127 



ing, or in other words believed that the fruit of the scion does 

 not in any case partake in any degree of the natural stock, it 

 has therefore caused a large amount of discussion. 



At a meeting of the trustees in June last, they requested 

 i;he committee to obtain information, so far as possible, as to 

 the origin and value of this (said to be) new variety of fruit, 

 and report thereon. Consequently" your coipmittee applied 

 for information to individuals, and have received the fol- 

 lowing from W. H. B. Currier, trustee of the Society from 

 Salisbury, embracing information that he has received from 

 J. H. Hill, trustee from Amesbury, to whom we had pre' 

 viously written. The information seems to be to the point, 

 and the letters contain, as we think, much valuable informa- 

 tion. 



It appears from the statement that the apples in question 



are really the Red Russet, and that they originated by a cross 



of the Baldwin and the Roxbury Russet. The particulars 



may be had by reading Mr. Currier's letters, which we shall 



consider part of this report, which are as follows : 



Salisbury, Mass., July 17, 1880. 

 To Mr. Jos. Hoifie : 



My Dear Sir :— Yours of the 2d inst. received. I regret that I was not 

 present at the last meeting of the trustees, although I might not have been 

 able to satisfy the enquiries made concerning the apple you speak of. The 

 •whole matter had been talked over with Mr. Hill some months since, who 

 has gathered these facts : — Hill visited the farm where Mr. Lucy purchased 

 his apples, and at the time they were stored in the cellar. Hill pro- 

 nounces them the " Red Russet," and has raised them for several years. 

 They originated on the farm of Aaron Sanborn of Hampton, N. H., who 

 had an orchard of Russet trees, and Mr. Lewis Sanborn grafted them into 

 Baldwins. The number of trees grafted I did not learn, but all the trees 

 so grafted but one bore Baldwin apples. From this one graft originated the 

 Red Russet. This was about the year 1840, as near as can be ascertained 

 now. Therefore, it was what fruit men sometimes class as a " sport," — a 

 very unusual thing in fruit culture, but common among plants and from 

 which are obtained many new and choice varieties, to obtain and preserve 

 which requires much care in its propagation. 



The Red Russet is remarkable for its keeping qualities under certain con- 

 ditions. It requires a cool cellar, and the applesjmust be headed up tight 

 or they are liable to "shrivel." It is a great bearer and good grower, but I 

 am informed it has one '%ut," it bears only every other year. 



