38 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



cultivated, the gentleman (Mr. Gold) reduced to eight. Now, 

 I think it is a matter of great importance to know, from the 

 experience of gentlemen here, which are the best eight vari- 

 eties for the market and for home consumption. He named 

 a list for Connecticut. I should name, here in Central Mas- 

 sachusetts, perhaps another list. Of course we should hold 

 on to the Baldwin ; but we must all admit that the Baldwin 

 is the cause of the glut in the market. I dare say that three- 

 quarters of the apples grown by the gentlemen present here 

 to-day are Baldwins, and they, unfortunately, bear on the 

 even years. If one-third of the Baldwin trees were grafted 

 with some other sorts, to reduce the glut in this one variety, 

 we should have less cause to complain of an overstocked 

 market. Mr. Gold named, in his list, the Porter. I think 

 gentlemen from Central Massachusetts would take exception 

 to the Porter, and put in its place the Gravenstein, which 

 was not mentioned by the gentleman. We found, last year, 

 the Porter small in size, and imperfect. This year, we find 

 it very fine, and well grown ; but it has this serious drawback, 

 — it is almost impossible to put the Porter into market with- 

 out its showing signs of bruising; whereas the Gravenstein, 

 when put on the market, is one of the most golden-colored, 

 handsome fruits that we have. I should hope that a little 

 time might be spent in naming the eight best varieties for 

 farmers to plant in this section. I should put in my claim for 

 the Gravenstein, as the head of the list, for the market. 



Mr. Vincent of Edgartown. One remark of the gentle- 

 man who has just taken his seat has brought to my mind a 

 question which has attracted some attention in times past, 

 — and that is, how to provide for the non-bearing trees. 

 According to the best information I have, — and I would like 

 to hear the opinion of farmers who have large orchards, 

 as to whether it is a fact or not, — the Greening is the best 

 variety for non-bearing years, because it does bear consider- 

 ably every year. 



Mr. Ware. It may be interesting to some here to know 

 my experience in endeavoring to remedy the difficulty that 

 arises from the non-bearing year of apples. That experience 

 conflicts somewhat with that of the gentleman who has pre- 

 sented us with the very able essay. It is with regard to the 



