TRANSACTIONS, &c. U 



tiures. trees which never received any scientific pruning of branches 

 or thinning of fruit, trees, indeed, having little reason to be grateful 

 to their owners for any care whatever. 



Such evidence seems to lead most satisfactorily to the conclusion, 

 that the county of Worcester, both in its soil and climate, is ex- 

 tremely well adapted to the raising of this fruit ; and it appears 

 reasonable to anticipate that the time will come, when — -under a 

 more scientific and thorough system of cultivation — the apple crop 

 of this county will attain a much higher rank than it now holds, 

 among the products of her agriculture. 



And, while upon this topic of cultivation, the Committee would 

 say a word or two more. 



An obstacle in the way of cultivating the apple in small gardens, 

 is, or rather has been, the amount of room the tree occupies. To 

 obviate this difficulty, the apple is sometimes cultivated as a dwarf, 

 upon what is called the paradise stock. But — on the other hand — • 

 these dwarfs are quite too small to be of much value. Many 

 people are not aware that there is still another stock, the Doucain, 

 which gives the apple-tree an intermediate size, between a dwarf and 

 a standard, making it just the desirable size for gardens. 



In a letter just received from Mr. Barry, editor of the Horticul- 

 turist, he remarks, speaking of this mode of cultivating the apple, 

 " I have seen a tree on the Doucain stock pueduce a baiTcl of fruit. 

 It is adapted to apples generally, and I know no reason why the 

 apple cannot be profitably grown upon this stock." It seems to us, 

 that trees of this intermediate size are just what is wanted for the 

 close, often crowded grounds of a city garden ; and, as whatever 

 dwarfs a tree, increases its productiveness, this mode would favor 

 the cultivation of some excellent apples, now going into disrepute by 

 reason of their unproducliveuess, as, fur example, ihat delicious, and 

 highly flavored summer fruit known hereabouts as the River apple. 



Upon the Society's tables, were to be seen excellent specimens of 

 almost every variety of Autumn and Winter apples, known as worthy 

 or unworthy of cultivation in this section of the country. There 

 were ^so fine Northern Spy, Hawley, Ladies' Sweeting, and other 

 kinds which it has been feared would not succeed here. A seedling 

 exhibited by Charles Johnson, of Northboro', appeared very promis- 

 ing ; but some of the Committee thought, that, by some mistake, the 

 apple might, after all, be indentical with the Gravenstein. From 



