244 FRUIT-GROWING 



about it that makes it a favorite with a very 

 large number of apple lovers. My father 

 always regarded it as the one best apple — but 

 he was not familiar with either the Delicious 

 or the Stayman. The Spy is at its best in the 

 latitude of northern New York or Michigan. 

 "When grown farther south it lacks quality and 

 ripens early. It is always rather slow in com- 

 ing into bearing, but after it once starts it is 

 a reliable biennial cropper. The trees are very 

 hardy and vigorous and are often used as 

 stocks for such sorts as Grimes that have poor 

 root systems. 



Oldenburg 



The American Pomological Society has a 

 way of ignoring long established custom in 

 the matter of apple names and frequently 

 makes a decision that fails to stick. The 

 Duchess of Oldenburg is a variety introduced 

 from Russia many years ago. The Society 

 tells us that we must call it only by its last 

 name, but in every apple section the fruit is 

 grown and sold as "Duchess" and probably 

 wall continue to be. When the name of a vari- 

 ety has once become established on the market 

 it seems to me to be very poor policy to attempt 

 to change it. 



The Duchess, Alexander, Tetofsky and Red 

 Astrachan were all brought over by the Mas- 

 sachusetts Horticultural Society about 1835. 



