RUSSIAN APPLES 



the " Yellow Transparent " is the " Low- 

 land Raspberry." This is of better 

 quality and much more beautiful. It is 

 of fair size — full medium — and bright 

 color, yellow, marbled with bright crim- 

 son — and is a good bearer ; flesh tender, 

 breaking pleasantly sweet and juicy ; a 

 good, handsome apple of its season. 

 The tree is besides very hardy. 



" Switzer " is another surpassingly 

 beautiful apple. It is not as good a bear- 

 er as either of the preceding varieties, 

 nor as hardy, and it blights badly and 

 begins to drop from the tree as early as 

 the end of August, though the bulk of 

 the crop may hang, and continue to in- 

 crease in size, till the loth of September. 

 It will also continue to deepen in color, 

 till at the last it is of a deep glowing 

 crimson scarlet. For size, beauty, and 

 quality it leaves nothing to be desired. 



It is impossible to say, honestly, with 

 our present knowledge, that there are 

 any long keepers amongst the Russians, 

 though now at the end of March, the 

 winter " Arabka " is still sound and 

 good, crisp, and fair flavored. This is a 

 large apple, of good shape and deep 

 dark red color. It is not of first rate 

 quality, but fully equal to the " Ben 

 Davis " — a variety that sells well in Eng- 

 land — vide the Montreal "Star." The 

 winter " Arabka " is rather slow to come 

 into full bearing, but when it reaches 

 that condition it bears well, and will, 

 possibly, be a profitable kind. Its weak 

 point is that it scabs badly and splits, 

 and then it is worthless. Spraying may 

 obviate that defect. 



" Borsdorfer " — perhaps not a Russian 

 though usually called so — is a good bear- 

 er of small apples of good quality, that 

 keep a long time say till March at least 



— perhaps longer. The fruit of this 

 variety is not larger than the " Pomme 

 Grise," and like that old favorite is of 

 good quality. It is a firm, crisp, sugary 

 apple, a good family fruit, but too small 

 for market. 



" Autonovka " — This is an apple that 

 promised well, and of which good hopes 

 were entertained, but it has proved dis- 

 appointing the last two seasons. The 

 tree is of the hardiest character and 

 bears profusely large, handsome green 

 apples, but they do not keep till the 

 first of November. Perhaps when we 

 understand them better, and pick them 

 just at the right time, they may keep 

 longer. Picked last fall in the first 

 days of September, they began to spoil 

 almost immediately. 



" Longfield." — This variety shouldnot 

 be omitted. It is a most extraordi- 

 nary bearer of apples of a very good 

 quality. It is small however, never get- 

 ting above medium, and the color is 

 dull. It would consequently never make 

 a good marketing variety. But for home 

 use, or for cider making it will prove a 

 very useful kind, especially as the tree 

 is one of the hardiest, and begins to 

 bear at once on being planted. This 

 year it was still sound and good at the 

 New Year, and delightful eating then. 



A few that up to this time have borne 

 only one or two fruits may yet turn out 

 good keepers. 



Fully ninety-five per cent, of the long 

 list of Russians on trial are either sum- 

 mer or fall apples, and of the remaining 

 five per cent, there will not probably be 

 one that will be sound on the first day 

 of May. — Robert Hamilton, in Canadian 

 Horticultural Magazine. 



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