Failure of the Apple-Crop in New England. 353 



FAILURE OF THE APPLE-CROP IN NEW ENGLAND. 



In some parts of the country, the crop of apples has been almost a fail- 

 'ure for several years past. This crop, that was formerly regarded as one of 

 the most certain, has now become quite unreliable. Formerly the markets 

 were glutted with this fruit, many farmers sending them in by hundreds, 

 and, in some instances, by thousands, of barrels ; so that the price of even 

 the best ruled quite low : a dollar and a half was considered as an outside 

 price for the best Baldwins, Greenings, and Russets ; while, for the past 

 three or four years, the same quality of fruit would command five or six 

 dollars per barrel. Then every wild apple-tree in the woods, pasture, or- 

 chard, or roadside, produced its fruit in abundance, from which good cider 

 was made, to be sold for two dollars a barrel or less ; while, in many in- 

 stances, the fruit was not considered worth gathering : now these x-^ild trees 

 are as barren, or nearly so, as the grafted trees ; and hence few apples are 

 found to be made into cider, and this article commands a large price. No 

 fruit is so universally esteemed, and so useful for a variety of purposes, as 

 the apple ; and its loss is severely felt. The question as to the cause of this 

 failure has been often asked, but seldom or never satisfactorily answered. 

 Nor' do we expect to succeed in doing what so many have failed to do ; but 

 we propose to examine the reasons that have been given by others, and 

 advance some that we believe will be quite as satisfactory to the public. 

 This failure of the apple-crop has not been universal, but has been confined 

 mostly to the New-England States ; New York, and States farther West, 

 furnishing apples enough to supply in part the deficiency. Local causes 

 have operated to some extent, such as canker-worms, caterpillars, and other 

 vermin that have been quite destructive ; but this does not alone account 

 for the almost universal failure of the crop. When the foliage has been 

 entirely destroyed for several years in succession, that of itself might be 

 a sufficient explanation of the failure ; but when we know that trees or 

 whole orchards even in the same neighborhood, that were partially or 

 wholly protected from the ravages of insects, gave no better results, we 

 must look farther for the cause. 



It is true that the trees have sometimes blossomed ; and the question 



