4 THE APPLES OF NEW YORK. 



It appears that the native apple of North China is quite different 

 from our common apple, P. mains, but rather like what we call 

 " crabapples." 1 



Evidently the Siberian crabapple, P. baccata, had its origin farther 

 north and east than P. mains. Bailey cites its habitat as Siberia 

 to Manchuria and the Himalayan region. 2 



THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF APPLE CULTURE IN 

 NEW YORK. 



The principal native fruits of New York, in addition to the wild 

 crab already noticed, are the wild strawberries, red raspberries, 

 black raspberries, dewberries, blackberries, elderberries, cranberries, 

 high-bush cranberries, huckleberries, blueberries, the beach plum 

 along the seacoast, the wild red or Canada plum of the St. Law- 

 rence valley, the wild red or yellow plum of Central and Southern 

 New York, the fox grape in eastern and southeastern parts of the 

 state, the summer grape in the southern counties, and the river-bank 

 or frost grape of general distribution. Improved varieties of the 

 native grapes and of many of the small fruits are now extensively 

 grown both for home use and for market, but so far as New York 

 state is concerned this does not hold true for any of the orchard 

 fruits. Some of the native plums are cultivated in the northern 

 counties to a very limited extent, but, generally speaking, New York 

 orchard fruits are all of old world species. 



Introduction of the Apple. In view of the primitive character 

 of our native fruits, it was but natural that the Europeans when 

 they began to form settlements on this continent should bring their 

 favorite fruits with them from the old world. This they did. 

 Some few brought trees or scions of choice varieties, but more fol- 

 lowed the less expensive plan of bringing seeds of selected fruits 

 to plant about their new homes in America, just as their descendants 

 till recent times have continued to do when leaving the older settle- 

 ments of the East to take up pioneer life along the frontier of 

 civilization. 



1 Marlatt 1. c. Cf. Leroy Diet, de Pom., 3:5. 

 *Cyc. Am. Hort. 111:1472. 



