APPLES 



437 



mental conditions but which are not 

 marked enough to give rise to a new 

 variety. See Variation, Causes of. 



As an example of the first the follow- 

 ing list of varieties which have origin- 

 ated from common parentage, is given: 



Arkansas Beauty 



Arkansas Belle 



Ben Davis 



Ben Hur 



Black Ben Davis 



Coffelt 



Cole Davis 



Eicke 



Etris 



Extra 



Plat Ben Davis 



Gano 



Improved Ben Davis 



Nordhaussan 



Ostrakavis 



Paris 



Shackleford 



Shirley 



Sweet Ben Davis 



White Ben Davis 



"Many of these are of minor impor- 

 tance, and doubtless some are not propa- 

 gated and will soon disappear from cul- 

 tivation. Almost without exception they 

 are of southern origin and best adapted 

 to growing under southern conditions. 

 When grown north of the southern 

 Missouri and Ohio valleys they are in- 

 ferior in quality, though fairly hardy and 

 bearing good crops. 



"The fruit is generally roundish conic 

 in form, nearly regular, with regular cav- 

 ity and basin, the latter generally more 

 or less abrupt. In color, greenish yellow, 

 usually overspread with bright red, more 

 or less striped. The flesh is generally 

 white and firm, of medium or coarse tex- 

 ture. They are of only moderately good 

 quality but long keepers and good ship- 

 pers. With one exception they are more 

 or less acid in flavor, generally a mild 

 subacid. A notable characteristic com- 

 mon to all varieties examined was the 

 presence of a pistil point or the persist- 

 ent base of the pistil, a character rarely 

 found in apples not belonging to this 

 group." 



In addition to the above the following 

 are believed to belong to the Ben Davis 

 group, but evidence is wanting to make 

 the author certain. 



Breckinridge Hastings Red 



Chicago Highfill 



Collins (Champion) King David 



Florence Marion Red 

 Givins 



As to the causes which give rise to 

 changes sufficient to warrant the name of 



a new variety, we are compelled to admit 

 a great deal of ignorance. About the best 

 we can do is to fall back upon that gen- 

 eral fact of tendency to vary which seems 

 to characterize the whole biological 

 world. 



A good illustration of variations due 

 to environmental causes as, for example, 

 climate, is shown in the accompanying 

 diagram of the Ben Davis apple as grown 

 from Nova Scotia to Arkansas. 



"Considering the 'results of all the 

 measurements taken' we find that in the 

 extreme Northeast the Ben Davis is much 

 elongated, and as we go South and West 

 it becomes less elongated and more flat- 

 tened, till we reach West Virginia and 

 Kentucky, where it becomes a decidedly 

 oblate apple. In the Ozarks it is a little 

 longer and in Southern California still 

 longer, and in British Columbia it is al- 

 most as much elongated as in Nova Sco- 

 tia and neighboring regions. * * * 

 Apples from districts near large bodies 

 of water were noticeably elongated. The 

 conclusion seems to be that 'beginning in 

 the southern Allegheny mountains and in 

 Southern California and going north the 

 apples become more elongated and that 

 the elongation is much more pronounced 

 in the vicinity of large bodies of water, 

 either salt or fresh.' " 



The many variations in apple varieties 

 arise from many causes which may be 

 grouped as cultural, using the word in 

 the broad sense: soil and climatic. Of 

 climatic influences, temperature is the 

 most potent. 



The methods pursued in the growing 

 and in the care of the trees have great 

 influence in the character of the fruit. It 

 is aifected in every way, in size, form, 

 color, keeping quality, shipping quality 

 and dessert quality. 



As to the effect of soil types on the 

 variation of apples, not enough is known 

 regarding this question to make any def- 

 inite generalizations on the subject. 



Variation in the form of the Ben Davis, 

 and probably in other sorts as well, is due 

 principally to the temperature during a 

 period of about two weeks following blos- 

 soming. The lower the temperature the 



