\o. 4.] FRUIT CULTURE. HI 



This raises the question, especially in the west, of the 

 future value of the extension of the Ben Davis orchards. 

 'Hi is apple has made a wonderful record, and it has un- 

 doubtedly made a great amount of money for those who 

 have planted it at the south-west. While this has been true 

 up to this time, it does not follow that it will always do so. 

 The Ben Davis has two valuable qualities that have made it 

 popular with the growers and handlers, — its fine color and 

 its good handling and keeping qualities ; but it is thick 

 skinned, tough fleshed and void of any particular flavor. 

 The more this t} r pe of apple is put upon the market, the 

 less will be its consumption, for the consumers who want 

 high flavor in the fruit they use will turn to bananas, oranges 

 and other fruits. This is not an apple for New England. 



Upon this point, in speaking of the value of the "Ameri- 

 can Apple Consumers League," the proprietor of one of New 

 York's best restaurants says : "I have been in the restaurant 

 business over twenty-five years, and never, strange as it 

 may seem, sold an apple on nvy tables till about two years 

 ago. A friend of mine, a clergyman, said to me at that 

 time : ' Why can't I get some apple sauce here?' I told the 

 steward to buy a barrel of apples, and I have never been 

 without them since, and I made my friend a member of the 

 Baked Apple and Apple Sauce Association. I have great 

 difficulty in buying the kind of apples I want. Except the 

 Long Island Newtown Pippins, which we have great diffi- 

 culty in getting, the Spitzenburg, I think, is the best for 

 baking ; the Rhode Island Greening the best for cooking 

 and apple sauce. I think packing in boxes is a very great 

 improvement on barrels, and, while the cost is a little more, 

 the waste is less. For my table I must have quality and 

 uniformity. I can afford to pay a good price, for I get 15 

 cents for two baked apples and a pitcher of cream, and my 

 customers pay it willingly, in competition with a Ben Davis 

 at 10 cents for two big apples. When people do make a 

 comparison, I simply tell them that I pay $7 $, barrel, and 

 can buy Ben Davis for $3. Of course up to this time it has 

 not become a very large part of the business, but it cer- 

 tainly is increasing. I think we use for baking and eating 



