236 FRUIT-GROWING 



nating in their apple taste. Last summer I 

 was in a store in northern Michigan when a 

 friend purchased some fine-looking large 

 apples. After sampling them she praised them 

 highly and offered me one. I declined because 

 I recognized them as "Wolf River" — one of 

 the few varieties that is rated by pomologists 

 as being inferior to the Ben Davis in quality. 

 The Ben Davis was planted so widely be- 

 cause of its wonderful bearing habit. The trees 

 produce fruit practically every year regardless 

 of climatic conditions. They withstand neglect 

 to a marked extent, and the apples are cer- 

 tainly fair to look upon. If they only tasted 

 as good as they look and smell they would be 

 without rival. The variety is now scarcely 

 ever planted and the old orchards are dying out 

 rapidly as the trees are not long-lived. In a 

 few years the apple will disappear from our 

 markets to be replaced with better sorts which 

 I hope the apple public will appreciate. 



Black Ben and Gano 



The Black Ben and the Gano are two other 

 varieties of the same tribe. Many writers have 

 thought that all three apples were identical. 

 Others have contended that the three sorts 

 were distinct. Personally I think I could argue 

 the case from either side for there is evidence 

 to support either contention. Certainly all 



