SWEET AND SOUR APPLE. 71 



little more than a reprorluction of the old Spanish Bon Chretien, 

 clescribed by Quintinye nearly two hundred years ago. 



Mr. Hove}' said that Mr. Manning's remarks expressed precisely 

 his opinion, — not that Van Mons had not done so much for horti- 

 culture as had been supposed, but owing to the facts stated it was 

 exceedingly difBcult to say precisely what he had done. Thus the 

 Beurre Spence, which he described as one of his seedlings, and to 

 which he gave the highest praise, proved, after numberless errone- 

 ous kinds had been received for it, to be nothing else than the 

 Flemish Beauty, which was not originated by Van Mons. This 

 variety now bears evidence of decay, as do the Glout Morceau 

 and St. Michael, but it makes a good stock to graft other varie- 

 ties upon. There was one other native pear, the Andrews, whicii 

 had not been mentioned, though nearly as well known as the 

 Seckel. Though different accounts are given as to its origin, all 

 agree that it is a native. 



Mr. Wilder said that Van Mons was undoubtedly mistaken as 

 to the origin of some of the fruits which he disseminated. There 

 are many of them which bear evidence of culture, and could not 

 have come immediately from wild sorts. Neither could he prevent 

 his trees planted closely together from fertilizing each other. 



E. W. Wood alluded to the alternate bearing of some varieties 

 of apples, and spoke of an orchard in MarshQeld which produced 

 between three and four hundred bushels in 1873. A committee of 

 the Newton Horticultural Society, of which James F. C. Hyde was 

 chairman, was appointed to inquire into the cause of this produc- 

 tiveness when other orchards failed to bear, and although the 

 owner evaded the question, it was ascertained that be had been 

 particular to remove ail the blossoms in the even year, and that 

 this course had not succeeded equally well with all varieties. Mr. 

 Wood also spoke of the Sweet and Sour apple, of which there 

 was a tree in his grandfather's orchard more than seventy-five 

 years ago, that sometimes bore from thirty to forty busliels in 

 alternate years. The tree has been grafted from largely. It pro- 

 duced on the same limb apples entirely sour, entirely sweet, and 

 partly sweet and partly sour, the sour predominating. The sweet 

 apples were smaller and yellower than the sour, and these charac- 

 teristics were retained by the respective portions in those which 

 were both sweet and sour, there being a ridge around the fruit 



