On Apple Trees and Grafting. 91 



sioii before my mind, that I cannot rely on my memory 

 to give an accurate account of its dimensions : but think 

 from the best of my recollection, that it must have been 

 upwards of four feet in diameter; the quantity of apples 

 it bore, was enormous, perhaps too incredible to relate ; 

 it stood on a high airy situation, aiid in a light poor 

 stony soil; which I consider most favourable to the lon- 

 gevity of the apple tree : the size and colour of the ap- 

 ples nearly resemble the vandever ; — they are neither 

 sweet nor sour, but of a most delicious rich taste and 

 high flavour ; easy to bake or cook ; they ripen in a pe- 

 culiar manner, some very early, and then drop oflT; 

 while others succeed them, and at my father's, we have 

 kept some of the later growth until apples came again, 

 the next summer. 



The proprieter of this valuable and useful curiosity, 

 was one Stephen Townsend, an aged amiable and bene- 

 volent man ; the tree stood near a public road, and all 

 travellers had free access: I remember hearing him say, 

 that when his grandfather first took up that place, it was 

 a very large apple tree standing in an Indian clearing ; 

 his grandfather was Richard Townsend^ mentioned in 

 Robert Proud^s history of Pennsylvania. 



I also remember when very young, to have heard 

 some of the most aged respectable, and informed people 

 the neighbourhood afforded, say, that tree must be 

 much older than Columbus ; that was before I knew the 

 meaning of Columbus ; the proprietor Stephen Toxvn- 

 5^;2c/ freely permitted access to his tree ; by all descrip- 

 tions of people : and it was most highly esteemed, more 

 particularly by the friendly Indians, many families of 



