ORIGIN^AL PAPERS. 



A CHAPTER OF REMINISCENCES. 

 By Calvin Chamberlain. 



As the time of the winter meeting of the Poraological Society ap- 

 proaches, we who cannot be with you physically can very properly 

 extend to you the assurance of beiog with 3'on in spirit. I fear Pis- 

 cataquis will not be represented at your meeting in any other way. 

 While you are preparing for that event, I have nothing to send through 

 you that now presents a special claim, — perhaps nothing that might 

 not as well or better be omitted. But I am rather inclined to send 

 you a box of apples if I can seasonably see a favorable break in this 

 Arctic weather. I have ever hesitated long before deciding to call 

 general attention to a new variety of fruit, as we are always heavily 

 loaded with such claims. 



I have a fair apple of medium size, green in color, a native in an 

 orchard in this town, that I helped my father set, beginning about 

 the year 1820, and adding thereto in the few succeeding years. My 

 attention was first directed to this apple by the circumstance that a 

 business man at Milo came to me at harvest-time in several succes- 

 sive yeai's for a load of apples. After he had become acquainted with 

 the orchard, at each visit he looked first at a particular tree, and if 

 it had produced, his load was largely made up from that. From this 

 hint I put some in the cellar for winter trial. About that time, my 

 wife was transplanted from the county of Worcester to Piscataquis ; 

 and one of the small comforts that helped to make the removal tol- 

 erable was the finding this apple better suited to her taste than any 

 she had before met. The children of our relatives and neighbors 

 soon introduced a household phrase — "Aunt Mary's tree," "Aunt 

 Mary's apple." I speak of what was passing forty years ago. 

 Since then, I have many times presented a dish of apples mixed — 



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