APPLE VARIETIES 233 



live and eventually its fruit attracted the atten- 

 tion of nurserymen. It was not until the tree 

 was thirty-six years old, however, that it was 

 propagated for sale and offered to the public. 

 Even then it did not attract wide attention 

 until 1890 when it was awarded a premium as a 

 ''new variety good enough to be recom- 

 mended." The Akin, often called Akin's Red, 

 is a really good apple, but has never become 

 very popular outside of a rather restricted dis- 

 trict in Southern Indiana and Illinois. The 

 fruit is excellent, but the tree characteristics 

 are not so good as they should be for a first- 

 class commercial apple. The trees have a ten- 

 dency to grow very tall and even the most 

 skilful pruning does not seem to improve them 

 much in this respect. They are also shy bearers 

 until they reach the age of from twelve to 

 eighteen years — and most of us are impatient. 

 I know I am and for that reason there is not an 

 Akin tree in our orchards in spite of the fact 

 that I really like the fruit. 



Baldwin 



The Baldwin has been called the Ben Davis 

 of New England. In a way this statement is 

 truly descriptive if we consider it as the lead- 

 ing commercial sort of our Northeastern 

 States. In quality it is better than Ben Davis, 

 but is still regarded as one of the inferior 



