128 



The gentleman who raised the apple is dead, but the facts were gleaned 

 from his family, who only remember the grafting of the orchard and its 

 results. One fact I failed to learn, whether all the grafts upon the one tree 

 were of this variety or only one or more of them. 



I incline to the opinion given by Mr. Hill, who says he has compared the 

 apples raised on the original tree of Mr. Sanborn, and also with those shown 

 by Mr. Lucy. 



I am not much posted in fruit culture, but observation and some acquain- 

 tance with the experiments made by others confirms the now generally 

 received opinion that the fruit of the scion will partake of the natural stock 

 under some conditions. For illustration: Graf t a Seckel into a Flemish 

 Beauty, and your Seckel pears will in some instances be so large as to 

 deceive fruit men, while they will preserve all the rich qualities of the 

 Seckel. So it is that where the original tree is more hardy and vigorous, 

 and bearing larger fruit than the graft, you may expect similar results. It 

 is well known that the best Bartlett pears are grown on grafts put into old 

 fashioned sweet pear trees— the kind that grow little hard pears, and only fit 

 to "preserve." Bartletts grown on such trees will keep better, bear better, 

 and are of sweeter quality. That experiment was tried by a neighbor of 

 mine. 



Some years ago I visited Seth Boyden of New Jersey, whose experiments 

 in agriculture and horticulture are as celebrated as his successful experi- 

 ments in mechanics. He had made "trial grafts," as he called them; that 

 is, had taken three young trees, planted for the purpose — one exceedingly 

 sour, with another less so, and one sweet; then interlock them and graft the 

 top as if it was one tree; a pleasant sour was the result. Two trees were 

 thus treated, and he found that the graft partook of the qualities of the 

 original stocks. He had trees growing together in form of a crescent, some 

 in form of a cross, some in the form of a triangle, so grafted. 



Very respectfully yours, 



W. H. B. Currier. 



Amesbuky, Mass., July 24th, 1880. 

 Mr. Howe: 



Dear Sir: — In the letter written you I was mistaken in one point. The 

 apples purchased by Mr. Lucy were raised in East Salisbury and, as he 

 stated, near the Seabrook, X. H., line. They were purchased of Mr. 

 Edward Walton, but nevertheless are "Bed Russets." They grew on what 

 is considered in that neighborhood poor land— dry gravelly land, or the local 

 name is, near "Gravelly Ridge." My opinion is (it may not be worth 

 much), that the nature of the soil had much to do with the keeping quality 

 of the apples, and very likely the cellar where they were stored may have 

 been of the proper temperature for the fruit, 11 believe it is so considered). 



This variety of apple is cultivated to some extent in that section of the 

 town, and I find that opinions differ in respect to tl^e quality; some farmers 

 call them very good, others do not think so well of them. 



I should think that a Baldwin apple crossed with a russet, or any hardier 



