146 ANNUAL REPORT. 



not see whj' they are not equal to any of our American apples. I agree 

 fully with Mr. Tuttle in that respect. 1 know of nothing better. I 

 think they are sufficiently hardy for my location. I have fruited the 

 Red Transparents and the Green. I have never fruited the Yellow 

 which he has spoken of particularly, but it is cultivated in other places 

 and 1 have seen them. I know it is one of the best. But there isn't 

 very much difference between that and several other members of the 

 family. The earliest apple that I have raised is the Early Champion. 

 It is a very fine apple too. It is not quite as good in quality as the 

 Red and Green Transparents. 



Mr. Smith. Peff'er says that he tested thirty -nine varieties of Rus- 

 sian apples as to length of time in ripening, quality, hardness, etc.; 

 none came up to the Wealthy except the Longfield. 



Mr. Tuttle. I think Mr. Peff'er is mistaken. The Wealthy is the 

 only American apple that we are propagating. We have found among 

 the Russians varieties that are hardier. The Longtield is hardier than 

 the Wealthy. I had a tree that bore an enormous crop a year ago 

 last fall; I am confident if it had been a Wealthy tree it would have 

 been dead in the spring, but that tree is now in good fair condition. 



Mr. Cutler. I have understood that the Yellow Transparent was 

 not a sale tree to plant beyond a certain limit. I would like to inquire 

 if any of our nurserymen living in this vicinity have tried it? 



Mr. Pearce. Mr. President, perm't me to say a few words on this 

 subject. They seem to be a liitle hard on our friend Peff'er. A few 

 years ago Thomas Moulton, introduced a good many of the Russian 

 trees ol many of the varieties prominently known, such as the Trans- 

 part nt; there were, I believe, thousands of those trees sold in this 

 vicinity. Gentlemen, I will give you $5 for every one of those trees 

 that you can find alive to-day. They grew and bore fruit, but there is 

 not one of those trees he sold here but what is dead. It has proved 

 that they don't begin with the Wealthy in this section of the country. 

 We have tried them twelve or fourteen years ago. Now, there is the 

 Transparent, probably it is as hardy as any; it appears to be hardy. 

 But the fact is, these trees are not where they belong; they belong 

 further north than here — entirely so. These trees live through the 

 winter, the warm weather comes on, the buds' appear, and after that 

 they die. It is not because they are not hardy; they are as hardy as 

 any tree, but it is something else. They are out of their latitude; 

 they belong further north. You put them on high hills and knolls 

 and they do reasonably well. Take the Transparents every last 



