232 FRUIT-GROWING 



known outside of their own locality. The best 

 fruits we have to-day originated as chance 

 seedlings and their discovery has been more a 

 matter of accident than of design. In a few 

 cases they have not been received with enthu- 

 siasm at first, but have had to win their way 

 on their virtues after being introduced. This 

 has been particularly true of the Delicious, a 

 variety that was grown by its originator under 

 the name of the Hawkeye for some years before 

 it became prominent. When first introduced 

 to the public, many fruit-growers did not 

 believe that any apple could have all of the 

 good qualities that were attributed to this new 

 acquisition. They were in very much the posi- 

 tion of the farmer who saw the giraffe for the 

 first time and after taking one good look said, 

 " There ain't no sech animal." 



In the following list of a few of our standard 

 apple varieties I have tried to give what is 

 known of the history of each particular kind, 

 together with some information as to the qual- 

 ity and adaptability of the variety. 



Akin 



In 1831 a seedling apple appeared on the 

 farm of W. J. Akin, near Lawrenceville, Illi- 

 nois. It probably attracted no more attention 

 than would any bit of " brush" on the average 

 farm. In some way this little tree managed to 



