STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 63 



nald is here, and I would inquire if he is ready to proceed 

 with the consideration of that subject? 



Mr. Feexald. 1 have to say, that I have written this 

 paper quite hastily and under the pressure of a great deal of 

 business, and there may be points connected with it which 

 have not been properly considered. I will present it as it is, 

 hoping it may be of some interest. 



THE RUSSIAN APPLE BUSIN^ESS. 

 By Granville Fernald, Harrison. 



About a quarter of a century has passed since the first 

 departure was taken in the practice of renewing or replacing 

 the orchards which were first established in the country, by 

 the introduction of luirsery-grown trees from the West. lu 

 looking backward through this period, and making a practical 

 estimate of the advantages to the State, derived from the im- 

 portation of that kind of stock, I confess the aspect of things 

 is discouraging. Probably a million of dollars, possibly sev- 

 eral millions, have ])een paid out by the ft\rmers of our State 

 for apple trees from New York and other nurseries. Has this 

 vast outlay of money been productive of suitable returns to 

 the people of Maine? It may be there are a few orchards 

 of these trees in the State which are paying a profit on the 

 original investment, but of hundreds of orchards composed 

 of tens of thousands of Western trees, set since they begun 

 to be planted here, within the circuit of my acquaintance, I 

 do not know of one that is in a condition of profitable bear- 

 ing. You will find occasional trees of certain hardy kinds 

 which produce fair crops of fruit, but as a rule the orchards 

 of New York trees in a uniformly healthly and paying con- 

 dition are very seldom to be found. I know of an orchard 

 of about 100 trees, in the town where I reside, planted less 

 than twenty years ago, of trees which were picked up by the 

 road side or in the pasture and field; native, wild seedlings, 

 grafted to Baldwins in the limbs or trunk when small, which 

 has borne more good apples, and brought more money to the 

 owner than all the New York apple trees I have ever seen. 



