12 New HAMrsiiiuE Experiment Station [Bulletin 223 



It is ol' interest alsu to note that 24 per cent of tlie Buldwiu trees are 

 non-bearing, and that 28 per cent are under 10 years of age. Appar- 

 ently this variety connnonly begins to bear fruit after being jilanted 10 

 years. On the basis that it requires 10 years for a tree to come into 

 bearing and that bearing continues until 50 j-ears of age, it would re- 

 tiuire 20 per cent of non-bearing trees to maintain the orchards. The 

 percentage of non-bearing trees is slightly higher than this, and it is 

 jirobable also that with care the period of useful bearing need not be 

 over until well beyond the age of 50 years. An orchard of Baldwins 

 50 3'ears old which the writer recentlj^ visited in tlie town of Temple 

 ai)pears to be only in its prime. Hardly a ti'ee is missing and the 

 crops of fruit are the largest ever har\-ested. That the faith in the 

 Baldwin variety is of long standing is indicated by the fact that ap- 

 proximately 76,000 of the Baldwin trees, or 41 per cent of the total, 

 are more than 30 years of age. There was a period evidently between 

 1895 and 1905 when the planting of Baldwins was not so large in pro- 

 portion to the previous plantings of trees as at the present time. How- 

 ever, the planting of this variety appears to have gained, beginning as 

 early as 1905, and it is the first variety to show the recent stimulus of 

 planting, previously mentioned. Crops of Baldwin may be exjiect- 

 ed to increase, although other varieties will probably increase more 

 rapidly, and it is not likely that Baldwins will long continue to consti- 

 tute as large a proportion of the crop as in 1924. 



No other variety approaches Baldwin in the number of trees planted. 

 Among winter varieties there are nearl.y 20 times as many Baldwin 

 trees as of any other single sort. It is somewhat surprising to note 

 that the winter variety of second importance is the newer sort Delicious, 

 of which there are approximately 11,000 trees, comprising 3 per cent of 

 the total. It ranks fourth in number of trees planted, when all vari- 

 eties are considered irrespective of season. 



The planting of Delicious has, of course, been stimulated by advertis- 

 ing and publicity. However, the fruit grower who judiciously considers 

 the facts will note some outstanding advantages of this variety as com- 

 pared to Baldwin. It is much more hardy and not subject to spot. 

 True, it is susceptible to apple scab, but this may easily be controlled 

 by thorough spraying. The ^)elicious is also generally held to be a 

 variety of higher dessert quality than the Baldwin. The only question 

 as to the desirability of planting this sort is as to the market demands 

 for the type of Delicious which is grown here. It is well colored, but 

 generally of small size. If forced for size it sometimes watercores. 

 Some believe its quality to be better than when grown in other sections, 

 but there is much question as to whether the majority of buyers are 

 of this opinion. Ninety-one per cent of the trees are non-bearing, 94 

 per cent are under 10 years of age, and the crop to date is negligible. 

 The future of Delicious as a variety for New Hampshire is, therefore, 

 still to be determined. Twelve per cent of the trees of this variety 

 have been planted as fillers. It is possible to plant two varieties in the 



