162 THE APPLES OF NEW YORK. 



and flavor of the flesh. The fact that it has come to have various 

 local names in different parts of the state is doubtless partly due to 

 this variability. It is now generally conceded that American Blush, 

 Van Vleet and Orleans are identical with Hubbardston, or at the 

 most are but selected strains of that variety. In many parts of the 

 state Hubbardston is one of the most profitable varieties of its 

 season, ripening as it does between the perishable early autumn 

 varieties and the late ripening winter apples. It has generally sus- 

 tained the reputation of coming into bearing at an early age and 

 yielding heavy crops as often as every other year and in many places 

 it is almost an annual bearer. It is apt to be productive to a fault, 

 and for this reason should receive extra attention to keep the soil 

 fertile and the foliage well protected from insects and diseases. 

 When grown upon its own trunk the body is sometimes injured by 

 severe winters. The tree also is somewhat susceptible to attacks of 

 the apple canker. For these reasons it is doubtless best for one who 

 wishes to grow Hubbardston to plant some hardier and more vig- 

 orous variety such as the Northern Spy, and the following year top- 

 work the trees to Hubbardston. Under favorable conditions the tree 

 is a vigorous grower and the fruit is fair, smooth, uniform, of good 

 size and pretty good color. The quality is excellent for dessert but 

 less satisfactory for culinary use except very early in the season 

 before the fruit loses acidity. 



Its commercial limit in cellar storage does not extend much later 

 than December. It is a very uncertain keeper and in cold storage 

 should go out in late fall or early winter although sometimes it has 

 been held in good condition till spring. Fruit of this variety grown 

 in Central and Western New York usually is somewhat smaller and 

 keeps better than that grown in the lower Hudson valley. It appears 

 that its keeping quality is correlated to some extent with the size of 

 the fruit. If there is only a medium crop on the tree and the fruit 

 is large it goes down quicker than if the crop is heavier and the 

 individual fruits smaller and firmer. Fruit of good color also has 

 good keeping quality, other things being equal, but poorly colored 

 fruit soon deteriorates in flavor and quality (25). When the trees 

 are allowed to become greatly overloaded, as they often do where 



