21 



ing to know the facts in the case, we called upon Mrs. Sti-eet, whose 

 late husband purchased the place in 1801, at which time the tree, 

 from her description, was about six inches in diameter near the 

 gi'ound, and was not grafted after they owned it, thought it was a 

 seedling, said that it yielded seventy-five bushels of fruit in a year 

 when ajoples were scarce, sold a part of them to persons who came 

 for them from Connecticut, at one dollar and tweuty-tive cents per 

 bushel. This was confirmed by her son and daughter present. 

 Trees grafted for neighbors with this fruit, a part of them gave 

 their crop in a given year, the others the year following. We pro- 

 cured scions from those that gave their crop in odd years, set them 

 in our orchard and have been rewarded for faith and works. 



Many men, many minds, is a truism when applied to the value of 

 difierent varieties. Soil, climate, market, fancy of consumers, 

 fi'eaks of epicures, all conspire to multiply the best, the medium, 

 and the worthless, reversing the order of exercise at every stage of 

 progress till no one can be sure that any other one is right ; such is 

 the beautiful picture presented to our vision as we attempt to dis- 

 cuss the never-to-be-settled question. 



In the opinions we express, reference is only to New England. 

 As profit yielders, many circumstances tend to throw doubt on any 

 conclusion, some giving their main crop in years when apples are so 

 abundant as to make them of little commercial value, others called 

 constant bearers, mostly native fruit or cider apples ; most of the 

 desirable varieties alternate — consequently it is of the greatest im- 

 portance that their crop should be in years of highest prices. This 

 has been considered as unobtainable by any effort of the cultivator, 

 or as impossible as was the announcement by Copernicus that the 

 world revolved. Facts may be masked but cannot be annihilated ; 

 the achievements in science are wonderful, why should it be thought 

 incredible that improvements in fruit growing may be attained by 

 the use of a little comjuon sense ? You, gentlemen, oflicers of the 

 society, can testify upon this point from actual observation ; you 

 have beheld trees drooping with the heavy burden nature has this 

 season placed upon them ; the variety, you are aware, was the Bald- 

 win, aptly termed by some the " Prince of Apples " of its own New 

 England, where its roots penetrate the crevices of the rock underlin- 

 ing the soil, like Samson, taking hold of the foundation when exhib- 

 iting its gi'eat strength in production. When this variety is 



