LESSON XXXVII 

 POME FRUITS 



Apples. - - The apple-like fruits are called pomes. 

 A pome is a fruit having a core which contains the 

 seeds and is surrounded by the fleshy part. The prin- 

 cipal pome fruits are apples, pears, and quinces. The 

 apple is the most common and the most highly prized 

 of all fruits. 



Apple trees will live and bear fruit in almost every 

 part of this country. No other fruit, unless it is the 

 strawberry, will grow in so many different kinds of 

 climate and soil ; and there are comparatively few 

 farmers who do not plant apple trees. Apples will 

 grow best on a rich, sandy loam with good drainage ; 

 but almost any soil will do if it has good drainage, so 

 that the roots do not stand in water. 



Propagation. Apple trees are propagated by tak- 

 ing buds or scions from trees of the variety we wish to 

 grow, and grafting them on the seedling trees which 

 have been grown from apple seeds. When the grafted 

 trees are one or two years old, they are set out in orchards. 

 They are planted from twenty to forty feet apart, 

 each way. Growing clover or alfalfa on the land is 

 good preparation for apple trees. The ground of the 



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