The Chilliwack Exhibit at the recent Provincial Fair in British Columbia 



TKe Seedless Apple from AnotKer Viei^ Point 



Prof. John Craig', Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. 



THE last issue of The Canadian 

 Horticulturist contains the most 

 astonishing, I was almost going to say 

 paralyzing, statement that I have read 

 for some time. I refer to the position 

 of the Hon. John Dryden in regard to 

 this new-old fruit, called the Spencer 

 Seedless Apple. It is almost incon- 

 ceivable that a man of Mr. Dryden 's 

 standing in the agricultural commun- 

 ity, and a man who has unquestionably 

 labored unselfishly and sincerely for 

 the agricultural interests of the prov- 

 ince, should lend himself to a project 

 which, to the enlightened pomologists 

 of this country, seems to be absolutely 

 indefensible. If Mr. Dryden has seen 

 old established trees bearing in any 

 place, we might have condoned the 

 position he has taken to some extent. 

 If he had any personal evidence that 

 this fruit was good to eat when it was 

 ripe, that it was any advance on the 

 ordinary commercial apple, or any 

 knowledge that it would succeed un- 

 der our ea.stern conditions, there might 

 be some further slight excuse for the 



position which he takes. Ten-year- 

 old orchard trees, or two-year nursery 

 stock under irrigated conditions in 

 southern Colorado do not furnish an 

 Ontario man with suitable data for 

 making deductions along Hnes of adapt- 

 abiHty to Ontario climate and soil. 

 SEEDLESS APPLE NOT TESTED 

 For many years Mr. Dryden has 

 been associated with experimental work. 

 He realizes the desirability and ad- 

 vantage of it. Otherwise he would 

 not have urged the appropriation of 

 money for the establishment of fruit- 

 testing stations and agricultural col- 

 leges. This fruit has never been tested 

 at any station. No sample can be 

 secured by any station. Yet, Mr. Dry- 

 den is willing to lend the strength of 

 his name and the prestige of his former 

 position to the exploiting of a variety 

 which is known to be of poor quality 

 and which may be of absolutely no 

 value in this section. This is the posi- 

 tion, and I must admit that the ex- 

 planation given by Mr. Dryden in 

 the recent number of The Canadian 



271 



Horticulturist is no sufficient 'usti- 

 fication for his attitude on this question. 



There is no reasonable doubt what- 

 ever that this same seedless apple has 

 appeared in different parts of the coun- 

 try over a large number of years. If 

 it had been of such transcendent value, 

 the persons on whose farms it grew 

 would not be fooHsh enough to allow 

 a good thing to be lost sight of. 



The apple was exhibited at the State 

 Fruit Growers' Association meeting in 

 Lockport, N.Y., last winter. I had 

 the privilege of examining the Color- 

 ado-grown specimens and of testing 

 its quality in company with a number 

 of experienced fruit growers. The aver- 

 age specimen was medium in size and 

 unattractive in color. The quality was 

 unanimously voted to be poorer than 

 Ben Davis — a New York-grown Ben 

 Davis at that. The reasons for ad- 

 vocating the cultivation of an untried 

 variety of poorer quality than Ben 

 Davis, and at $2.50 a tree, by a man 

 of Mr. Dryden's judgment and ex- 

 perience, are very obscure. 



