APPLES GROWN IN NOVA SCOTIA. 



325 



looked nicer, being- absolutely free from 

 fungous disease. 



TOMATOES ARE DOING WELL 



The tomato crop, which may be in- 

 cluded under the head of fruit, does not 



promise at all well. In fact, tomatoes 

 never made a much poorer show than they 

 are doing in Kent County this year. If 

 what is seen in Kent is a fair indication of 

 what is found elsewhere, tomatoes for can- 

 ning will be a scarce article this season. 



CHANGES IN VAEIETY OF APPLES GEOWN 



IN NOVA SCOTIA 



BY 



F. C. SEARS 



PROF. OF HORTICULTURE, WOLFVILLE, N. S. 



IN these days of the almost endless mul- 

 tiplication of new varieties of fruits, 

 when every year sees the launching of 

 new sorts which it would seem (from the in- 

 troducers' descriptions) must displace alto- 

 gether the old favorites, it is interesting to 

 observe the changes taking place in the 

 varieties of apples which are set in com- 

 mercial orchards. 



I have before me a report of the Nova 

 Scotia Fruit Growers' Association of 1883 

 in which is given a descriptive list of the 

 " nine principal kinds of apples grown in 

 Nova Scotia," and it is stated that this list 

 was prepared in 1880, so that over twenty 

 years have elapsed since it was compiled. 

 The list, which is the work ot Mr. R. W. 

 Starr, is as follows : Gravenstein, Ribston 

 Pippin, Blenheim Pippin, King of Tomp- 

 kins, Baldwin, Nonpariel, Northern Spy, 

 Yellow Belleflower and Golden Russet. At 

 a recent meeting of our Horticultural Club, 

 on the same authority, the following list 

 was selected as the " ien best commercial 

 varieties" from Nova Scotia to-day — Graven- 

 stein, Ribston Pippin, Blenheim Pippin, King 

 of Tompkins, Golden Russet, Baldwin, 

 Northern Spy, Stark, Fallawater and Non- 

 pariel. In other words, after twenty-two 

 years' experience Mr. Starr drops the Yel- 



low Belleflower from the list and adds the 

 Stark and the Fallawater. Truly this is 

 not a great change for so long a time ! 



But when one comes to examine critically 

 his revised list, which undoubtedly comes 

 very close to being the ten most popular 

 among Nova Scotia growers to-day, it is 

 surprising how many of them have one or 

 more serious defects viewed from the stand- 

 point of the grower. Some of the most 

 obvious are these: — The Gravenstein, though 

 all that could be desired for quality and 

 growth, comes so early that prices are low 

 and the demand limited. The Ribston has a 

 serious tendency to dry rot and is almost 

 wholly a dessert apple, so that the market is 

 limited. The Blenheim dry rots and the 

 King is often a shy bearer and apt to be 

 affected with "collar-rot." The Golden 

 Russet is a very irregular bearer, with a 

 few growers giving good and regular crops, 

 but more often being a light, shy bearer. 

 The Baldwin is, we believe, about as popu- 

 lar as any variety grown, though its tend- 

 ency to overbear every other year and " un- 

 der-bear " in between is against it. The 

 Spy is all right except that it is too slow in 

 coming into bearing, and the Stark is very 

 popular just now but has not been grown 

 very extensively, is not of high quality and 



