320 THE APPLES OF NEW YORK. 



the accepted name for this variety in the American Pomological Society Cata- 

 logue was changed in 1897 from American Beauty to Sterling. This state- 

 ment is made for the purpose of revising and correcting the synonymy of this 

 variety. 



STONE. 



REFERENCE, i. Hoskins, Montreal Hort. Soc. Rpt., 5:18. 1879. 



An apple of the Blue Pearmain group somewhat similar to Bethel 

 in general appearance. We find no published description of this 

 variety. It is highly esteemed locally in St. Lawrence county where 

 it has come to be recognized as a very hardy, healthy, thrifty and 

 long-lived variety. It has a tendency to overbear or to set more 

 fruit than it can properly mature. It is an advantage to have the 

 fruit thoroughly thinned early in the season. It has the habit of 

 ripening its wood and shedding its foliage early in the autumn. 

 Young trees in the nursery row have a rather rough, sprawling 

 habit of growth. The fruit when well grown is rather large and 

 although rather dull red in color is fairly attractive in appearance. 

 It ranks good or sometimes possibly very good in quality. 



Historical. This variety was brought from Bethel, Vermont into Potsdam, 

 St. Lawrence county, about 1836 or 1837 by a Mr. Stone. He propagated it 

 in that locality and it came to be known locally as the Stone apple. For a 

 time the Stone and the Snow or Fameuse were about the only grafted apples 

 known in that vicinity. During the last sixty years it has been grown in 

 some sections of St. Lawrence county more extensively than any other variety* 

 and has there become a standard winter apple for home use. Apparently it 

 is unknown outside of Northern New York. 



FRUIT. 



Fruit above medium to very large, quite uniform in size and shape. Form 

 round to somewhat ovate, rounding toward base and apex, regular or some- 

 times slightly ribbed. Stem very short to medium, rather slender. Cavity 

 very small, usually acuminate, very narrow, somewhat unsymmetrical, partly 

 russeted; the russet does not often extend beyond the brim of the cavity. 

 Calyx medium to rather small, usually open, sometimes nearly closed ; lobes 

 rather broad and acute. Basin usually shallow, sometimes moderately deep, 

 medium in width to rather narrow, sometimes slightly wrinkled. 



Skin thick, tough, rather smooth, takes a high polish; color pale yellow or 

 greenish washed and mottled with rather dull dark red which in highly 

 colored specimens deepens to solid red, irregularly splashed and striped with 

 deep carmine, overspread with bluish bloom and often noticeably marked with 

 bluish- white scarf-skin. Dots numerous. Some are very large, irregular, 

 very conspicuous, grayish and often areolar with russet point ; others are 

 small, round, pale gray or whitish and often submerged. 



Calyx tube short., broadly conical. Stamens usually basal. 



1 Letters of A. F. Clark, Raymondville, 1896, 1905. 



