CULTURE OF THE APPLE. 343 



THE APPLE. (Pyrus Malus L.) 

 HISTORY. 



The apple is a native of both Europe and America. Many 

 varieties of the crab, from which our improved varieties orig- 

 inated, are found growing wild on both continents. In 

 Oregon, the Indians use a native crab-apple, the size of a 

 cherry, as an article of food. Most of the improved varieties 

 are the result of accident, or rather accidental crossing. As 

 is now well known, the new varieties of our fruits and veg- 

 etables are obtained by either the natural or artificial process 

 of mixing the pollen from the stamens of the blossom of one 

 variety, with the pistil of another blossom ; and from the 

 seeds of this fertilized fruit new varieties are expected. Yet 

 how often are our expectations disappointed, — for it has been 

 shown by Mr. Bull, of Concord, who originated the Concord 

 grape, that perhaps only one plant in a thousand will be any 

 improvement upon the old varieties. Most varieties of 

 apples will flourish best near the locality where they origi- 

 nated. Thus the Baldwin, greening and russet flourish better 

 in New England than the Northern spy, Newtown pippin and 

 Spitzenberg, which prefer the rich lime soils of the West. 



Over nine hundred varieties of apples are found in the gar- 

 dens of the Horticultural Society, London, and over fifteen 

 hundred varieties have been tested there. 



It is generally considered that apples grown on the fertile 

 lands of the West, though large and fair, are yet inferior in 

 flavor to those grown on the strong, gravelly and sandy loams 

 of this section. Apples grown on such soils, on our moun- 

 tain farms, will also keep much longer than those grown on 

 the alluvial soils of our valleys. 



REMINISCENCE. 



We well remember the supreme satisfaction we expressed 

 in our boyhood, when, perched in the crotch of the old, early 

 sour tree, with hands and pockets full, we ate the luscious 

 fruit; or, when running from tree to tree in the dewy morn, 

 gathering the early apples that had fallen through the night ; 

 and the fun and frolic when returning down the steep side- 



