VARIETIES OF APPLE. 



65 



Half-standard apple trees is a term iised to designate those 

 which have been so pruned as to form the head of the tree much 

 nearer the ground than is usually done. This method of forming 

 low-headed trees is the true one in all the colder parts of the 

 Dominion. The trees suffer much less from the severity of the 

 climate, are healthier, longer lived, and yield more fruit than if 

 pruned up with long, naked trunks. Those who have made trial 

 of both methods report, that " trees aUotced to branch oiit low, 

 say about three feet from the ground, are generally healthy; but 

 those that have a long trunk are sure to get black on the south- 

 west side, and soon die ofil" 



VAEIETIES OF APPLE. 



It is not the purpose of this work to give a list of the names 

 of all the varieties that are in cultivation, much less to give a 

 description of them. Those only are described which are known 

 to be valuable, and adapted to the climate of some part of the 

 Dominion, possessing sufficient points of excellence to make 

 them worthy of the attention of the Canadian cultivator. The 

 alphabetical arrangement has been adopted as being the most 

 simple and convenient. 



Alexaiider. — Emperor Alexander. — Russian Emperor. — 

 This is an exceedingly hardy variety, which originated 'in 

 Eussia ; has now been widely disseminated throughout the Do- 

 minion, and has been found to be one of our most hardy sorts, 

 almost as hardy as the Siberian crabs. It is reported to succeed 

 well in the Ottawa region, and in Nova Scotia. The fruit is 

 very large and showy, greenish yeUow, faintly streaked with red 

 on the shaded side ; but on the exposed side, rich orange, very 

 brilliantly marked and streaked with bright red. The flesh is 

 tender, juicy, and of " good " flavor. The apples ripen in Octo- 

 ber, and will keep into December. The tree grows vigorously, 

 forming a spreading head, and bears abundant crops. Such is 

 the fine size and handsome appearance of the fruit, and the 



