THE NORTHERN SPY APPLE. 



Northern Spy. Magazine of Horticulture, vol. x. p. 2T5. 



For man}^ years, there have been no very remarkable 

 additions to our varieties of late-keeping winter apples. The 

 Baldwin, which has so long been the favorite, and justly 

 held its place at the head, seems to have been one of those 

 productions which combine all that nature is capable of be- 

 stowing on the apple, and to excel it, or even equal it, is 

 sufficient to give a new variety the very highest merit. Of 

 this character is the Northern Spy: in our estimation, it is 

 surpassed by no other fruit; and, if its qualities for produc- 

 tiveness should prove equal to the Baldwin, it will dispute 

 the palm with that esteemed and popular variety. It is one 

 of the most beautiful apples ; having a rich, deep crimson skin, with 

 purplish stripes, and covered with a soft bloom, hke the Red Astrachan. 

 In its keeping- qualities, it is superior to the Baldwin; and although its 

 flesh is remarkably tender and juicy, it keeps perfectly sound, and retains 

 all its freshness, till June. 



The Northern Spy was raised in the town of East Bloomfield, N. Y., 

 nearly fifty years ago, from seeds carried from Connecticut. The origi- 

 nal tree was set out in the orchard of Heman Chapin, of that town, and 

 suckers were taken from it by Roswell Humphrey, who first raised the 

 fruit, the parent tree having died. For a long period, the variety was 

 wholly confined to the locahty where it was I'aised, and it was not until 

 1840 or '41, that it first attracted the attention of cultivators : at that 

 time, some very fine specimens of apples were seen in Rochester, as late 

 as May, and, on inquiry, they proved to be the Northern Spy, an en- 

 thely new and remarkable seedhng variety. A fuU account of its history 

 and origin will be found in the Magazine of Horticulture for 1847, vol. 

 xiii. pp. 72, 104. 



Much has been said of the productiveness of the Spy, some alleging 

 that only a portion of the fruit is large and fair, and suitable for market, 

 while others state that, in good soils and situations, it produces as good 

 an average crop as other varieties. It bears regularly every year, and 

 many of the specimens measure twelve inches in circumference. The 

 tree is of upright and rather compact gTowth, and probably needs a care- 

 ful and judicious pruning. If this is attended to, they will undoubtedly 

 produce both large and perfect fruit. 



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