182 PERMANENT PLANTATIONS. 



ties must, in all cases, be made with reference to the spe- 

 cial purposes for which they are intended. The family 

 orchard of the farmer we will suppose to contain apple- 

 trees alone, as all the other fruits are, or ought to be, 

 grown in the fruit garden. His selection of varieties 

 must be adapted to his wants and circumstances. In the 

 first place, the number of his family must regulate the 

 proportion of kitchen and table varieties. In the second 

 place, he must consider how many he will want for sauce, 

 how many for baking and drying, how many for cider, 

 and how many for the dessert, and what proportion of 

 sweet and of acid. These are all considerations that de- 

 pend upon the habits, taste, and mode of living of fami- 

 lies, and for which no man can provide or suggest but 

 the planter himself. Then, again, he must consider to 

 what extent it may be advantageous to feed apples to his 

 stock, nnd provide for it accordingly. 



Without considering well all these points, a man may 

 sit down and select what are called " the best varieties," 

 and yet find himself badly suited when they come to 

 bear ; for so it happens that a variety that may be best 

 for the dessert, will be exceedingly unprofitable for other 

 purposes. A hardy, vigorous, and productive variety, of 

 medium quality, quite unfit for the table, may be infinitely 

 more advantageous for feeding stock than a feeble-grow- 

 ing, shy-bearing variety, quite indispensable for the des- 

 sert ; and an apple may be excellent for sauce, for baking, 

 or drying, and unfit for the dessert. These points should 

 all be duly considered. 



The Market or Commercial Orchardist must exercise 

 the same discrimination in the selection of his varieties, 

 adapting them to the mode of culture he intends to pur- 

 sue and the market he intends to supply. In the imme- 

 diate vicinity of large cities and towns, where the 

 orchardist may carry his fruit to market in a few hours, 

 the most profitable culture will, generally speaking, be 



