43 



ic may well be replaced by the Rome Beauty which is 

 adapted to the same kind of soil. 



Rome Beauty is grown with fairly good success in 

 the lower Hudson Valley and at low elevations in west- 

 ern New York, but there is some question whether it will 

 become a leading commercial sort in either region. 



BEN DAVIS AND GANG SGILS 



These varieties are mentioned not to encourage their 

 planting in Massachusetts, for it is believed they should 

 not be planted here, but rather to show their relation to 

 other varieties better adapted to conditions in this state. 



Both Ben Davis and Gano show less effect from var- 

 iations in the soils upon which they are grown than any 

 others observed. Their well-known quality is probably 

 somewhat indicative oC Avhy this is so, yet there are dif- 

 ferences to be noted in the character of the fruit as af- 

 fected by soil and climate. The latter feature is be- 

 lieved to be of great importance, for while there is no 

 gain-saying the fact that in the Ben Davis will grow any- 

 where and produce fruit of some description, it requires 

 a good deal of warm weather for its best development. 



The mere fact that the Ben Davis may well be called 

 the "apple of neglect," because it will probably stand more 

 neglect than any other commercial variety and still bear 

 fruit, accounts for the commercial growers' dictum that it 

 is "a good barrel filler and a good shipper;" while they 

 may follow this saying with the words, "and that is all." 

 No other varieties are so cosmopolitan with regard to 

 climate, and from New York to Alabama these apples 

 have numerous advocates. 



Soils as heavy and moist as described for the Rhode 

 Island Greening are not desirable for either the Ben 

 Davis or Gano. The tree is naturally of strong growth, 

 hence this characteristic should not be intensified by 

 planting on an excessively rich soil on account of the 

 growth of tree and the poor quality and color of the fruit. 

 At the same time, the opposite extreme is not desirable, 

 for if the soil be too sandy the tree grows straggling. 



Both of these varieties as planted in New York, Penn- 

 sylvania and states farther south in the Appalachian Re- 

 gion are bound to prove profitable but they are not altogeth- 

 er satisfactory. Soils adapted to the Baldwin, York Im- 



