because I worked at the place where the tree originated. I was 

 familiar with the old tree and ate apples from it, so I am very 

 much interested in it. This apple of Mr. Wilfert's resembles the 

 Plumb Cider so closely that I believe it is almost impossible to tell 

 them apart. I have seen the wood from that tree. It resembles 

 the Plumb Cider and the Ben Davis very closely, the only differ- 

 ence being in the spurs. The Plumb Cider has no spurs and the 

 Ben Davis has. The graft from Mr. Wilfert has no spurs. I would 

 be glad to get scions, and I will graft them and the Plumb Cider, 

 and in that way we can soon find out if there is any difference. 



Mr. Wedge : As a member of this committee I would like to 

 say a word. We were very sorry to be compelled to take the 

 position we did because Mr. Wilfert has been very kind to the 

 members of the society in distributing scions, and we appreciate 

 his efforts very much; it was only through the feeling that we must 

 do justice, let the blow fall where it would, that we came to our own 

 present conclusion, and we shall be very glad to change our opin- 

 ion in the future if any evidence is introduced that Mr. Wilfert's 

 seedling is a new one. 



Mr. Kenney: I am not acquainted with the Plumb Cider 

 apple, but I went up to see Mr. Wilfert's trees, and they appear 

 to be very much like, although a little more spreading than, the 

 Duchess. I know they sold all they could spare at $1.50 per 

 bushel and could have sold more at the same price. I would like 

 to know how the Plumb Cider compares in price. 



Mr. Gibbs : It is not at all improbable that this is something 

 entirely different from the Plumb Cider, although the difference 

 may, perhaps, not be readily distinguished. You remember the 

 Pewaukee apple is a seedling of the Duchess. I found a seedling 

 in Wabasha county that had been growing fifteen years before 

 the Pewaukee was originated, and Mr. Peffer identified it as the 

 Pewaukee until I laid the evidence before him to the contrary. 

 So we must not be too sure about what we think we know about 

 these things. Mr. Peffer came to the conclusion that the Pewaukee 

 was a seedling of the Duchess, and the Duchess having been grown 

 nearly two hundred years, the seed of this tree having been brought 

 from central New York where the Duchess originated, he thought 



