APPLE VARIETIES 249 



escape spring frosts that injure other kinds. 

 As a rule the crop is very uniform in size of 

 fruit and the apples hang well to the tree be- 

 cause of their long slender stems. Short- 

 stemmed apples often drop badly, but the 

 Rome Beauty is never bothered in this way. 

 The tree is, as a rule, not so long-lived as it 

 should be and is sometimes badly injured by 

 blight. It also has a tendency to grow very 

 " twiggy" and often a lot of pruning is needed 

 to keep the tree in good condition. 



Stayman Winesap 



The most interesting member of the Wine- 

 sap family is the Stayman. The name should 

 be shortened to the one word to prevent con- 

 fusion with the old Winesap which is a dis- 

 tinct apple. Doctor J. Stayman, of Leaven- 

 worth, Kansas, originated the variety — an- 

 other of those chance seedlings, — about 1875. 

 He endeavored to get various nurserymen to 

 propagate it on a large scale, but as it was a 

 new and untried sort it did not meet with 

 much favor. In 1895 he wrote to Stark 

 Brothers urging them to grow the tree and 

 advertise the variety. He was an enthusiastic 

 old man and he often said that the time would 

 come when every one would want this then 

 new variety. The time has come for to-day 

 the Stayman is recognized as one of our best 



