1850. 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



215 



laiiimlturiil lejinrtment. 



EDITED BV P. BARKY. 



SELBOTION or VARIETIES OF FKDITS. 



There are yet in the country a very large number 

 of persons in total ignorance of the quality of the 

 (lifiereui varieties of fruit, who, if they had made up 

 their minds to plant one hunilred apple trees, would 

 not be able to select by name half a dozen reallv 

 good sorts. The leading idea with such people, when 

 they do think of planting, is, to get large trees ; and 

 large trees they must have. This class of people 

 are not in the habit of reading this or any any other 

 journal of the sort, and therefore any advice we 

 might offer them on this subject would be lost. 



Then there is ahother class, who, by reading on 

 the subject, have learned to appreciate the importance 

 of having good varieties — the best varieties — nothing 

 short of that ; and when they sit down to make their 

 selections, they are too apt to forget all considera- 

 tions but quality: and this is an error — a great 

 error ; but still not half so bad as the first mentioned. 

 There is butone class of persons in this country, and 

 that decidedly the least numerous, who can allow the 

 single matter of quality to govern them in making 

 selections of fruits ; and that is the wbalthy, w^o 

 can afford to make extensive plantations for their 

 own consumption. Nothing in the world is easier 

 than for such people to make their choice of sorts. 

 They arc not restricted by limited means, or limited 

 grounds. They are at liberty ti select those of 

 eeery season and of every desirable quality, however 

 inconsiderable it may be. . • 



But not so with those who plant orchards for the 

 supply of the market. No matter how good a vari- 

 ety may be, if it cost as much to raise the fruit as it 

 can be sold for, or if its peculiar texture or short 

 duration render it impossible to carry it to market, 

 of course it would be unwise to plant it. The orch- 

 ardist wants hardy, vigorous trees, good bearers, and 

 as far as possible, large and showy fruit that, whether 

 early or late, keep well and bear transportation. 

 Hence, for instance, in planting a cherry orchard 

 for marketing, instead of planting the Belle de Ckoisy, 

 which is one of the most delicate and finest flavored 

 varieties, but a small tree ami shy bearer ; or Doicn- 

 er's Late Red, Jlmber, or Honey, most delicious 

 sweet cherries, but too tender fleshed to bear car- 

 riage : such vailoties as Black Tartarian and JVn- 

 poleon Bigarreau, though quite inferior in flavor, 

 are preferred ; because they are large, showy, pro- 

 ductive, firm fleshed, and popular in market. So in 



the case of strawberries — Stoainstone Seedling and 

 British Queen are the two varieties we should cnoose 

 first of all, if we had extensive grounds and were 

 growing for our own use. The one is the most 

 magnificent strawberry in the world, and the other 

 large and of the highest flavor. But no man who 

 knowr the bearing qualities of these two fruits, would 

 think of cultivating them for market ; for neither of 

 them will produce enough to pay for their raising and 

 picking. So again in pears — the Rostiezer, Tyson, 

 Seckel, GanseVs Bergamof, and fVinter JYelis, five 

 of the very finest flavored of all pears, will never be, 

 in this country, profitable market fruits, compared 

 with the Bartlett, Swan's Orange, Beurre Diet, 

 Dvchess d^ Angouleme, and Vicar of Whikjield, all 

 inferior in flavor to the first mentioned, but large, 

 showy, productive, of good quality withal, and the 

 trees strong, rapid growers, and early bearers. The 

 Moorpark and Peach are the best apricots cultivated, 

 not only in size and beauty, but in flavor ; yet among 

 several apricot orchards that we know of, having 

 been recently planted for the supply of the market, 

 small inferior sorts, such as the Breda and Early 

 Golden, have been preferred, simply because they are 

 more certain and abundant bearers. The Crawford's 

 Early peach, from its large and showy appearance, 

 has become one of the most popular market varieties. 

 Among the mass of purchasers, in any of our mar- 

 kets, it would command a greater price than the 

 finest and most delicate white flesh variety, every 

 way superior to.it. So in plums — the Green Gage 

 stands without an equal in flavor ; but a single 

 tree of Bohnar's Washington, Smith's Orleans, or 

 Imperial Gage, would yield, if the fruit be carried to 

 market, more than four rf tha Green Gage. The 

 former are all vigorous, rapid growing trees, with 

 large, showy fruit of fair quality, produced in abund- 

 ance ; while the latter is a very slow growing tree, 

 with small fruit of the most delicious flavor. 



In the neighborhood of such markets as Covent 

 Garden, in London, (where a JVeivtown Pippin would 

 sell for one shilling, and a Baldwin, much larger 

 and finer in appearance, only for three or four cents,) 

 Green Gage plums, Socket and GanseFs Bergamot 

 pears, Swainstonc Seedling and British Queen straw- 

 berries, might be grown to advantage ; for there the 

 best articles sell for their value, whatever it may be. 

 If one variety be, from the difficulty of raising it, and 

 its superior flavor besides, worth even three or five 

 times as much as another, it will surely obtain it. 

 Not so in most of our markets. Here, for instance, 

 any one of the men and boys who sell cherries might 

 stand a whole day with Belle de Choisy without 

 selling a single measure, while in the same time he 

 would probably sell a bushel of Black Tartarian. 

 Now a quart of BelU de Choisy, from its high flavor 

 and delicacy of texture, and from the comparative 

 small size and produce of the tree, is worth three 

 times as much as Black Tartarian. 



We remember hearing a gentleman in one of the 

 Pomulogical Conventions declaim, indignantly and 

 vehemently, 'against the practice of growing and 

 selling varieties anything short o( first rate in fla- 

 vor, no matter what their other peculiar excellences 

 may be, or however popular in market. He said if 

 public taste was so bad as to create and sustain a 

 demand for second rate flavored fruits " it ought to 

 be corrected," kc, fee. Now this undertaking to 

 correct the public taste would not be a small affair. 

 If the fruit grower is bound to correct the tastes of 



