CLASSIFICATION OF VAKIETIBS- 



CHAPTER VIIL 



VARIETIES OF APPLES. 



NUMBER OF VARIETIES — SELECTION — NEW VARIETIES — CLASSIFI- 

 CATION OF VARIETIES — STANDARD SORTS OF SUMMER, FALL 

 AND WINTER APPLES — CRAB APPLES — PROMISING NEW KINDS. 



At the present time, there probably are not less than one 

 thousand kinds of Apples in cultivation, each possessing some 

 marked characteristic that will enable it to claim the name of a 

 distinct variety. The variations most commonly found are in 

 form, size, color, quality, time of ripening, habit of growth, color 

 of shoots, and leaves, and their liability to the attack of insects 

 or diseases. Of the numerous varieties that have been described 

 in the more extensive works on fruit culture, probably not more 

 than ten can be said to be thoroughly hardy, productive and sat- 

 isfactory in any one section of the country. In the West many 

 varieties succeed that are unprofitable in the East, and vice 

 versa. 



The young fruit grower must decide what kinds are best for 

 him to plant by consulting his markets, as to what kinds are in 

 demand at paying prices; and by consulting his neighbors and 

 successful fruit growers, as to what kinds ai-e best adapted to his 

 soil, exposure, etc. 



New Varieties. — Few, if any, of the varieties now in cultiva- 

 tion may be called perfect ; and it is the part of wisdom for the 

 grower to try, on a limited scale, a few of the newer and more 

 promising kinds or those adapted to special markets or soils, to 

 determine if some specialty may not be grown that will be more 

 profitable than the common kinds that everybody grows. But 

 until special skill is obtained in growing specialties, or until it is 

 proven beyond a doubt that a new variety has superior merits, or 

 is adapted to a special market, it is best to coufine one's main 

 effort to the growth of the safe and sure kinds. 



CLASSIFICATION OF VARIETIES. 



For convenience of description and the determination of the 

 different kinds, all varieties of Apples are divided in three classes 

 as follows: Summer, Autumn, and Winter, although it may be 



