CHAPTER I. 



THE APPLE. 



THIS fruit, though less delicious than the peach, 

 pear and apricot, possesses, from its hardiness, pro- 

 ductiveness, long continuance, and various uses, 

 an importance not equalled by any other fruit in 

 temperate climates. 



VARIETIES. These, by continued propagation 

 from seed, have become very numerous. The Lon- 

 don Horticultural Society collected fourteen hun- 

 dred, three quarters of which proved to be either 

 fruits under different names, or else unworthy of cul- 

 tivation. Probably not less than two thousand have 

 been advertised in the nursery catalogues of the 

 United States within the last thirty years ; in these, 

 great confusion exists, both by the frequent appli- 

 cation of the same name to different and distinct 

 fruits ; and again, the same fruit is often found un- 

 der several different names. Some fine and well 

 known varieties however, do not present this diffi- 

 culty; their wide dissemination or clearly marked 

 characters, prevent the confusion so often preva- 

 lent. On this subject, Lindley remarks with much 

 truth " In apples, a greater confusion exists in this 



