OF THE APPLE 



England, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, has left very 

 Jittle to be desired in this respect. Those who have 

 been privileged to see the exhibitions of fruit at Edin- 

 burgh and Belfast will have had undoubted proof of the 

 capability of Scotland and Ireland to produce apples of 

 the very best quality also. These instances are men- 

 tioned just to show that it is not merely in a few of the 

 more favoured English counties that profitable apple 

 culture is possible, but that from all parts of Britain 

 first class apples are exhibited. Small growers should 

 therefore take heart from the examples placed before 

 them by those who cultivate fruit trees by the thousand, 

 and endeavour to profit by them, for a great deal may 

 be learned from these remarkable and representative 

 displays annually made by our leading nurserymen and 

 others. One may learn that the apple is, generally 

 speaking, practically indifferent to locality, with a few 

 notable exceptions ; and we may also learn which par- 

 ticular varieties are best worthy of culture, their flavour, 

 keeping properties, and other important points. 



The apple, in its wild state, is found over a con- 

 siderable portion of Europe, Britain included, and is 

 commonly called the Crab (Pyrus Mains}. It is generally 

 believed that the forerunners of the now remarkably 

 numerous varieties of apples in cultivation were not 

 directly obtained from the Crab in Britain, but that 

 they have been from time to time introduced from the 

 Continent, for history informs us that apples were 

 brought over to England by the Romans, and that in 

 the days of Pliny they possessed two and twenty 

 varieties. The Crab usually lives to a considerable age, 

 much longer as a rule than does the cultivated apple j 

 the longevity of the latter, however, greatly depends 

 upon situation, soil, treatment, the variety, etc., these 

 factors influencing in one way or another the life of the 

 tree to an important degree. 



