264 YEAKBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTUEE. 



County, is substantially as follows, the account of the original tree 

 beginning with the year 1849, when Mr. Dorcus remembers eating 

 apples which it produced: 



The tree stood on a farm owned by Mr. William Baumgardner, 

 which was located on the Monocacy River, in Carroll County, at 

 the mouth of Piney Creek and about 7 miles southwest of Taney- 

 town. This farm is now owned by Mr. Aaron Veant. 1 



The tree was considered a wilding and the fruit was so hard in 

 the fall that it was not usually gathered. About Christmas time, 

 however, during these early years, Mr. Dorcus would go to the tree, 

 secure the frozen apples, and, after thawing them, would eat them. 



Apparently this variety came into local prominence about 1859 

 or 1860 through a Mr. Seiss, who lived in a tenant house on the 

 " Baumgardner farm " and who helped pick the apples. When the 

 crop was harvested that fall, the fruit on this tree being left un- 

 touched, as was the usual practice, Mr. Seiss obtained the permis- 

 sion of Mr. Baumgardner to gather it for himself. This he did, 

 picking 30 bushels, which he took home and buried in a pit. He 

 kept them in this manner till late the following spring after the 

 apples of everyone else were all gone. At this season they were of 

 such high quality that they attracted much attention and apparently 

 created considerable local excitement. 



At about this time (1859 or 1860) Abram and Isaac Furney were 

 growing nursery trees near Taneytown, Carroll County. They 

 grafted a considerable number of trees of this variety, and these 

 became known locally as the " Hoop " apple. Apparently these were 

 the first trees of the variety to be propagated in a nursery. 



Recollection as to the location of the original tree differs somewhat. 

 Mr. Dorcns recalls it as being in a field near a ravine, standing apart 

 from any other trees, while others say that -it stood in the orchard on 

 the Baumgardner farm; but as to the more important features, this 

 account appears to be well authenticated. 



There is another account 2 of this variety which locates the original 

 tree about one-half mile from Wobdsboro, Frederick County, Md., 

 on a farm owned at the time by the late George Livingston Smith. 

 When Mr. Smith gathered his apples in the fall of 1865 he was 

 attracted by this particular variety, which apparently had remained 

 unnoticed in previous years. It is stated that after due effort had 

 been made to ascertain the name of the variety without success he 

 called it the " Smith " apple. This name is still applied to this 

 variety in some localities in Frederick County. 



1 Letter from Mr. Veant, November, 1912. 



2 . Letters from Mr. D. A. Sharetts, October, 1912 ; also from Mr. Charles E. Klein, 

 November, 1912. 



