No. 4.] SOIL VARIATION. 19 



there. In fact, its soiitlierii bouiidarv may Le roiig;hly esti- 

 mated as 14° north of the forty-first parallel. South of that 

 it becomes a fall ap})le, and keeps very poorly. 



HUBBAEDSTOX. 



Compared with the Baldwin soil requirements, the heaviest 

 soils desirable for the Hubbardston lap over for a little upon 

 the lightest soils desirable for the Baldwin, while at the other 

 extreme the Hubbardston will utilize to advantage a more 

 sandy soil than most other varieties. This does not mean 

 that it w^ill succeed on poor, light sands, for on such soils the 

 apple wall not attain sufficient size to be of value, nor is the 

 tree vigorous enough, but the soil should always be very 

 mellow. A rich, fine, sandy loam to a depth of at least a 

 foot is preferable, and the subsoil may well be of the same 

 texture. A subsoil containing enough clay to make the fine 

 sandy material somewhat coherent, or sticky, is not objec- 

 tionable, but there should never be enough clay present to 

 render the subsoil heavy. If the soil is too heavy or too 

 clayey the fruit is liable to have greasy skins and a deficient 

 color, while the flavor is insufficiently developed. 



iN'oETHER^^ Spy. 

 This variety is one of the most exacting in soil require- 

 ments. To obtain good quality of fruit, i.e., fine texture, 

 juiciness and high flavor, the soil must bo moderately heavy, 

 and for the first two qualities alone the Rhode Island Green- 

 ing soil would be admirable. The fact that the Northern Spy 

 is a red apple, however, makes it imperative that the color 

 be well developed and the skin free from the greasy tendency. 

 This necessitates a fine adjustment of soil conditions, for the 

 heaviest of the soils adapted to the Rhode Island Greening 

 produces ISTorthern Spies with greasy skins and usually of 

 inferior color. The habit of tree growth of this variety, 

 moreover, is such as to require careful attention. Its ten- 

 dency to CTow U]n'ight seems to l)e accentuated hv too clayey 

 soils, if well enriched, and such soils tend to promote gi'owth 



