SOILS FOR NORTHERN SPY 19 



boundary may be roughly estimated as one-fourth degree north of the 

 forty-first parallel. South of that it becomes a fall apple and keeps very 

 poorly. 



" Hubbardston Soils. — For the Hubbardston a rich, fine, sandy loam 

 to a depth of at least a foot is preferable, and the subsoil may well be of 

 the same texture. This variety does remarkably well on a soil of this kind 

 in the Connecticut Valley of Massachusetts, which has been fertilized 

 highly enough for tobacco, onions, or garden crops. The fruit is good size, 

 well colored, and has good keeping qualities. Baldwin grown alongside is 

 poorly colored and inferior in both flavor and keeping quality. This is 

 undoubtedly due to the high humus content and richness of the soil, as the 

 same soil in much poorer condition brings a better Baldwin. A subsoil 

 containing enougli clay to make the fine sandy material somewhat coherent, 

 or sticky, is not objectionable, but there should never be enough clay present 

 to render the subsoil heavy. If the soil is too heavy or too clayey, the fruit 

 is liable to be deficient in both color and flavor. Compared with the Baldwin 

 soil requirements, the heaviest soils desirable for the Hubbardston lap over 

 a little upon the highest soils desirable for the Baldwin, while at the other 

 extreme the Hubbardston will utilize to advantage a more sandy soil than 

 most other varieties of the New England-New York region. This does not 

 mean that the variety will succeed on poor, light sands, for on such soils 

 the apple will not attain sutticient size to be of value, nor is the tree 

 vigorous; but the soil shoxild always be very mellow. 



"Soils for Northern Spy.— The Northern Spy is one of the most 

 exacting varieties in regard to soil requirements. To obtain good quality 

 of fruit, i.e., fine texture, juiciness, and high flavor, the soil must be 

 moderately heavy; and for the first two qualities alone the lighter of the 

 ' green ' Rhode Island Greening soils will be desirable. The fact that the 

 Northern Spy is a red apple, however, makes it imperative that the color 

 be well developed and the skin free from the greasy tendency. This 

 necessitates a fine adjustment of soil conditions, for the heaviest of the 

 soils adapted to the 'green' Rhode Island Greening produce Northern 

 Spies with greasy skins and usualljr of inferior color. The habit of tree 

 growth of this variety, moreover, requires careful attention. Its tendency 

 to grow upright seems to be accentuated by too clayey soils, if well en- 

 riched, and such soils tend to promote growth faster than the tree is able 

 to mature well. On the other hand, sandy soils, where producing good color 

 and clear skins, fail to bring fruit satisfactory in quality with respect to 

 texture and flavor, especially if the fruit be held for very long. The 

 commercial keeping quality, too, is inferior to that of the Spy grown on 

 heavier soils in the same district. Hence the soil requirements of this 

 variety are decidedly exacting, and are best supplied apparently by a 

 medium loam underlain by a heavy loam or light clay loam — that is, a soil 

 as heavy as can be selected without incurring the danger of inlerior 



