Descriptions of Select Varieties of Apples. 161 



XXIX. Holmes. Thatcher's American Orchardist. 



Upwards of twenty-five years ago, Dr. Thatcher, in his ex- 

 cellent Treatise on Orcharding, stated that the Holmes ap- 

 ple, {fig. 15,) " was much admired and extensively cultiva- 

 ted" in the vicinity of Plymouth ; and, to this day, notwith- 

 standing the introduction of so many new and splendid vari- 

 eties, it still retains this character throughout the Old Colony. 

 It is one of the most popular and salable apples brought to 

 the Plymouth market, and a barrel or two of them seem in- 

 dispensable to the completion of the winter store of every fam- 

 ily. Dr. Thatcher is the only author who mentions it, and, 



Fig 15. Holmes Apple. 



on diligent inquiry, we cannot learn that it is cultivated but 

 little, if at all, out of Plymouth county. 



Dr. Thatcher states that the variety sprung from a small 

 sprout planted by Z. Holmes, Esq., of Kingston, Mass., with- 

 out any knowledge of its quahty, and that, "in the eleventh 

 year, he gathered from it thirty bushels of apples." Another 

 account of its origin, given to us by Mr. Washburn, of Plym- 

 outh is, that Mr. Holmes cut a shoot for a whip stick when 

 out with his team, and that, when he reached home, he plant- 

 ed it in the ground, and it subsequently grew, and produced 

 the quantity of fruit already mentioned. Whether this, or 



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