82 



THE CANADIAN HORTICDLTCKIST. 



Advertising new varieties <if fruit 

 beyond their deserts has really become 

 so much the custom, as all fruit grow- 

 ers are awai'e, that no one expects them 

 to answer their descriptions, and if they 

 do, and if by any chance they should 

 turn out actually better, not only better 

 than expected, but better than promised, 

 there is, what shall I call it ? Dis- 

 appointment, but that is not a good 

 word ; it is true you may have expected 

 in the' light of previous experience, 

 some sort of shortcoming or failure, 

 and not getting what you expected, it 

 would naturally be said you are disap- 

 pointed ; such Mr. Editor is the nature 

 of my disappointment with the Wealthy 

 apple. I had been led to expect some- 

 thing similar to the Snow, something 

 better had been promised, but you 

 know I did not expect that ; imagine 

 therefore my delight on finding the tree 

 as hardy and healthy as a Crab, and see- 

 ing the perfectly shaped specimens of 

 fruit without spot or blemish that were 

 growing on my trees, daily increasing 

 in size and colouring as they grew a 

 beautiful red, not so dark as the Snow, 

 but more attractive, till they approached 

 as near perfection in appearance as 

 could be wished ; perfect in shajie and 

 averaging larger in size than that once 

 famous variety, and producing as much 

 fruit on sixteen trees last season as the 

 rest of the orchard, although compris- 

 ing no less than two or three hundred 

 trees that were planted at the same 

 time. 



But what about its flavor for eating 

 and its qualities for cooking 1 



Well, Mr. Editor, you see there are 

 a great many boys i-ound these parts 

 who have an idea that they have as good 

 a right to eat apples when they can get 

 them as if they grew them themselves, 

 or if they have no such idea, they carry 

 out the principle, or want of principle 

 into practice, whenever they have an 



opportunity, all the same, so it becomes 

 dangerous to have choice fruit on the 

 trees until it becomes ripe, or until 

 some one arrests the process of ripening 

 in an illegitimate way, and what a state 

 of things does this necessitate, luxndreds 

 and thousands of bushels of immature 

 fruit plucked from the ti-ees every year 

 because the owners pi-efer immature 

 fruit to no fruit at all. I have heard 

 temperance lecturers argue that we have 

 a right to prohibit, put down, and 

 abolish everything that becomes a public 

 nuisance, and that interferes with the 

 rights and liberties of others ; now what 

 a blessing it would be if one could get 

 them to aV)olish the boys ; for if there 

 is a greater nuisance from a fruit 

 grower's point of view than these law- 

 less vagabonds, let some one rise and ex- 

 plain. But all this has nothing to do 

 with the flavour of the Wealthy apple, 

 of which, at present, I must acknow- 

 ledge myself not fully qualified to give 

 an opinion ; all the apples I could find 

 on my trees were picked before being 

 ripe, they were tried in my own family 

 and amongst my friends, and px'O- 

 nounced very good, and I was not aware 

 at the time but that they were in as 

 good condition for eating as I could ever 

 expect to have them ; but passing 

 through my orchard quite late in the 

 fall — I am not sure but some snow had 

 fallen previously — I found under one 

 of my trees two Wealthy apples, and 

 they proved to be much superior to 

 those pi-eviously tried ; they had ac- 

 quired a certain ai'oinatic flavour not un- 

 like that of a pear, which placed them 

 in my opinion in the fi'ont rank as a 

 dessert ai)ple ; those tried for cooking 

 were in an unripe state, and as such not 

 equal to the Ked Astracan or Graven- 

 stein in the same condition ; I should 

 suppose that although they can be used 

 for cooking, their proper place is as 

 dessert, and as such they will supply a 

 want that has been much felt. 



